TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[Kammrath]

So my problem with the on/off numbers is that they introduce even more noise into an already noisy stat (single player net rating).  Din has similar D rating to the rest of the starting lineup, so why are his on/off numbers worse?  Is it because he has played less percentage of his minutes with Green (who currently is the defensive on/off God on this team) than the other guys?  I struggle with a stat that is just as influenced by time when the player is not even on the court.

That being said, I do see that his defensive on/off looks to be an outlier, and if this is what you are looking at it is not misleading to show just Dinwiddie's numbers in this context.

I will say that if we are looking at those numbers above without context, Powell has a significantly higher impact on both sides of the ball than Wood, and using just that information it would be a strong argument to start Powell and give him more minutes.  I know you don't advocate for that and neither do I, but my point is that context really needs to be looked at when we look at these kind of stats.

So to me the best way to look at on/off numbers is that they can tell you how successful a player is being within the ROLE they are being asked to play on the team within its given context. I find that to be maybe the most valuable thing to know anyway.

So DP's on/off numbers tell me he is being used GREAT by this coaching staff. Not being asked to do too much or put in a position where he cannot flourish. SD's on/off numbers tell me the exact opposite. The role and way SD is being used is not working for the TEAM (even if his individual counting stats look good). 

So On/Off is not telling me DP "should start." If anything they are saying to me "keep using him like this, maybe expand his role a little, but know that an expanded role could easily change the outcomes in a way you don't like." 

I haven't liked the way Wood has been used for most of the whole year, so it doesn't surprise me his numbers are "meh." In fact, I am personally shocked they are not worse than they are as I don't think the team has been playing to his strengths for many games.