How Good can KAT be this year

[andyhop]

I believe he is already an above average defender with all the defensive rebounds and solid block numbers.

A guy who's dead last in DRPM among centers is an above average defender?

He gets 12.5 RPG and is dead last in DRPM. That is shocking. However, it doesn't matter the position he plays. It is the defensive rebounds he pulls down. I don't care about the DRPM, I don't care about the position. He was 7th in the league in defensive rebounds. That means he ended the opposing teams possession more than 95% of all players in the NBA.

And the team had a better defensive rebounding percentage with him off the floor than with him on, individual rebounds are like individual scoring numbers in that they tell you how many someone got but not how much difference they made getting them.

[KGdaBom]

A guy who's dead last in DRPM among centers is an above average defender?

He gets 12.5 RPG and is dead last in DRPM. That is shocking. However, it doesn't matter the position he plays. It is the defensive rebounds he pulls down. I don't care about the DRPM, I don't care about the position. He was 7th in the league in defensive rebounds. That means he ended the opposing teams possession more than 95% of all players in the NBA.

And the team had a better defensive rebounding percentage with him off the floor than with him on, individual rebounds are like individual scoring numbers in that they tell you how many someone got but not how much difference they made getting them.

Still 7th in the league out of 450 players in defensive rebounding. I did the actual math and he had more d rebounds than close to 99% of the rest of the league. I'm all for efficiency etc... but a guy who gets more D rebounds than almost 99% of the league I can't see as being bad at it.

[andyhop]

He gets 12.5 RPG and is dead last in DRPM. That is shocking. However, it doesn't matter the position he plays. It is the defensive rebounds he pulls down. I don't care about the DRPM, I don't care about the position. He was 7th in the league in defensive rebounds. That means he ended the opposing teams possession more than 95% of all players in the NBA.

And the team had a better defensive rebounding percentage with him off the floor than with him on, individual rebounds are like individual scoring numbers in that they tell you how many someone got but not how much difference they made getting them.

Still 7th in the league out of 450 players in defensive rebounding. I did the actual math and he had more d rebounds than close to 99% of the rest of the league. I'm all for efficiency etc... but a guy who gets more D rebounds than almost 99% of the league I can't see as being bad at it.

Did you not see Westbrook padding his rebounding numbers this last season for a pretty good example of why raw numbers aren't the best way of looking at this?. I think KAT is a fine rebounder but he is basically getting the rebounds that are there rather than adding massive value.

[KGdaBom]

And the team had a better defensive rebounding percentage with him off the floor than with him on, individual rebounds are like individual scoring numbers in that they tell you how many someone got but not how much difference they made getting them.

Still 7th in the league out of 450 players in defensive rebounding. I did the actual math and he had more d rebounds than close to 99% of the rest of the league. I'm all for efficiency etc... but a guy who gets more D rebounds than almost 99% of the league I can't see as being bad at it.

Did you not see Westbrook padding his rebounding numbers this last season for a pretty good example of why raw numbers aren't the best way of looking at this?. I think KAT is a fine rebounder but he is basically getting the rebounds that are there rather than adding massive value.

You are talking about rebounds that he gets that we probably would have got anyway if he wasn't in the game. Incremental is the term I now that by. I don't know all the advanced stats etc.., but once again if he gets more d rebounds than almost 99% of all players he at least has to be pretty decent at it. I know he played a lot of minutes so he should be getting a lot of rebounds. 7th most in the NBA though. That is good stuff.

[southern wolf]

Wilt Chamberlain 61-62 good.

[Zeitgeister]

His box score stats probably shouldn't change too much, maybe an uptick in assists, maybe a couple less ppg actually. He needs to have a much bigger impact though. In that I'm talking about a massive improvement defensively, he needs to set screens with a purpose, he needs to more consistently make the right passes and if he can do that he'll be a top 10 player.

[KGdaBom]

Wilt Chamberlain 61-62 good.

Stat-wise nobody can touch Wilt. 50 Pts 25 rebounds a game that year. Very close to an exact double of what KAT did last year.

[KGdaBom]

His box score stats probably shouldn't change too much, maybe an uptick in assists, maybe a couple less ppg actually. He needs to have a much bigger impact though. In that I'm talking about a massive improvement defensively, he needs to set screens with a purpose, he needs to more consistently make the right passes and if he can do that he'll be a top 10 player.

Do other top players in the game set many screens? Curry, James, Durant, Westbrook? Even PF/Cs like Davis and Cousins. I have never noticed that from any top ten player in the game.

Kevin Garnett used to set a ton of screens, but he seems to be the exception to the rule.

[Zeitgeister]

His box score stats probably shouldn't change too much, maybe an uptick in assists, maybe a couple less ppg actually. He needs to have a much bigger impact though. In that I'm talking about a massive improvement defensively, he needs to set screens with a purpose, he needs to more consistently make the right passes and if he can do that he'll be a top 10 player.

Do other top players in the game set many screens? Curry, James, Durant, Westbrook? Even PF/Cs like Davis and Cousins. I have never noticed that from any top ten player in the game.

I don't really think Cousins is a good barometer for success. Davis, I'm not really sure how well he sets screens. I'm not really sure why you're bringing up guys like Curry and Westbrook they aren't at all relevant because point guards don't have nearly as much value setting screens as a PF/C does.

I know KG and Duncan both were amazing screen setters. I know that Draymond Green is a great screen setter, even if they all get away with illegal screens too. The bottom line is screens have amazing value on offense, and are really undervalued by the casual fan but they create great opportunities for scoring.

