Some stats 1/3rd of the way into the season...

[bstein14]

With 27 games played, we're officially done with the first third of the season. Here's some stats to chew on.

Defensive FG% allowed
(These are our best four)
Cade 41.7% (elite and opponents take 15.5 shots against him per game)
Sasser 42.1%
Stewart 43.1%
Ausar 43.1%

(These are our worst five)
Paul Reed 56% (Yes he's depending opposing Cs often bigger than him but this is still bad)
Font 50.6%
Beasley 49.3%
Duren 49.1%
Ivey 48.9%

Cade is also leading the team with 2.2 deflections per game while Ausar is second with 2.0. Stewart leads the team in contested shots per game even though he plays just 21.5 MPG.

Ron Holland is actually shooting better than Cade from 0-5ft, 5-9ft, 10-14ft, and 15-19ft but he' s much worse from 20+ feet away.


Best pick and roll ball handler on the team = Marcus Sasser who gets 1.19 Points per possession which puts him in the 95th percentile. Marcus Sasser also has the best assist to TO ratio on the team at 2.21 (which isn't that good). Jalen Duren has the best TS% on the team but Marcus Sasser isn't far behind as 2nd best on the team at 64.7% which is really good for a guard.

Best pick and roll screen setters are Tobias, THJ, and Stewart.

[Kalamazoo317]

A third of the way through the season, my impressions of Sasser, Holland, Ausar, and Stewart are all pointing up, whereas Ivey, Duren, Reed, and to a lesser extent Font, are pointing down.
I think Fonteccio makes sense in the role he has, but he's more replaceable than I thought and not a good candidate to grow into a starter longterm. I think Duren needs to make some big defensive strides really fast to be worth keeping. Ivey's shooting has gotten a lot better, but his streakiness and poor defense remain a concern. I'm not sure whether we should expect him to grow into the reliable secondary scorer we need. He at least looks better than last year. Reed is what is is - reliable depth. We need a warm body in the spot he holds and I don't hate his game. But I think 3rd string is where he belongs in this center rotation.

Biggest takeaway of the season so far, though, is Cade has really made strides as a defender and an outside shooter. His star is on the rise in a big way, imo. If we can get a better starting rim protector (so Stew can keep his current role where he's shining) and one more offensive creator (since most of our scorers work best off ball), I think we coudl be really decent, especially if the defensive pitbulls (Sasser, Holland, Ausar) continue to grow.

[bstein14]

According to the stats, Sasser deserves Ivey's minutes... of course there is more to consider such as upside, age, athleticism, etc but Sasser appears to be doing really well efficiently scoring the ball and taking care of it better... as well as being a solid defender.

Ivey had a decent stretch to start the season but also he has had a lot of games where he's like 5-15 with 4 TOs and 3 assists.... not exactly those numbers but similar types of poor nights.

[MortSahlfan]

According to the stats, Sasser deserves Ivey's minutes... of course there is more to consider such as upside, age, athleticism, etc but Sasser appears to be doing really well efficiently scoring the ball and taking care of it better... as well as being a solid defender.

Ivey had a decent stretch to start the season but also he has had a lot of games where he's like 5-15 with 4 TOs and 3 assists.... not exactly those numbers but similar types of poor nights.

He averages 3 turnovers and 4 assists all year long.. But with his stats, some times might bite... He tried on defense for about a week. His one skill is athleticism, but he stands around too long, while Beasley and THJ move without the ball. Beasley works well with screens to get a shot up. I just don't want to wait another year and see Ivey have numbers like Duren, going down from last year. Some people assume players just magically get better. I'd rather save money to sign proven players, and guys like Ausar, even Holland, who at least hustles all game long and scores well going to the basket... Sasser hasn't been given anything, not even consistent minutes, he goes games without playing, and in both years, he not only averages about 40% from 3, he never sulks, plays good defense, plays hard, and probably fits better with Cade, since Sasser is really a 2 in a 1's body, which is great for Cade, since he doesn't want to guard 1's but plays like one.

I don't think we can trade Duren for much, and I wouldn't mind trading him for a guy like Kessler. Not sure who we can get with Ivey, but if Cam Johnson is really available, I'd like to get him, too.

[Kalamazoo317]

I wanted to trade Ivey and Duren in the offseason. I'm rooting for them to improve while they're here but if we could get a good return, I'm not against it.

[GreekAlex]

I don’t know why Ivey gets as much hate as he does.

He had a tough year under Monty’s goofy-ness last season and came back this season much improved.

I still see room to grow.