Goran Dragic & WP48

carey · Post #1 » by **carey** » Sun Feb 9, 2014 3:27 pm

I'm not a stat-geek per se, but I enjoy looking at different ways to compare players to one another. I recently saw a post that said Goran Dragic is the best guard not-named Chris Paul and they used the WP48 statistic to make that claim.

Here's a link to information about WP48: http://www.boxscoregeeks.com/faq

WP48 stands for Wins Produced Per 48 minutes, and is a positionally-adjusted measure of a player's per-48-minutes box-score statistics. It takes into account the team's per-48-minutes box score statistics and the average performance of other players at the same position (some guesswork is always involved because power forwards sometimes play center, shooting guards sometimes play small forward, etc). A full explanation of all the math can be found here.

I tend to not put a lot of stock into any metric that involves 'guess work,' but wins produced seems to be gaining more traction in the league as a viable statistic for measuring current and future performance. It seems very similar to the WAR (wins above replacement player) stat in Baseball that has caught on in the past few years.

Anyhow, according to that site (http://www.boxscoregeeks.com/players?di ... s_produced) Paul is far and away the best PG in the league, but Dragic is second ahead of the likes of Curry, Lowry, D-Will, Rubio, etc.

How much weight do you give the statistic? For instance it has Kendall Marshall as the 8th best PG and there are about 28 other PGs I'd take before him.

Sunsdeuce · Post #2 » by **Sunsdeuce** » Sun Feb 9, 2014 5:36 pm

Ya sometimes stats just get silly with the things people come up with. Dragic is kicking butt and you don't need stats to tell you that.

carey · Post #3 » by **carey** » Sun Feb 9, 2014 5:46 pm

More awesome Goran stats.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DaveKingNBA/status/432558853440278529[/tweet]

LukasBMW · Post #4 » by **LukasBMW** » Sun Feb 9, 2014 6:31 pm

He's playing at a level we have not seen since Steve Nash. His presence in the game is immediately noticeable. He makes great decisions when the ball is in his hands. His shots are almost automatic.

He's not quite the play-maker Nash was, but he may be better at getting to the rim and finishing.

Ring_Wanted · Post #5 » by **Ring_Wanted** » Sun Feb 9, 2014 7:10 pm

It's totally Nash-like. It's come to a point that you just don't expect a miss no matter what kind of shot.

schnakenpopanz · Post #6 » by **schnakenpopanz** » Sun Feb 9, 2014 11:34 pm

i think nash was more spectacular. dragic is 80% on offense what nash was in his peak. defensivley however he is better than nash. nash was a master in creating and shooting. dragic is better in driving to the rim.

Post #7 » by **lilfishi22** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:37 am

Nash was definitely flashier with his passing and a craftier creator with the ball. He was also a lights out shooter when he would shoot. Dragic's style is safer and a little more reliant on his athleticism. Defensively, there's no comparison.

Ring_Wanted · Post #8 » by **Ring_Wanted** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:19 am

Goran's defense hasn't been good. It's not at Steve's level but it's leaving something to be desired. One screen and Dragic can't recover most of times, and one on one he just can't keep up with quick guards.

This is one of the biggest reasons as to why I am so sold on keeping Bledsoe. That's it, assuming he is healthy and actually commited to play defense, which remains to be seen.

Post #9 » by **lilfishi22** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:38 am

For most guards, all it takes is one solid screen to take them out of the defensive play altogether. One on one, he does an admirable job. He has the length and quickness to keep up most of the time but he does get pushed off fairly easily on drives.

On the other hand, I haven't been all that impressed by Bledsoe's defense. Perhaps it was the hype he came in with but while he does play fine defense, I certainly expected more.

DirtyDez · Post #10 » by **DirtyDez** » Mon Feb 10, 2014 6:52 am

lilfishi22 wrote:For most guards, all it takes is one solid screen to take them out of the defensive play altogether. One on one, he does an admirable job. He has the length and quickness to keep up most of the time but he does get pushed off fairly easily on drives.

On the other hand, I haven't been all that impressed by Bledsoe's defense. Perhaps it was the hype he came in with but while he does play fine defense, I certainly expected more.

Bledsoe can lock it up when he wants to but he's been trying to prove himself offensively for the contract IMO. Now that Dragic is raising him game to unthinkable levels i hope EB commits to Avery Bradley-esque tenaciousness on defense because we need it.

streetballdude · Post #11 » by **streetballdude** » Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:39 pm

In other news, they finally upgraded Dragic's player rating in 2K. From 78 to 82

SDC · Post #12 » by **SDC** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:08 am

streetballdude wrote:In other news, they finally upgraded Dragic's player rating in 2K. From 78 to 82

still too low, right? what's the updated stats on nba 2k14 for goran?

Revived · Post #13 » by **Revived** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:47 am

streetballdude wrote:In other news, they finally upgraded Dragic's player rating in 2K. From 78 to 82

That's still pretty bad..he should be at a 88 or so.

streetballdude · Post #14 » by **streetballdude** » Tue Feb 18, 2014 3:29 am

He could be higher, but it was about time they brought him at least in the 80s range.

SDC wrote:what's the updated stats on nba 2k14 for goran?

I believe it's mostly his three point shot stat that they improved (B+ to A I think).

toucansma · Post #15 » by **toucansma** » Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:54 am

The more and more I watch Goran, the more impressed I am with how he has evolved since his rookie year. His trajectory is a lot like his idol, Nash. One thing that especially stands out, is he shooting. Goran will never have the pure shot Nash does, but man he has sure improved. His confidence, release, etc. are all greatly improved. He really must work on his game to identify his weaknesses.