Blazers positional analysis

[Village Idiot]

http://www.82games.com/BYPOSIT.HTM

82games has an excellent summary of each team's positional statistics. Each position is then ranked in relation to the rest of the league.

It pretty much summarizes what we already know. SG and PF are strong, C is mediocre, SF is sub-par and PG is lacking.

PG-29 (2nd worst!)
SG-5 Brandon Roy is a stud!
SF-23, I thought we'd be a little better
PF-10, Outstanding showing from Aldridge and Outlaw
C-16, Joel and Channing are in the middle of the pack. Just wait til next year.

[BlackMamba]

nice find.

i think that of course oden is the key to many factors for the blazers, but i think that another important thing will be to settle the pg rotation.

[Wizenheimer]

those rankings you listed are on a per basis. Looking closer at the numbers is a bit more revealing as well.

Portland's SG position ranks 1st in the league in assists and 2nd in free throw attempts. It's certainly a tribute to Roy's ability, although I'd say Jack would get some credit for those rankings as well. Of course, it's certainly Jack that's primarily responsible for the 26th ranking in turnovers.

We know PG is one of portland's weaknesses, and those numbers do verify it as you said. 28th in points, 27th in rebounds, and 24th in FTA. Ouch. PG doesn't rank in the top half of any category for portland. That's the only position where that happens. All other positions rank in the top half in at least 2 categories.

At C, portland ranks 6th in rebounding. Joel and Channing deserve some credit for that.

The SF position is interesting. The blazers rank 4th in both FG% and 4th in turnovers. On the other hand, portland's SF's rank 27th in rebounding and 28th in assists. Those are the 2 major problem areas at SF for portland.

If you go to the team production page:

http://www.82games.com/0708/0708POR5.HTM

there are some numbers on defense, and net production versus opponents by position. Those are very interesting numbers.

Again, those numbers show that portland is very strong at SG. The net per at SG for portland is +3.8. The other position where portland has an advantage is PF with a +1.7 per.

Once again though, PG is a glaring weakness with a -4.6 per.

To me, one of the most revealing stats there is iFG%. That represents the percentage of shots taken from inside/close to the hoop. Portland has a negative net there at every position although SG and C or only -1.0.

However, both forward postions are terrible in that ranking. Portland's SF's only take 15% of their shots inside compared to their opponents SF's at 31%. And blazer PF's take 24% of shots inside while their counterparts take 40%. Obviously, PF is skewed a bit because of travis outlaw's game and to a lesser extent Frye's game. And lately LMA has been making a concerted effort to rectify that.

Still, it would appear a glaring weakness at PF/SF for the blazers is from where on the floor they take shots.

[Jsun947]

I don't really care where we are shooting from as long as they are wide open, easy shots and we're making them. A lot of those misses are going to be monster put backs next year : )

We don't really have the "inside" presence this year. Joel is the kind of player the other team sags off of because they don't really "need" to gaurd him. That will all change soon.

[Wizenheimer]

I don't really care where we are shooting from as long as they are wide open, easy shots and we're making them. A lot of those misses are going to be monster put backs next year : )

We don't really have the "inside" presence this year. Joel is the kind of player the other team sags off of because they don't really "need" to gaurd him. That will all change soon.

No doubt that Oden will change the dynamic. The simple maturation of players like LMA, Brandon, and Travis will improve that iFG% as well.

And if portland simply attempts to increase their tempo and gain a few more transition baskets, that iFG% will naturally increase. And having both Oden and Pryzbilla for likely 48 minutes a game, with their shot blocking and shot intimidation, besides their rebounding, should improve the blazer's transition opportunities.

In half-court sets, Oden's presence will also mean that double-teaming Roy or Aldridge becomes a much more risky strategy for opponents to employ. That should result in more open shots besides a higher iFG%. It won't happen immediately, and in fact we may be building too high of expectations for next season, or at least for the first half of it.