MKG mentioned in an article of underrated DPOY candidates. Nothing really new here, but the stats are very interesting.
http://www.sportal.com.au/nba/starting-five---underrated-dpoy-candidates/1tblatd7gkn2r1wfyocecza4z5If you’re experiencing a peculiar, stinging sensation—as if to suggest you are re-living a past experience—there is no need to be alarmed.
Based on recent history, it might be in my best interests to enquire about life membership at The Hive.
Two weeks ago, I lauded MKG’s versatility , and attempted to measure the value that his presence brings to Steve Clifford’s robust defensive units.
A mere seven days ago, I followed up by admitting to being cautiously optimistic about the Hornets’ hopes of securing a playoff spot in the malaise of the Eastern Conference’s lesser half.
It would be remiss to suggest that Charlotte can miraculously catapult itself toward the scarce but leafy canopies of the East; however, if they are to continue the current trend, it’s going to require a weighty serving of Kidd-Gilchrist’s predatory defence.
You could be forgiven for having not judiciously followed the Hornets’ scattered season—they don’t play at a particularly zippy pace (comfortably in the bottom third of the league), nearly one in three of their attempts is a pull-up jumper, and they are tied for 27 th in sourcing points from the perimeter.
Those are some putrid, putrid numbers, yes, but try to back away from the offensive ineptitude that has plagued Charlotte for just one moment.
Steve Clifford has overseen a restoration that would impress even the Property Brothers , and the bulk of the kudos belongs to MKG. The Hornets were a below-average defensive team through two months of this season (with Kidd-Gilchrist in absentia for a sizable chunk of that period), but have rabidly reclaimed respectability ever since.
Kidd-Gilchrist’s nose for the ball, exemplified by his crafty habit of lassoing opponents attacking off the dribble, provides an invaluable safety net for Charlotte’s team defence.
According to Synergy Sports data, opposing players are shooting a lousy 32.2 percent when shooting off the bounce, and checked by MKG. What’s more, he has an uncanny knack for absorbing the brunt of a hard pick and recovering, limiting opponents to 0.743 points per possessions when assuming contact on a pick-and-roll, per Synergy.
These little tidbits are not to be overlooked, though they’re more of a sweetener, rather than the primary ingredients of the meal.
In clichéd basketball parlance, Kidd-Gilchrist is the archetypal Swiss army knife player—a multi-tooled, destructive force on the defensive end, complete with the physicality to shuffle seamlessly between positions.
But his true impact can probably be whittled down to a few simpler measurements: When he’s on the floor, the Hornets’ defensive rating (95.3) is equivalent to a league-best figure. When MKG sits? That defence slips from stubborn to subpar, plummeting by nearly 10 points per 100 possessions.
Kidd-Gilchrist also ranks in the top five among active wings for tracking down loose balls (min. 10 chances per game), claiming rebounds on 61.9 percent of his available opportunities, courtesy of SportVU player tracking data.
But above all else, the metric that reverberates louder than any of the above and best signals his value to this team, rests in wins and losses. Charlotte has laboured to a mark of 3-13 with him sidelined, and built a 25-20 record with MKG in the lineup.
