Odinn21 wrote:LukaTheGOAT wrote:I think this patreon post by Ben might be for you regarding KG https://backpicks.com/2021/04/20/kevin-garnett-and-the-slow-gish-gallop/
As Ben always does with Garnett, he sidesteps some of the issues and talk from a different angle.
For example he argues against Garnett being more dependant on his environment compared to all-time top 15 level players. And it's true that Garnett was more limited than those players. Garnett's combination of creating his own shot, going through contacts and putting his matchup foul trouble, drawing doubles was definitely weaker than the other players in the top 15.
He sidesteps talking about the issue by looking at on/off numbers without acknowledging it's about roster and lineup construction.
The team with Kevin Garnett on their roster reached '02-'03 Duncan level high value shot distribution when Garnett's team also had Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. For someone who always sees Duncan's case downgraded with Popovich's, Ginobili's and Parker's presence, it's just bizarre to me that Taylor never does this with Garnett and interpolates stuff from Garnett's time in Boston.
Taylor mentions Garnett's layup assist percentages compared to league average, and highlights impact of the seasons with Flip Saunders. If we look at the RealGM post he's responding to, that change in assist distribution did not mean much considering the Wolves were still at the bottom of the league in terms of high value shots. Maybe we should look for shooting distribution, among players and spots on the floor.
Taylor's entire post is about disproving the claim, so I'm not hard on what he's saying. His point says "it's not directly related, and we should look for more". However, when he wants to prove otherwise, he's just doing what O_6 did in his post. Assumptions.
In the latest parts, he compares Garnett's performance to Duncan's performance and as it's about disproving, also irony is obvious. But I truly get annoyed by how he still refuse to acknowledge any of the health issues Duncan and the Spurs had to play through in Duncan's peak seasons. With Garnett, he's all like "look, it's all context dependant and the team around him sucked", then proceeds to do the exact opposite with Duncan to make it an argument. It's just annoying.
I'm very curious how hard Taylor'd whine about Troy Hudson going down instead of going hot in 2003 playoffs and the Lakers could afford to triple Garnett like 70% of the time.
Gotcha. Just wanted to hear your thoughts.