Synergy's Center Post-D Rankings

[countrybama24]

Pretty interesting.

I can't get over how high Okur is ranked. My guess is his post-D might not be terrible, but his weak-side defense is. And I just remember the shockingly terrible rotations / defense on slashing guards, and forget about the rest of his D (I do remember he did a bang up job on Yao when we kept hitting them in the playoffs, those were the days).

He also gives up a ton of free throws (no shocker), but forces a bunch of turnovers. It also could be the fact that we double the center more often, idk how that is calculated though.

[Xanthis]

Okur is actually a decent defender in the post. His help defense is awful and what is exposed more than his 1 on 1 defense.

[Racer X]

Anyone who says that Memo's post defense isnt good isnt watching the games. The only thing he cant do is protect the rim and help out our guards when they get beat.

[Matt007b]

maybe i'm blind but...boozer is not even on that list? lol.. *sigh*

[red4hf]

Boozer doesn't play C, that's why he's not on the list.......

I've always said it, Okur is an underrated post defender......

People complain that he's not a good help defender, and he's not, but that as much the fault of our guards who allow penetration way to easily, as anything else.......

[Matt007b]

ah that's why he's not on the list - my bad!

[BarneyGumble]

Okur is actually a decent defender in the post. His help defense is awful and what is exposed more than his 1 on 1 defense.

Especially because he was also relied on to help Boozer's man, who inevitably burned by Boozer time after time without much surprise from anyone....

[QuantumMacgyver]

ah that's why he's not on the list - my bad!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

[sirslimjim]

I hate to be THAT GUY but is anyone else worried about Jefferson's ranking on that list?

[d-will8]

I hate to be THAT GUY but is anyone else worried about Jefferson's ranking on that list?

Not particularly. Obviously Jefferson's defense is a cause for some concern. That being said, he's not going to be playing exclusively at the center spot. Also, the fact that excellent defenders like Okafor, Bogut and Hayes are ranked as low as they are (right around where Jefferson is) leads me to believe that this list is, to put it nicely, less than perfect. That's not to say that Jefferson is necessarily on those guys' level as a defender, but it's also not to say that his ranking on this list necessarily makes him a piss poor post defender.

[schneiderjazz]

I hate to be THAT GUY but is anyone else worried about Jefferson's ranking on that list?

Varejão, Bogut and Chuck Hayes are considered great defenders and they are right there with Jefferson. I wouldn't be too worried. Jefferson at least can block some shots. And he can't be much worse than Boozer. Can he?

[GP]

Do you guys have more info on Synergy sports? I honestly, have never heard of them, but I am out of the loop when it comes to stat interpretation. I severely doubt though, that Okur's post defense is nearly on par with Dwight and that he is better in the post than Duncan, but maybe I need re-watch last season. Okur's agent should bring this in to the jazz FO, so that the jazz can lock this guy up for at least another 8-9 seasons.

[Ziploc]

I can't see Okur playing anything near 8-9 more seasons.

[loserX]

I'd need to learn more about the rankings. Because anything that says that Andrea Bargnani is a better defensive centre than anyone, let alone a guy like Brendan Haywood or Joakim Noah or Andrew Bogut, seems pretty questionable.

[red4hf]

Well, the rankings are based on the "PPP" number..... I'm guessing that stands for "points per possession".... You'd have to see the methodology they used to arrive at that number, before you can determine whether their rankings actually mean anything or not......

[Purch]

Do you guys have more info on Synergy sports? I honestly, have never heard of them, but I am out of the loop when it comes to stat interpretation. I severely doubt though, that Okur's post defense is nearly on par with Dwight and that he is better in the post than Duncan, but maybe I need re-watch last season. Okur's agent should bring this in to the jazz FO, so that the jazz can lock this guy up for at least another 8-9 seasons.

Synergy has every play of the Nba season on their website. But it's not free.
'
For instance if you search for AL Jefferson post up's it'll show you nearly all his post possesions for the season

[countrybama24]

It will also tell you that Jefferson hasn't missed a shot where he got the ball while moving since february.

Although those opportunities are rare in Minnesota's system.

[Purch]

It will also tell you that Jefferson hasn't missed a shot where he got the ball while moving since february.

Although those opportunities are rare in Minnesota's system.

He hasen't missed a shot rolling to the basket since January 4th of a pick and roll

[countrybama24]

Good call. I was too lazy to remember / find wherever I read that at. Still bad ass.

[erudite23]

Okur has always been very solid defensively in one-on-one situations. He's strong and long. He's just not laterally mobile. Very few centers have the handle or quicks to go by him. Combine this with the habit that the Jazz have of heavily doubling down on post touches and its easy to see how this would jive with what we see. As has already been mentioned, Okur's issues have far more to do with helping against penetration than as a defender against other big men in the post. As with any type of defense-measurement tool, this is flawed. Defense is far more of a team-based thing than offense is. Its defies any type of individual measurement that can help in measuring small differences between players.