payitforward wrote:doclinkin wrote:...Rui, frankly, was an upside gamble, with worse stats than his teammate St Brandon Clarke. But Clarke can't get 20 minutes a game and his jumpshooting %'s have gotten WORSE every year -- vs -- Rui whose shooting efficiency has risen every year. We are at the point where Clarke is shooting 22% from outside, where Rui is hitting 47% from 3....
I wouldn't bother with this, except it is likely to mislead people in the extreme! Brandon Clarke is having one of the best seasons of any player in the league.
Let's compare him & his buddy Rui, why don't we?
You make it sound like Rui is being featured, while Clarke is somehow having trouble getting on the floor. But, in fact, Rui is playing exactly 1.7 minutes more per game than Clarke.
You make it sound like Rui is scoring really well, while Brandon Clarke can't get a bucket. But, in fact, Clarke scores more than Rui -- more points per 40 minutes not fewer points! Ok, in fairness it's only 1/2 a point more!
But, still.
You make it sound like Rui is a far more efficient scorer than Clarke. But, in fact the opposite is true. Rui is posting an very nicely improved & good TS% at .595. Nothing to complain about there. Only... Brandon Clarke's TS% is .655 -- a whole whole lot better!
Obviously, Clarke is the better scorer -- not much question about that! But, of course there's more to the game than scoring, right?
Per 36 minutes, Rui is grabbing 5.2 defensive rebounds. Brandon Clarke is grabbing 6.1 -- better.
Of course, defensive rebounds aren't the only kind. What about offensive boards? Well... per 36 minutes Rui does get one of those -- yes, he gets 1. Brandon Clarke does just a wee bit better. He gets 4.
Overall, that's 10.1 by Clarke as against 6.2 for Rui. That's in addition to scoring more points than Rui at a much higher eFG% than Rui.
Then again, scoring & rebounding are not all of the game. There's more to being better than another player than simply scoring more points, scoring those points more efficiently, & controlling possessions with your rebounding. Although... those things are quite important, aren't they?
For example, what about assists? Clarke gets 32% more assists per 36 minutes than Rui.
But what about stocks? Clarke gets slightly more steals than Rui, & he blocks five times as many shots as Rui. Wait... can that really be? Let me double check....
Yes, that is right. More points, at a far higher overall scoring %, 4 times as many offensive rebounds, over 17% more defensive boards, 32% more assists, 5 times as many blocks, slightly more steals.
Did I mention that Rui turns the ball over 40% more than Clarke? I don't think so. It's a fact. But, you know what? Nobody's perfect. Per 36 minutes, Brandon Clarke commits 1.4 more fouls than Rui Hachimura.
So there you are. But, of course someone will mention Rui's extraordinary 3-pt. shooting. So let me break down that scoring comparison:
Every 36 minutes, Rui takes 14.4 shots which produce 16.59 points. Every 36 minutes, Clarke takes 12.8 shots which produce 16.49 points.
Thus, by taking 1.6 more FGAs than Clarke, Rui produces .1 more points. Read that carefully before you announce that Rui's high 3 pt. % makes him a better shooter or scorer than Clarke.
Rui also goes to the line 2.5 times, which adds 1.8 points, while Clarke gets to the line 3.9 times, which adds 2.5 points, which is why he scores more points than Rui despite Rui's rather higher usage.
It's all right here:
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=hachiru01&p1yrfrom=2022&player_id2=clarkbr01&p2yrfrom=2022I know a lot of you like the mystery meat stats -- so feel free to compare Clarke's VORP, which is 1.8, to Rui's, which is .2. Or their PER (Clarke=23.6, Rui=15.6). Or their WS/48 (Clarke=.242, Rui=.087) & so forth.
where shot selection alone could improve his game. 
. It is never-ending.