[KGdaBom]

His box score stats probably shouldn't change too much, maybe an uptick in assists, maybe a couple less ppg actually. He needs to have a much bigger impact though. In that I'm talking about a massive improvement defensively, he needs to set screens with a purpose, he needs to more consistently make the right passes and if he can do that he'll be a top 10 player.

Do other top players in the game set many screens? Curry, James, Durant, Westbrook? Even PF/Cs like Davis and Cousins. I have never noticed that from any top ten player in the game.

I don't really think Cousins is a good barometer for success. Davis, I'm not really sure how well he sets screens. I'm not really sure why you're bringing up guys like Curry and Westbrook they aren't at all relevant because point guards don't have nearly as much value setting screens as a PF/C does.

I know KG and Duncan both were amazing screen setters. I know that Draymond Green is a great screen setter, even if they all get away with illegal screens too. The bottom line is screens have amazing value on offense, and are really undervalued by the casual fan but they create great opportunities for scoring.

I bring up all top players. Will the next screen that Westbrook sets be his first? Screens certainly have value. Any player on the court can set a screen. It comes down to a question of whether it is a good use of the players talent to be setting screens. KG came to mind and I posted an edit talking about KG before you responded. I wondered about Duncan, but honestly I didn't remember for sure about him. Setting screens might be mostly a thing of the past for superstars. There might be a few exceptions. Do we really want Towns sacrificing his body setting screens?

[Zeitgeister]

Yes, we want Towns "sacrificing" his body for screens because it has tremendous value in an offense, I think you're overselling the toll it takes on him, it takes more of a toll on the person on the receiving end. Screen setting is not a thing of the past, the pick and roll is a core play of modern offenses and the foundation of the pick and roll is the screen. Duncan was a great screen setter, one of the best. Setting screens is not a thing of the past, if you are a big it doesn't matter if you're a superstar or not, if you want to have superstar impact you need to do things other than points, rebounds, assists.

[minimus]

Do we really want Towns sacrificing his body setting screens?

Yes, I do. Even more I want all our players on the court to set good screens, back screens etc. Let's get physical here. I doubt we have a chance to beat GSW, HOU in open court. But with KAT, Dieng and Gibson we can try to beat them in half court offense.

[KGdaBom]

Yes, we want Towns "sacrificing" his body for screens because it has tremendous value in an offense, I think you're overselling the toll it takes on him, it takes more of a toll on the person on the receiving end. Screen setting is not a thing of the past, the pick and roll is a core play of modern offenses and the foundation of the pick and roll is the screen. Duncan was a great screen setter, one of the best. Setting screens is not a thing of the past, if you are a big it doesn't matter if you're a superstar or not, if you want to have superstar impact you need to do things other than points, rebounds, assists.

I wasn't saying we didn't want Towns to set screens. I was just asking the question. I don't know the answer to how much we want Towns to be a screen setter or not. I'm not an NBA coach. I don't know how much toll setting screens takes. Isn't the Pick and Roll designed with screens that seldom involve impact. It is just a way to force the D to go over or under the screen and to take advantage accordingly. Maybe there is a difference between a pick in the pick and roll and a good old fashioned hard screen.

[KGdaBom]

Do we really want Towns sacrificing his body setting screens?

Yes, I do. Even more I want all our players on the court to set good screens, back screens etc. Let's get physical here. I doubt we have a chance to beat GSW, HOU in open court. But with KAT, Dieng and Gibson we can try to beat them in half court offense.

Ok so screens are for all players. Big small star and reserve. Curry and Westbrook and Teague and Harden should all be setting screens.

[TheProdigy]

Do we really want Towns sacrificing his body setting screens?

Yes, I do. Even more I want all our players on the court to set good screens, back screens etc. Let's get physical here. I doubt we have a chance to beat GSW, HOU in open court. But with KAT, Dieng and Gibson we can try to beat them in half court offense.

Ok so screens are for all players. Big small star and reserve. Curry and Westbrook and Teague and Harden should all be setting screens.

Yes this is true but big men are usually the best at it for obvious reasons. We need KAT to start doing all of the small things that contribute to winning. Screen setting is near the top of the list.

[southern wolf]

Wilt Chamberlain 61-62 good.

Stat-wise nobody can touch Wilt. 50 Pts 25 rebounds a game that year. Very close to an exact double of what KAT did last year.

..Should have added green font. But yes, I agree.

[FinnTheHuman]

Actually, Curry screened A LOT lately and it gave amazing results.

[minimus]

Actually, Curry screened A LOT lately and it gave amazing results.

You beat me to it. Curry has been involved as a screener as much as any other backcourt player in GSW. Many back screens and smart off the ball movement. GSW not only are excellent from 3pt, they also got plenty of easy buckets thanks to excellent screens. Also, back screens have been a staple of SAS offense.

[KGdaBom]

Actually, Curry screened A LOT lately and it gave amazing results.

You beat me to it. Curry has been involved as a screener as much as any other backcourt player in GSW. Many back screens and smart off the ball movement. GSW not only are excellent from 3pt, they also got plenty of easy buckets thanks to excellent screens. Also, back screens have been a staple of SAS offense.

OK so Curry is a screener. How about Teague, Westbrook, and Harden.

[FinnTheHuman]

Actually, Curry screened A LOT lately and it gave amazing results.

You beat me to it. Curry has been involved as a screener as much as any other backcourt player in GSW. Many back screens and smart off the ball movement. GSW not only are excellent from 3pt, they also got plenty of easy buckets thanks to excellent screens. Also, back screens have been a staple of SAS offense.

OK so Curry is a screener. How about Teague, Westbrook, and Harden.

It's mostly about coach's creativity I suppose. If Curry, who is smaller and skinnier than and a bigger star than any of those guys can be "sacrifised" by screening, then all those guys can be sacrifised, they're just not.