2011 Synergy D-stat rankings - Derozan D-stats pg. 11

[Double Helix]

INTRODUCTION

Woke up this morning to realize that Synergy has opened up their trial which only previously allowed for you to see Amare Stoudamire/LeBron James' stats to now allow you to search every single NBA player and their statistics as of last night!

Of course, I went to the defensive statistics right away and while I did not record the Pick and Roll: Man statistics, I have individually recorded the worst defensive PFs and Cs in the NBA according to overall rank and included their ISO ranking, Post-Up Ranking and Spot-Up ranking. I did this quickly this morning because I'm not sure if this is a glitch on Synergy or just a way for them to entice us to pick up a subscription for next season but there are some extremely shocking results here that seem to back up what I've been saying on here for more the past couple weeks. Andrea is a poor defender but anybody who think he's alone in that regard is sorely mistaken. There are a lot of big names in similar defensive territory to Andrea Bargnani in a lot of ways and others who are much worse.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

- Please feel free to verify the data. I've recorded these individually and may have made a mistake.
- This does not include help defence but if you want to search further you will see P&R man defensive rankings on the Synergy site. Still, don't let the fact that this doesn't include help defence dissuade you from viewing these numbers because they still hold some value.
- There are a lot of ties in the overall ranking formula and I have no idea why. The demo doesn't explain how the overall defensive ranking is put together so you'll have to just trust the site, I guess.
- Supersub posted last year's results because he had a subscription. In that post he revealed that many PFs and Cs come out looking worse in this than other positions due to the nature of the position.

COOL STUFF

- Synergy Sports is trusted by NBA teams. They watch and record every single possession and grade them for comparative analysis. There is nothing else like this available to fans like you and I.

THE WORST BIG-MINUTE/STARTING DEFENSIVE PFs AND Cs IN THE NBA IN VARIOUS DEFENSIVE SITUATIONS ACCORDING TO SYNERGY SPORTS FROM WORST TO LESS WORSE:


