Should the NBA add a Defensive attention stat to box scores?
Posted: Tue Mar 6, 2012 4:45 pm
For example, if LaMarcus Aldridge gets double-teamed and Raymond Felton is left open, Aldridge passes out and Felton misses the three, the scorekeepers could give a +1 defensive attention to Aldridge and -1 to Felton. This would be hard to count and fully notice, but it sometimes seems like shot creators are sometimes praised less than they should be and players who can't shoot are praised too much. Another example would be when teams send three guys to defend the PnR because Nash is running it or because Dirk is popping out for a jumper, Nash and Dirk could get positive defensive attention stats. I think offball scorers and big men are regarded not as highly as they should be because "they don't make their teammates better" because of lack of assist numbers, but their presence and potential scoring is what allows other teammates to get open and therefore many do make their teammates better. It could also show what players truly need help instead of fans simply being able to say that their star is constantly double-teamed when he might not be.