shutupandjam wrote:ronnymac2 wrote:shutupandjam wrote:1. I think Garnett's low post game is underrated. In his prime at least, he was elite from the low post, with an excellent repertoire of moves, and he was very good at passing out of the post as well.
I don't remember it that way. He had his turnaround J and a one-handed push shot that looked awesome because of his verticality on the shot combined with his length. Other than that, he didn't get good position in the post consistently and didn't get to the free throw line. He was good in the low post, but I wouldn't say elite.
Consider this: according to synergy, Garnett was top 2 in points per possession from post-ups (among guys who had 250 post up possessions) every year from 2005 (the first year with synergy data) to 2008. Cut the minimum possessions to 100 and he's still top 5 from 2005-2007 and #7 in 2008.
Interesting data, I wouldn't have expected that. Questions:
1. Does that mean points scored by the team per possession when KG is involved in a post-up, or just KG's scoring per possession on a post-up?
2. Does it differentiate between face-up moves on the block vs. back-to-the-basket post-ups?
That said, I do believe KG's offense is superior to Robinson's.
I admire Robinson's offense and the points he scored, and I think he's an underrated passer. In 1994, SAS let Rodman control the offensive glass and had Robinson play the role of high post passer, somewhat similar to the role KG played in Minny during much of his prime, and the Admiral dished 4.8 assists per game on a +4.1 offense (4th in the league). He also averaged 29.8 points. Pretty crazy.
Then from 1998-2003, Duncan and Robinson were a devastating ho-low combination thanks to each player having fantastic passing skills.
However, there are some major problems with Robinson's game that don't translate well in the playoffs. He doesn't have KG's range and ball-handling, and he doesn't have a low post, back-to-the-basket game like the dominant offensive bigs. And despite the 4.8 assists per game one season, he doesn't have the vision and super-creative passing of Bill Walton. What effect is he having on his team's offense without his own individual production? How many opportunities can you create without effective handles? Robinson has good handles as far as his own individual quick attack towards the basket, but when he uses those, can he make plays for others?
I see Robinson's offense as essentially being a Chris Bosh with better offensive rebounding, being more physically capable of taking advantage of really weak/small primary defenders in the post, better in transition, and being slightly quicker/off the dribble. Bosh has more range (KG-range). In the playoffs, no team is going to defend him with a physically weak defender, and transition opportunities can be strategically dismantled. He's also not a dominant offensive rebounder at his peak, certainly no Shaq/Dwight. And that off-the-dribble stuff can be flummoxed by a physical defender who can hold off Robinson's explosion to the hoop until help comes (See '94 vs. Malone). Once the help comes, and Robinson is still using his dribble, his reads aren't particularly good. Certainly not Duncan/O'Neal/KG/Dirk when they were on the move and saw help coming.
If you put Robinson in a secondary role, he'll do better, no doubt. Still, in comparison to KG, that doesn't help him, because KG has a better J with more range on it, and KG has superior ball-handling. Heck, I've never been particularly impressed by KG in the post, but it's still a tool he can use even against long defenders. I just don't see that type of game in Robinson. Only advantage I see for Robinson over KG is a secondary role in offensive rebounding, and again, Robinson wasn't all-time elite here.
Defensively, it's a pick'em to me. Offensively, KG gets the edge.
), but I think the answer may be as simple as that - some people just don't care how good a player was as a teammate, or they don't feel comfortable evaluating that as they don't know what was going on behind the scenes and in locker rooms.
