(12-23-2021, 01:19 PM)Kammrath Wrote: But those samples have nothing to do with the current defensive schemes or the current health/conditioning of Luka.
JB is a much better defender than Luka in Kidd's scheme. Luka has been terrible in it as has THJ, but especially together. THJ and Luka can both play one on one D, but they are terrible at rotations and help D. Kidd's scheme asks for more of that than RC's (and I think RC purposefully kept the D scheme less aggressive for THIS very reason).
JB doesn't have the physical tools but his BBDIQ (within a scheme) is much better than both Luka and THJ.
First of all, you are moving the goalposts. The original point that you are supporting with your data was not about how these guys fit specifically in Kidd vs Rick defense. It was about how Luka and THJ are objectively bad at defense and Brunson is good.
Second, what you are saying may be true and fit the eye test, I just don't think your small sample 2 man lineup data is particularly strong evidence. There is way too much noise.
Third, the best advanced metrics available to us don't really agree with your premise. They have Brunson being just as bad as previous years (actually a little worse). I'm not suggesting that refutes your premise. Even though I think its much better than simple 2 man on/off numbers, defense is very tricky to capture and needs a really big sample. I feel much more confident in saying that Luka, THJ and Brunson are not good defenders in general, and I am skeptical that scheme is going to make any of them even average.