Post#918 » by Buttah304 » Fri Jan 14, 2022 2:35 pm
Just wanna mention something about DeAaron Fox because it’s becoming clear that he’s a polarizing player. I think a lot of that stems from the fact that he simply hasn’t been a winner in this league and when he’s putting up 24-6-4 you don’t really know if he’s actually making a legitimate on-court impact. Then again Sacramento has always been a dumpster fire so it becomes even more difficult to truly evaluate a player without bias.
By no means am I advocating going after him, it’s just when we think of who might be attainable he checks a lot of the boxes. 24 years old. Got his big contract. Player behind him in Halliburton is starting to get a bigger role/being handed the keys (ALA Cavs going with Garland over the failed Sexton experiment).
Having said that, whenever people talk about Fox they immediately point to the fact that he’s not really efficient (personally I get on him ALL the damn time about this). But just for the sake of a conversation I wanna break down his numbers a little more and find out WHY he’s not as efficient as he can or should be.
Fox this year is in the top 14 of all players when it comes to attempts from 5-9 feet. Within that group he’s the 2nd most efficient guard behind Morant as Fox is shooting 44.4%. When you look at 10-14 feet (closer to the mid range category) he’s Top 12, but from a guard standpoint he’s the 4th most efficient at 43% behind Murray, Booker and DeRozan. Even as you move to 15-19 feet, he’s Top 16 shooting 46%, which would make him the 5th most efficient guard. Take into account that league average is right around 38% for the mid range shot, Fox is legitimately excellent in that category.
Everyone talks about how the biggest difference in Randle from last year to this season was his bread and butter jumper. Last year Randle took 412 mid range shots and shot 41.5% FG. Fox has already taken 136 and he’s shooting 45%.
Now lets switch to a zone category, for example the restricted area. Fox was in the top 23 in attempts and shot 68.9% FG. Keep in mind the difference from Fox to LaVine who was #1 in RA attempts was only .9 as most of these players took 6-7 shots in this area. Having said that, statistically speaking Fox was the most efficient guard in the NBA scoring in the restricted area last year. You might be surprised to see how a lot of other premiere guards were in the high 50s and low 60s.
So where does it ALL go wrong for Fox.
He is a DREADFUL long range shooter. I mean it’s just ugly and this truly impacts his TS% in a bad way. This season from 20-24 feet (60 attempts) he’s shooting 30.5% and from 25-29 feet he’s at 26% (100 attempts).
Again, this isn't about trade for him at all costs or to stay away, it’s just that when people throw out generalizations about him being inefficient they aren’t telling the whole story. Absolutely lethal as a finisher. Excellent mid range shooter in multiple areas on the floor but a horrific long range player.
Even if the Knicks could obtain him because after all he is only 24 and most likely wants out, knowing what I broke down (how and where he scores) can he even be effective on this team if you didn’t have to give up RJ? For example - if the assets given up were closer to Obi + 2 Unprotected 1sts. Or the more likely deal, Obi and IQ + 2 Firsts to pair him with RJ can it even work.
Long winded but I figured it’s worth a read if you like analytics.
