The best rim protectors in the league

[Duke4life831]

Not going to lie haven't really watched that many Nets games. Has Brook Lopez really taken the next step and become a legit rim protector? If so wow, a playoff team needs to make a trade for him quick. He would be a beast in the playoffs.

Also on a side note, want to point out again that Okafor has already become an above average rim protector something many thought he could never become. Average FG% and above average shot blocking.

[Warriorfan]

Since many teams only play one big. IMO FG % matters to me the most.

[inquisitive]

just noticed B.Lopez.....interesting

no surprise with capela.

[NinjaBro]

Lucas Noguiera killing it! We knew it!

[GlenRiceARoni]

Lopez problem has never been protecting the rim its guarding 3 pointers and making rotations. He compromises your defense because he's an oaf.

The Nets are one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Brook has been a beast offensively though and he's a large reason the Nets aren't nearly as bad as expected

Sent from my SM-N920V using RealGM mobile app

[boomershadow]

This job actually cements Kevin Love as being a terrible rim protector.

No it cements him not being a shot blocker but above average in terms of opposing teams shooting % around the rim. Just because you dont block a ton of shots doesnt mean you are not a good rim protector and force tough shots/alter them. Just because you dont get a lot of interceptions doest mean you are a bad cornerback.

If you're looking it at from that perspective, he falls right around the middle. He's nothing more than mediocre at best. The only thing that's evident is your fan eye goggles.

I'm no Kevin Love fan, but "average" and "terrible" do not mean the same thing.

[Promezclan]

No it cements him not being a shot blocker but above average in terms of opposing teams shooting % around the rim. Just because you dont block a ton of shots doesnt mean you are not a good rim protector and force tough shots/alter them. Just because you dont get a lot of interceptions doest mean you are a bad cornerback.

If you're looking it at from that perspective, he falls right around the middle. He's nothing more than mediocre at best. The only thing that's evident is your fan eye goggles.

I'm no Kevin Love fan, but "average" and "terrible" do not mean the same thing.

He's actually below average in opp FG% (there are more dots below him than above), and massively below average at blocks - he actually looks a bit better on that chart precisely BECAUSE his blocks are so low that he's on the good side of the trend line, even though all that means is that his FG defense isn't as bad as his awful blocks would predict, not that it's above average. Assuming that blocks have some independent value (and I think they do), he's definitely in the bottom 25%, although not the worst - by these metrics, he's pretty clearly better than Ryan Anderson and Blake Griffin, and he has solid arguments over Jokic, Gortat and M. Morris.

[EireannX]

Found this interesting graph on Reddit. Some expected names on top but I did not expect Embiid to be the best. Crazy that he is already this good on both ends of the floor in his rookie season after not playing for 2 years

The lower and further to the right the better

No. That graph represents the effect of blocks on DFG%.

As blocks help improve your DFG% there is no point mapping two dependant stats against each other for the purpose of determining 'best', overall DFG% is a better indicator. It's like if I mapped TS% and 2FG% and claimed to top right was the best shooter. TS% already took that into account.

So what that graph maps is flashiness vs fundamentals, with the trend line being a league average. Players at the bottom are the best rim defenders, the lower the better. Players to the right are flashier. Top left are average players with extra athleticism to get blocks. Bottom left are getting it done with fundamentals rather than outjumping their opponents. Top right are gambling for blocks and giving up position. Bottom right have fundamentals with athleticism to match.

Mapping real numbers to per 36 is useful for behavioural analysis, but not for performance. As usage increases you expect numbers to drop. So for Gobert and Porzingis who play 32+ minutes per game their 42.1 and blocks per game are real and can be maintained. But for Embiid and Hibbert they are extrapolating their limited minute figures, and it's well known that as usage increases your averages drop.

If you wanted a graph for best rim protector you might try mapping DFGA to DFG% and look to the bottom right. Or maybe DFG% to DRB because maintaining position while contesting is vital. But assigning bonus points to a missed shot where you got a piece of the ball tells us nothing worthwhile.

[Promezclan]

Found this interesting graph on Reddit. Some expected names on top but I did not expect Embiid to be the best. Crazy that he is already this good on both ends of the floor in his rookie season after not playing for 2 years

The lower and further to the right the better

No. That graph represents the effect of blocks on DFG%.

As blocks help improve your DFG% there is no point mapping two dependant stats against each other for the purpose of determining 'best', overall DFG% is a better indicator. It's like if I mapped TS% and 2FG% and claimed to top right was the best shooter. TS% already took that into account.

.

The correlation is pretty damn weak, though - looks like an r-squared value of under 0.4. So blocks could still contain a lot of independent information. For example, point differential and games won have a MUCH stronger correlation, but they both still contain valuable information, since in combination there is essentially the effect of a greater sample size. And blocks have many more independent effects - that very flashiness may easily deter penetration, for example, since getting blocked is a more present and humiliating threat, as well as a surer one in some situations.

[jpengland]

Giannis is a superstar...

