ezzzp wrote:Knightlife wrote:MagicFan101 wrote:
Ssshhh. Let the fool keep walking off the stage! You only call for an encore performance when you enjoyed the main act!
Yeah, and actually being a ball handler also boosts one's usage rating. Players who do nothing but catch and shoot aren't supposed to have 27% usages. Since the All-star break he's literally averaging 9 shots a game on 17 minutes. He also just so happens to have a 94/108 ortg/drtg since the all-star break.
The point here isn't that J. Smith is the reason why we are losing. The point is that we have a coach who is more than happy to let a subpar player dictate so much of the offense when he's on the court just because he's a veteran.
Being a ball handler does not boost USG Rate. USG is based on ended possessions within minutes played using FGA, FTA and TOV - all contextualized within the team's numbers.
Smith averaged 14.6mpg in February. The boost to 17mpg came as a result of Vucevic's injury in the first week of March. When Smith is on the floor he is always playing with the second unit, who are all vets except for Hezonja. So I have no idea wth you are talking about with the "just because he is a vet" thing.
That second unit needs to score any way it can; it absolutely needs to take the open shot when it has it. The shot that most teams can't defend is the long 2 from a center. Those wide open looks are there because centers do not like to drift out that far from the rim. The second unit offense is just taking what the defense gives. That is not some devious conspiracy for Skiles to only help out vets.
Fair enough, I have been completely under the impression that usage rate also takes into account assists numbers; which would be intuitive.
But most of my point stands. Jason Smith is a largely limited player who only really scores in a single way- long twos. Look at his shot chart for the year: 63 FGA at the rim, 285 FGA from 16 feet out. Regardless of who else is on the floor, he has no business being allowed to shoot as often as he does. I can think of several bench players who would provide much better offense, one of whom is Hezonja. If you were to allow Hezonja to actually dictate the offense for even just 5 minutes a game, I think you would be wowed by the results not only with the team, but also in Hezonja's personal development.
But that'll never happen because he's in Skiles' dog pound simply for being a rookie.
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