What happened to Drexler in 93 and 94 compared to 95?

Dr Positivity · Post #1 » by **Dr Positivity** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:30 pm

Drexler in 95 is pretty close to his prime statistically. 21.8 pts, 6.3, 4.8 ast, 1.8 stl, .577 TS%, .206 WS/48, 6.5 BPM. Before the trade it was 22/6/5 for the Blazers .217 WS/48 and 7.9 BPM. It's his 4th highest season in pts per 100 possessions behind 92, 88 and 89. His assists are a bit down possibly due to Adelman factor. This isn't a case like Bucks Oscar where his raw stats are way down from the years where he is the man, he is almost having the same stats altogether as a year like 1991.

In 93 and 94 not only was his scoring down but he was also inefficient at .517 TS% and .514 TS%. He falls off pretty quickly after his peak season. I doubt "MJ took his soul" type narrative is true.

Was it just injuries?

Ginoboleee · Post #2 » by **Ginoboleee** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:43 pm

MJ took his soul.
What evidence do you require?
Half-joking.

As I remember it, Portland's core had been together for a long time, and it was all winding down naturally.
And then there was a mini-revival in the exciting Houston years.

colts18 · Post #3 » by **colts18** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:44 pm

Usually the answer is injuries. He missed a lot of games in those years so that's likely the best explanation. Shaq was the same way. Down years in 2007 and 2008 before bouncing back in 2009 because he was healthy.

Post #4 » by **tsherkin** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:44 pm

He wasnt playing alongside Hakeem in 93/94, for one.

FuShengTHEGreat · Post #5 » by **FuShengTHEGreat** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:46 pm

Dr Positivity wrote:Drexler in 95 is pretty close to his prime statistically. 21.8 pts, 6.3, 4.8 ast, 1.8 stl, .577 TS%, .206 WS/48, 6.5 BPM. Before the trade it was 22/6/5 for the Blazers .217 WS/48 and 7.9 BPM. It's his 4th highest season in pts per 100 possessions behind 92, 88 and 89. His assists are a bit down possibly due to Adelman factor. This isn't a case like Bucks Oscar where his raw stats are way down from the years where he is the man, he is almost having the same stats altogether as a year like 1991.

In 93 and 94 not only was his scoring down but he was also inefficient at .517 TS% and .514 TS%. He falls off pretty quickly after his peak season. I doubt "MJ took his soul" type narrative is true.

Was it just injuries?

It helped a lot that he no longer had to be the #1 offensive anchor anymore. And his 3pt shot got a bit better compared to his earlier Blazers years.

He and that Rockets roster for a brief span offensively caught lightening in a bottle which culminated in a title.

Other than Cassell much later in his career nobody on the roster played at that level for the rest of their careers

Dr Positivity · Post #6 » by **Dr Positivity** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:48 pm

tsherkin wrote:He wasnt playing alongside Hakeem in 93/94, for one.

He was back to normal for Portland for half a season before that

It's also possible that the coaching change helped revitalize him

Cavsfansince84 · Post #7 » by **Cavsfansince84** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 8:48 pm

I think it was a combination of health, being more off ball without the pressure of being a #1 and being revitalized by getting to play with Hakeem again with a serious chance of getting a ring before he retired.

Owly · Post #8 » by **Owly** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:01 pm

He missed time both seasons. Barry Handbooks note a sore knee, strained hamstring in '93 and serious ankle sprain in '94. After '94 loss of elevation and first step also noted versus two years prior, which could be injury related. '94 also notes it as "a season of two halves, "showed in second half of season he is more effective when he is able to get to the basket several times a game" and "finished season strong, averaging 24.1 points and shooting 47.1% in 11 April games". Closer study might be required on the detail but this suggests '95 was not entirely out of nowhere.

A somewhat course study suggested '92 Olympians dropped off late in the '93 season presumably due to fatigue/wear. That group of players points+assists+rebounds ber 48 went up by an average of 2% (0.9) in time after 2000 minutes in the '92 season. In the '93 season the average NBA player (that qualified went up 2.1% (0.6) whilst the average Olympian (I think each year's sample include only players qualifying in both years) went down by 3% (1.4). It might then be argued lack of an offseason harmed him.
[edit; this after 3 years of 2 finals trips and one conference final]

Owly · Post #9 » by **Owly** » Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:23 pm

Dr Positivity wrote:
tsherkin wrote:He wasnt playing alongside Hakeem in 93/94, for one.

He was back to normal for Portland for half a season before that

This is noted both in the stats posted in OP and I think supported by WoWY suggesting the Blazers missed him badly (whereas [and I don't think Houston's injuries are controlled for] the - I think RS only - Houston WoWY is negative). I think there's little to suggest that this is him benefiting from playing with Olajuwon and given that he plays only 35 games in Houston and Olajuwon misses a chunk of those ... I'm not sure that this theory would stand up.

Cavsfansince84 wrote:I think it was a combination of health, being more off ball without the pressure of being a #1 and being revitalized by getting to play with Hakeem again with a serious chance of getting a ring before he retired.

See some of the above. His Portland usage would have been joint 3rd highest in his career (behind '92, '88, tied with '89).

prolific passer · Post #10 » by **prolific passer** » Sun Jun 26, 2022 1:05 am

83-92 Drexler was one the healthiest players in the league and a mvp candidate. 93-98? Not so much.

Im Your Father · Post #11 » by **Im Your Father** » Sun Jun 26, 2022 2:03 pm

Wasn’t 95 the shorter 3 point line as well?

LakerLegend · Post #12 » by **LakerLegend** » Sun Jun 26, 2022 6:15 pm

Im Your Father wrote:Wasn’t 95 the shorter 3 point line as well?

Yes, but overall this pretty easily explained by him getting traded to a new team playing alongside the best player in the league on a contender etc.