[Nazrmohamed]

Porzingis is just so awesome.

How is Noah so bad though. I mean, I figured Id get 2-4 points with him and expected him to make up for it with some defense and hustle. This is just bad man, real bad.

[Bomba Navarro]

Porzingis is just so awesome.

How is Noah so bad though. I mean, I figured Id get 2-4 points with him and expected him to make up for it with some defense and hustle. This is just bad man, real bad.

Noah is not really lengthy, and he lost his leap a while ago. No wonder he fares so bad in stats like this.

[LivingLegend]

If you're looking it at from that perspective, he falls right around the middle. He's nothing more than mediocre at best. The only thing that's evident is your fan eye goggles.

I'm no Kevin Love fan, but "average" and "terrible" do not mean the same thing.

He's actually below average in opp FG% (there are more dots below him than above), and massively below average at blocks - he actually looks a bit better on that chart precisely BECAUSE his blocks are so low that he's on the good side of the trend line, even though all that means is that his FG defense isn't as bad as his awful blocks would predict, not that it's above average. Assuming that blocks have some independent value (and I think they do), he's definitely in the bottom 25%, although not the worst - by these metrics, he's pretty clearly better than Ryan Anderson and Blake Griffin, and he has solid arguments over Jokic, Gortat and M. Morris.

Does anybody know how to read graphs? The dotted line is the average and if you are below the line, that means he is holding people to a lower than average FG%. Which means he is actually above average in that department.

[EireannX]

Found this interesting graph on Reddit. Some expected names on top but I did not expect Embiid to be the best. Crazy that he is already this good on both ends of the floor in his rookie season after not playing for 2 years

The lower and further to the right the better

No. That graph represents the effect of blocks on DFG%.

As blocks help improve your DFG% there is no point mapping two dependant stats against each other for the purpose of determining 'best', overall DFG% is a better indicator. It's like if I mapped TS% and 2FG% and claimed to top right was the best shooter. TS% already took that into account.

.

The correlation is pretty damn weak, though - looks like an r-squared value of under 0.4. So blocks could still contain a lot of independent information. For example, point differential and games won have a MUCH stronger correlation, but they both still contain valuable information, since in combination there is essentially the effect of a greater sample size. And blocks have many more independent effects - that very flashiness may easily deter penetration, for example, since getting blocked is a more present and humiliating threat, as well as a surer one in some situations.

You're postulating a deterrence that affects a player when they decide whether to take a shot or not, but not when they are actually taking the shot itself. (Because the lack of correlation in the graph says simply blocking alone is not getting into players heads enough to lower their FG% by itself). The graph actually implies that blocks are not a deterrent by themselves.

But still, maybe you're correct. But if you are, that graph doesn't tell us that.

[Smirkin Dirk]

Just had a quick look. I don't understand graphs.

Can someone tell me if Dwight Powell being all by himself at the top there is good or bad for Dallas?

Please. Be gentle.

[eminence]

Yeah, whoever made the graph shouldn't have put in the the trendline, it's obviously confusing a lot of people.

To the Dallas poster: It's very bad... Sorry friend

[MartinsLusis]

Just had a quick look. I don't understand graphs.

Can someone tell me if Dwight Powell being all by himself at the top there is good or bad for Dallas?

Please. Be gentle.

The news ar not good. That's about it. The higher you are, the better % of shots opponents drop on you in the paint.

[MartinsLusis]

Porzingis is just so awesome.

How is Noah so bad though. I mean, I figured Id get 2-4 points with him and expected him to make up for it with some defense and hustle. This is just bad man, real bad.

He hasn't looked too good on D. This just proves it.

[EireannX]

I'm no Kevin Love fan, but "average" and "terrible" do not mean the same thing.

He's actually below average in opp FG% (there are more dots below him than above), and massively below average at blocks - he actually looks a bit better on that chart precisely BECAUSE his blocks are so low that he's on the good side of the trend line, even though all that means is that his FG defense isn't as bad as his awful blocks would predict, not that it's above average. Assuming that blocks have some independent value (and I think they do), he's definitely in the bottom 25%, although not the worst - by these metrics, he's pretty clearly better than Ryan Anderson and Blake Griffin, and he has solid arguments over Jokic, Gortat and M. Morris.

Does anybody know how to read graphs? The dotted line is the average and if you are below the line, that means he is holding people to a lower than average FG%. Which means he is actually above average in that department.

No, the dotted line isn't the average. If it were then why would the average be changing? It's a trend line which best maps both axes.

Mind you the average isn't 'more dots above than below', that would be more of a median calculation.

And even if you treat the line as some kind of metric for performance, all it might tell you is that Kevin Love's FG% is better than the trend for someone who so rarely blocks shots. It doesn't give any insight into how good his defence is against the average.

[E-Balla]

Why does blocks/36 matter? You can protect the rim without blocking shots

Yeah this. By including that guys like LaMarcus end up looking bad even though they defend the rim very well.