IllmaticHandler wrote:DaGawd wrote:For a guy who isn't a number 1 scoring option to average 18 ppg last season as arguably the 3rd option is pretty damn good... I think KP's potential to be the primary go to scorer is really underrated
Thats the reason why he was able to score 18 a game.The attention was not on him like that. So he is not underrated in potential as the primary Guy as KP has not faced #1 scorer defense all season long and the verdict is still out on how good he can be as lead Dog in his third year. KP being the go to scorer and getting full attention of a defense that number can easily dip. Its not the same ball game when all eyes are on you.
Did some math, in 6 games without Melo KP averaged 14.7/5.7/1.3 on 45% shooting, 15% 3pt shooting
He averaged less points, but the biggest reason for that was his bad 3pt shooting. He took significantly less 3pt shots, he averaged around 5 per game for the season, but only slightly over 2 per game without Melo
And about a rebound and a half less per game
So there is a drop off, and Melo for sure helps him, but it's not too dramatic, and has more to do with most of those games coming during KP's cold stretch
It's also probably a huge adjustment not having the focal point of your offense for a game, but if we make KP the focal point straight off next year, he should be good