02-13-2021, 10:48 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-13-2021, 11:12 AM by Jason Terry.)
(02-11-2021, 02:34 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: Case in point:Maybe the language around his rim protection should be that he’s average. Not elite or terrible. I’m not sure what numbers you’re looking at but was curious:
I don't even know where this is coming from. KP is an elite rim protector. He was 10th in the NBA in rim defense. He's 6th right now in the NBA. He had 48 games last year with 2 or more blocks. He averaged a career high 9.5rpg and the Mavs as a team ranked 4th in total rebounds last year (Though advanced stats paint the team as a whole as an above average rebounding team not elite).
He can't guard the perimeter effectively consistently which is a valid criticism.
But you see what I mean regarding the rhetoric around KP? It's either he's apart of the future, or a garbage player that should be a 6th man if we're lucky. No in between.
So, nba.com. Took the rim defense data(under 6ft). Put on a filter weeding out anyone who faces less than 6 attempts per game(that removed around 15 part time rim protectors). 23 players meet this criteria.
KP is 12th in defended FG% and differential. 52.9%. Actually tied with Ibaka but I’ll give KP the advantage since his differential is better
AD is a name i was surprised to see near the end, but the others are who you would expect. Sabonis, Jokic, Plumlee, Vuc
Top 10 are: Turner(43.8%), Allen, Theis, Lopez, Ayton, Capela, Embiid, Gobert, Valanciunas, Nurkic
Special shout out to Poeltl from the spurs, Giannis and Bam who are maybe so good that teams have stopped going at them
It’s been mentioned elsewhere, but KP’s help/weak side rim defense is what the eye test shows he’s not performing well at either. Not sure if there’s an advanced stat for that?!?!? Boxing out is part of the problem too.
Last season I totally agree with you. He looked great in most games. He totally anchored our D and did well protecting the rim. That’s what makes it so frustrating. Hopefully this is him just being careful not to do too much coming back from injury. At some point though he will need to show up with effort on that end nightly. Our season depends on it