The OG is a really great defender (and player) thread

[OakleyDokely]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

[NinjaBro]

Yep, we need to keep OG at all costs. He's amazing.

[Dexjackson]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

That's unreal. The 1-10 on Ant stands out because Ant is not an easy player to guard. OG is both a smart and athletic defender. It always stands out to me how athletic he looks on defense vs. how clumsy he looks when handling the ball. I hope this 0.5 offence unlocks OG's offense a bit more. Last year watching him iso was painful.

[Blazing_royale]

He did well for me on my Fantasy team tonight

[djsunyc]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

great website stats - thanks for sharing.

[OakleyDokely]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

great website stats - thanks for sharing.

The stats aren't always 100% because whose guarding who can be subjective at times with all the switching and doubling but they do typically match the eye test quite well.

[Johnny Bball]

Barnes is going to get recognized more because he's going to put up far better block numbers playing this way, where they use him to defend inside more than on the perimter. Another great change, but still. Keep this thread going and maybe people start to recognize OG more.

[djsunyc]

scottie had a great defensive game too

kat: 2-9
edwards: 2-3 (2-2 from 3)
kyle: 0-1
naz: 1-2

total: 5-15 (33.3%)

[B3auu]

Scottie is suspect defensively, his height saves him most of the time, I love the blocks though, needs to pay attention more to shooters, sometimes he takes his foot off the gas and lets them fire.

[Badonkadonk]

I think it's weird comparing a defender like OG with guys like JJJ, just different categories and they go about defending differently.

OG is strong, versatile, excellent in 1:1 and in any scheme and has a track record of ruining elite scorer's nights.

JJJ and other 5s serve as rim deterrents, excel in drop, can switch well enough to at least threaten perimeter.

You can't deny the impact of great rim deterring post presence on opposing offences, but overall I think nobody impacts the game quite like OG does. He just blows up the very best the NBA has to offer, and since this is a "superstar league" (that comes with superstar calls), this is a huge weapon.

Comfortably top 3 for DPOY as long as he's playing at this level imo.

[TNRaps4life]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

great website stats - thanks for sharing.

The stats aren't always 100% because whose guarding who can be subjective at times with all the switching and doubling but they do typically match the eye test quite well.

What about Scottie's?

[lobosloboslobos]

Awesome post OP! I was thinking of doing the exact same thing. We need to keep this thread going all year and track OG's insane night to night defensive accomplishments so we can regularly hype him up in the GB and elsewhere. This is the year he needs to be DPOY. Too bad we can't include the last pre-season game in which Poole went 1-15 against him after he put up 41 the previous game lol. But there will be a great many more of these to come from OG so no worries...

[Duffman100]

Best defender in franchise history (while he played here, obviously Hakeem / Kawhi / Gasol etc).

OG is a beast.

[Fairview4Life]

This type of play affords him 5 dribbles into the paint and turnovers per game with no complaints from me.

[djsunyc]

This type of play affords him 5 dribbles into the paint and turnovers per game with no complaints from me.

he must maintain a 3 stocks to 1 bambi fall ratio.

[JB7]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

After watching last nights game, I think OG has passed Pascal as the teams best player. Especially in the new system Darko is running on offence. When OG was asked to hit a shot, he did it. And as you have shown, his D is unreal.

Without Pascal being allowed to dominate the ball, he just will not be able to put up the stats to justify that next big contract. Also, you could see Darko was trying to separate his minutes on the floor with Scottie.

More than ever, I really think Pascal needs to be moved to get the most out of OG and Barnes' games, and to see more of Precious on the floor as well.

[Fairview4Life]

This is how Wolves players shot while being defended by OG:

Edwards: 1-10
Towns: 0-3
Gobert: 1-3
Anderson: 1-2
Walker: 0-1

Total: 3-19 (15.8%)

https://www.nba.com/game/min-vs-tor-0022300069/box-score?dir=D&sort=matchupFieldGoalsMade&type=matchups

He also provided 3 blocks and 2 steals....and despite this domination he still put up 20 pts on 7-13 from the field and 4/9 from 3.

He's been doing this consistently over the last few years. There isn't anybody in the league who can go from locking down one of the top offensive players in the league like Edwards while also being able to guard legit Cs like Gobert and Towns. He's a unicorn.

After watching last nights game, I think OG has passed Pascal as the teams best player. Especially in the new system Darko is running on offence. When OG was asked to hit a shot, he did it. And as you have shown, his D is unreal.

Without Pascal being allowed to dominate the ball, he just will not be able to put up the stats to justify that next big contract. Also, you could see Darko was trying to separate his minutes on the floor with Scottie.

More than ever, I really think Pascal needs to be moved to get the most out of OG and Barnes' games, and to see more of Precious on the floor as well.

OG needs to learn how to dribble at an NBA level to get the most out of his game. Pascal dominates the ball because OG needs to work on his individual skills before he will be trusted to do that.

[Los_29]

OG is a monster.

[OakleyDokely]

great website stats - thanks for sharing.

The stats aren't always 100% because whose guarding who can be subjective at times with all the switching and doubling but they do typically match the eye test quite well.

What about Scottie's?

djsunyc posted them above, he was good as well.

Pretty much a great defensive effort overall.

[lobosloboslobos]

I think in assessing OG's defensive impact via these very useful stats it is also key to include all the possessions in which he prevents the other guy from getting a shot up, in addition to all the ones where he forces a poor shot that misses. That skill - of simply shutting guys down so that they don't even take shots - is something that makes OG's defense truly on another level, and last year he did it to Durant, Luka, Mitchell and others in a big big way. Those guys all had way fewer FGA against the Raps (aka OG) than against any other team, in addition to missing most of the shots they did take.

There's two ways to measure this. One is whether a guy puts up less FGA per game – or more precisely per possession – when guarded by OG. Last night Ant put up 10 FGA in 36 possessions guarded by OG. We don't know yet how that will compare to oether games this season for Ant but when guys have played a few games this will be a really clear way to measure OG's impact.

The other way, that i wanted to highlight even though it doesn't make most lists of stats, is the guys who never take any shots against him at all. So last night OG guarded Conley, Milton and Reid for 17 possessions and none of them attempted a shot or recorded an assist when guarded by OG.

Just another way of documenting OG's extreme clamp-ness.