JWizmentality wrote:Empty stats on a bad team. Slow, not athletic, crappy defense. He's the Euro Andray Blatche. Follow the OKC model and build through the DRAFT!!! At this point I'm starting to regret ever getting the 3rd pick, what's the sense when you have to go through the stress of watching an idiot give it away.
He's the opposite of Blatche. He's hard nosed and always plays all out. He's limited athletically, but he is very productive because he's a lights out shooter (#2 in 3pt% last year, #4 this year), he plays very hard and plays smart (almost never turns it over, knows where he needs to be on D), and he has excellent length (his standing reach is 9-1.5, Nene 9-1, Okafor 9-2.5).
Think about those percentages from 3. In 2011-12, only Novak had a higher percentage. This past season, only Calderon, Korver, and Curry had a higher percentage. His combined percentage the last two years is .448. Stephan Curry currently has the 2nd highest career 3pt% at .446. Kerr is the leader at .454. Third place goes to Hubert Davis at .441. In other words, Ersan has been drilling threes at an absurd rate for two full seasons. It is even more impressive because big men rarely populate the top 10 in 3pt%. In both 2011-12 and 2012-13, Ers was the only big in the top 10.
He's a very solid rebounder because he plays very hard and he has that great length. His total rebounding percentage this past season was 13.9%. For the sake of comparison, Nene's was 13.6%. He's a player that is productive due to his length, his shooting ability, his high basketball IQ, and his all around scrapitude. Ersan does not back down from anyone. He can also murder teams with his jumper.
He definitely is not a crappy defender. I'd say he's average. He's solid as a one on one post defender against PFs. He works very hard, he bangs, and he has those crazy long arms to contest. Teams certainly aren't going to consistently abuse him in the post. He's not big enough to deal with centers with an offensive game, but he can easily defend all the centers currently in the league that have no post game and keep them off the boards. He's exceptional at taking a charge (actually the best big in the league last year). But, as mentioned above, he's not some softy. He takes charges because it is smart, but he's very scrappy overall defensively and on the glass. He's not a big shot blocking threat because he has like a 28 inch vert. As a help defender, he relies on his smarts, hustle, and his length.
He was terrible to start the year last season. The first month was abysmal. He admitted in an article that he felt pressure after signing his new contract. Skiles benched him after 11 games. He blew up after that.
As a bench player:
Note that he was only playing 23 MPG but was still putting up 10-6 with an insane 49% 3pt%. It is kinda, sorta awesome to run a pick and roll with a PF that can shoot like that. Unfortunately, our PGs suck, but you guys have Wall.
The first thing Boylan did after braindead POS Skiles was fired was insert Ersan back in the starting lineup. After that, this is what he posted:
He may be a "role player", but he will be Wall's best friend if he is actually traded to Washington. His shooting in the pick and roll game has a massive impact on how teams defend. He also plays very hard defensively and works his ass of on the boards. Despite not being much of an athlete, he also creates a fair amount of TOs via steals, blocks, and charges.
Beyond the handful of elite PFs, Ersan could easily be the best possible fit with Wall. His ability to drill open threes and long range twos in the P&R game (while basically never turning it over) opens up all kinds of things in the pick and roll game. If the ball is passed to him in the P&R and a shot or move isn't there due to good D, he would generally immediately pass the ball back to the PG and set another pick going the other way. In other words, he knows exactly how to utilize the P&R game.
According to Synergy, Ersan averaged 1.04 PPP as the P&R man. That is elite. Garnett is a great P&R man, and he averaged .98 PPP last year. Duncan, .93. Aldridge, .95. For the sake of comparison, as a team you averaged .84 PPP in P&R situations (28th in the NBA). You averaged .88 PPP overall as a team in all situations. The ability Ersan has to drill shots is huge. Having a 4 man who is a top 5 three point shooter who also knows how to run the pick and roll game is gigantic. Beyond just Wall and Ersan, in the P&R game the D will need to try to balance stopping Wall while leaving Ersan open. If they use help defenders to shade Ersan, he's smart enough to quickly make a pass to the man who is now open due to an overplay defensively.
Having a guy like Ersan would open up all kinds of things offensively. If the lineup was Wall/Beal/Webster/Ersan/Nene you'd have very good to great shooters at the 2, 3, and 4, which would open up all kinds of options for Wall. Even Nene can stick a J.
Beal shot .386 from three (despite starting out very poorly, 27% in his first 26 games, 48% in his last 30). Webster, .422. Ersan, .444. Good luck containing Wall with those guys spacing the floor. And, as mentioned, Ersan is a great pick and roll player.
Honestly, Wall and Ersan would be exceptional together. The entire Wiz offense would take a major step forward with a PF like Ersan.
Anyone else alarmed by this? This could not be true that the Wizards "really like their front court as is" Okafor expiring and no competent depth? Makes me wonder if this reference is shifting-back to the Bucks liking their front court.
