Everything Valanciunas

[Barolt]

You mean our 3 man weave to start the set isn't effective?

It's almost as effective as our other set. The one where either Lowry or DeRozan crosses half-court with the ball, dribbles for 5-10 seconds, then either drives to the rim 1 on 5 or hoists a contested jumper.

[slaw]

Maybe a little, but not a significant amount. In terms of Passes received per game, our top guys are:
Lowry, 76.9
DeMar, 55.5
Joseph, 51.0
Carroll, 30.5
Scola, 29.6
Patterson, 25.3
Jonas, 20.8
Ross, 17.0
Biyombo, 12.6

We definitely don't put certain guys in a position to succeed.

So, it's not significant to your post on percentage of passes to certain players that the aggregate amount of his touches would be doubled? Okay.

[Bandit]

You mean our 3 man weave to start the set isn't effective?

I have a 12 year old cousin who asked me if that was the warmup her team does before practice. I had to answer yes.

Then she asked why they do it before most offensive posessions. I had to tell her the team wanted to stay warm.

True story

[Barolt]

So, it's not significant to your post on percentage of passes to certain players that the aggregate amount of his touches would be doubled? Okay.

Well, that's inferring that the passes he's receiving are from Lowry, DeMar and Scola. Lowry is the player who passes to JV the most, at 8.7 passes per game. For comparison, Lowry passes to DeMar 21.7 times per game and Scola 12.3 times per game.

DeMar passes to him 4.2 times per game. For comparison, DeMar passes to Lowry 13.6 times per game, Scola 6.7 times per game, and Joseph 4.6 times per game. DeMar's best 2-man combination on the team, however, is JV.(For Lowry, Patterson, Joseph, Ross and JJ rank above JV)

[slaw]

interesting numbers.

but i need convincing that this stat is actually indicative of defensive effort / performance.

Seems unlikely given that the Warriors and Thunder are the two "slowest" defensive teams in the NBA.

And, what do you know, looks like Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights are faster than Curry on defense. Curry must be dogging it. Westbrook and Durant, too, cause Kanter, Collison and Adams are all faster.

Almost like something else might be going on here?

[Barolt]

Seems unlikely given that the Warriors and Thunder are the two "slowest" defensive teams in the NBA.

And, what do you know, looks like Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights are faster than Curry on defense. Curry must be dogging it. Westbrook and Durant, too, cause Kanter, Collison and Adams are all faster.

Almost like something else might be going on here?

It's well known that Curry can be exploited defensively. Westbrook and Durant, also aren't known as elite defenders. For comparison, Butler and Leonard are two of the fastest defensive players on their teams.

[Mess]

Avg speed on defense is pretty much useless - and comparing that speed player to player or especially D to O doesn't really tell you anything. Westbrook is fast - but being superfast and able to jumping the passing lane means nothing when the offensive player has already cut backdoor on you.

The only place where I think it has merit is comparing the same player's avg speed throughout the game, q1 to q4 etc.

[Axel]

I have a 12 year old cousin who asked me if that was the warmup her team does before practice. I had to answer yes.

Then she asked why they do it before most offensive posessions. I had to tell her the team wanted to stay warm.

True story

Lol

Ah, to be young and naive again.

[A.I]

Avg speed on defense is pretty much useless - and comparing that speed player to player or especially D to O doesn't really tell you anything. Westbrook is fast - but being superfast and able to jumping the passing lane means nothing when the offensive player has already cut backdoor on you.

The only place where I think it has merit is comparing the same player's avg speed throughout the game, q1 to q4 etc.

Disagree. If you're fast, you have the ability to catch up and contest, potentially block the shot.

[Mess]

Disagree. If you're fast, you have the ability to catch up and contest, potentially block the shot.

I know. Speed is valuable. But I wouldn't evaluate a player's defense based on speed alone.

[A.I]

I know. Speed is valuable. But I wouldn't evaluate a player's defense based on speed alone.

Well yeah, speed doesn't help when it comes to lateral quickness.

[Barolt]

Avg speed on defense is pretty much useless - and comparing that speed player to player or especially D to O doesn't really tell you anything. Westbrook is fast - but being superfast and able to jumping the passing lane means nothing when the offensive player has already cut backdoor on you.

The only place where I think it has merit is comparing the same player's avg speed throughout the game, q1 to q4 etc.

I agree that there's limited merit to it. I do feel like our starting front court isn't terribly strong defensively, though. Elite defensive backcourts tend to have 1-2 wings or guards who run a lot on defense. Parker Green and Leonard all run a fair bit, for instance. OKC Durant and Westbrook don't, but Roberson does.

[LJ2]

Maybe a little, but not a significant amount. In terms of Passes received per game, our top guys are:
Lowry, 76.9
DeMar, 55.5
Joseph, 51.0
Carroll, 30.5
Scola, 29.6
Patterson, 25.3
Jonas, 20.8
Ross, 17.0
Biyombo, 12.6

We definitely don't put certain guys in a position to succeed.

Why is this surprising though? It makes sense that your guards and wings would receive more passes thatn your bigs.

[Axel]

Why is this surprising though? It makes sense that your guards and wings would receive more passes thatn your bigs.

Patterson and Scola are bigs though. Get 5 and 9 more passes per game. JV needs to be a bigger part of the offence and at the very least be the biggest big in the offence.

[LJ2]

Patterson and Scola are bigs though. Get 5 and 9 more passes per game. JV needs to be a bigger part of the offence and at the very least be the biggest big in the offence.

Those guys play on the perimeter though and are often used as pivots. JV receives the ball as an end play normally. Definitely think JV should get more shot attempts, but not sure that is the same thing as receiving more passes.