Chris Wilcox: 444
Iso: 241
Post-up: 204
Spot-Up: 354

Robin Lopez: 425
Iso: 315
Post-up: 218
Spot-up: 229

Greg Monroe: 409
Iso: 230
Post-Up: 202
Spot Up: 350

DuJuan Blair: 392
Iso: 137
Post-Up: 255
Spot-Up: 184

David Lee: 388
Iso - 63
Post-Up: 226
Spot Up - 250

Ed Davis: 376
Iso: 211
Post-Up: 220
Spot Up: 156

JJ Hickson: 365 TIE
Iso: 250
Post Up - 143
Spot Up: 323

Charlie Villanueva: 365 TIE
Iso: 159
Post-Up: 153
Spot-Up: 314

Amare Stoudamire: 352
Iso: 210
Post-up: 153
Spot-Up: 303

Antawn Jamison: 351
Iso: 265
Post-Up: 64
Spot-Up: 300

Andris Biedrins:336 - TIE
Iso: 260
Post-Up: 30
Spot-Up: 354

Amir Johnson: 336 - TIE
Iso: 188
Post-Up: 127
Spot-up: 279

Patrick Patterson: 319 TIE
Iso: 170
Post-Up: 247
Spot-up: 145

Luis Scola: 319 TIE
Iso: 249
Post-Up: 148
Spot-Up: 300

Serge Ibaka: 315
Iso: 235
Post-up: 166
Spot-up: 274

Michael Beasley: 301
Iso: 46
Post-Up: 233
Spot Up: 211

Kwame Brown: 298 - TIE
Iso: 289
Post-up: 180
P&R man: NA
Spot up: 16

N. Pekovic: 298 - TIE
Iso: 254
Post-Up: 12
Spot Up: 323

Tyler Hansbrough: 279 - TIE
Iso: 70
Post-Up: 187
Spot-Up: 171

Josh McRoberts: 279 - TIE
Iso: 276
Post-Up: 81
Spot-Up: 156

Jason Thompson: 276 - 4-WAY TIE
Iso: 260
Post-Up: 133
Spot Up: 184

Roy Hibbert:276 - 4-WAY TIE
Iso: 272
Post-Up: 143
Spot Up: 117

Channing Frye: 276 - 4-WAY TIE
Iso: 140
Post-Up: 180
Spot-uP: 145

Andrea Bargnani: 276 - 4-WAY TIE
Iso - 49
Post-Up - 133
Spot-Up - 308

Nene Hilario: 257
Iso: 106
Post-Up: 174
Spot-Up: 268

Paul Milsap: 254 - 2-WAY TIE
Iso: 101
Post-Up: 133
Spot-up: 234

Carlos Boozer: 254 - 2-WAY TIE
Iso: 254
Post-up: 93
Spot-Up: 56

Brook Lopez: 234 - 2-WAY TIE
Iso: 187
Post-up: 166
Spot-up: 88

Blake Griffin: 231 - 3-WAY TIE
Iso: 37
Post-up: 187
Spot-Up: 217

Elton brand: 231 - 3-WAY TIE
Iso: 130:
Post-Up: 159
Spot-up: 130

Samuel Dalembert: 231 3-WAY
Iso: 272
Post-Up: 75
Spot Up: 167

Javale McGee: 209
Iso: 23
Post-Up: 202
Spot-up: 66

[STA 13]

all of the Raptors big men (Amir, Ed and Bargs) are in the top 15 worst defensive big men in the league??? Thats kind of cool I guess

edit: just noticed this is a selective list

[Rhettmatic]

- This does not include help defence but if you want to search further you will see P&R man defensive rankings on the Synergy site. Still, don't let the fact that this doesn't include help defence dissuade you from viewing these numbers because they still hold some value.

Some value, yes. But help defence is so integral to judging a big man's defence overall, I question how much value these rankings have without considering it.

[dacrusha]

No one cares about 1 on 1 defense with regards to Bargs. It's his help defense and ability to defend the basket that is stunningly poor.

This is why Amir and Ed Davis are the clear highlights of our front-line defensive efforts.

[itbobby007]

DH, what exactly do the #'s mean for each category? Can you show us the best defenders to gauge how far away our guys are? Sorry, having a tough time digesting this without a bit more content.

Also, anyone else surprised at seeing Ibaka, Dalembert, K.Brown and McGee? All are considered average to above average defenders by reputation.

[Double Helix]

ISO = Isolation plays. How well does the player defend isolations? Lower the number the better.

Post-Up = How well does the player defend the post when being posted-up? Lower the number the better.

Spot-Up = How well does the player defend PFs or Cs shooting the ball. Do they challenge the shot? Do they sit back? How often do they allow opponents to score in this way? Lower the number the better.

Pick and Roll Man: I didn't record these at first due to an error and then I didn't have the time to go back and add them in. This one is probably the closest thing you'll see to anything help related on Synergy.

Obviously, help defence is an extremely important part of the defensive puzzle when you're trying to guage what players do on the defensive end but shot blockers gamble a lot and that, too, can overrate defenders.

I completely agree that the results are shocking but it's been like this all year long with Synergy. Everybody was shocked to see that Batum wasn't an amazing defender either but Synergy has no bias, no emotional attachment to any player and no agenda.

Anybody who isn't even remotely rattled by some of these results needs to look at themselves in the mirror because this company betters anything we think we know about defenders in the NBA. How often are some of you going to hold onto this idea that Bargnani is easily the worst defender in the NBA when he clearly is not? We can argue till we're blue in the face about the importance of help defence and how hard that is to quantify statistically but if you don't see any value in seeing results this well-recorded across multiple teams and all situations then I guess you only like statistics that show the players you like in a favorable light.

See, that's the difference between me and some of you on here. Time and time again I've been willing to admit and show that Bargnani is below average in many ways but the minute you start seeing other names in the same range as him (when it was Lopez's rebounding average this year or some of the defensive statistics now) it's always... "Well, that's 'cause of _________. It doesn't matter." These stats still show Bargnani as a poor defender. I didn't post them because I thought he looked great; he doesn't. But, for months people have been saying that he's far and away the worst starter in the NBA and he clearly isn't.

[Fairview4Life]

It would be nice if instead of raw %'s, these were percentages. Like PDSS's stop %.

[STA 13]

ISO = Isolation plays. How well does the player defend isolations? Lower the number the better.

Post-Up = How well does the player defend the post when being posted-up? Lower the number the better.

Spot-Up = How well does the player defend PFs or Cs shooting the ball. Do they challenge the shot? Do they sit back? How often do they allow opponents to score in this way? Lower the number the better.

Whats the difference between and ISO and a spot-up? What is the guy shoots a jumper from an ISO?

[tommer]

ISO = Isolation plays. How well does the player defend isolations? Lower the number the better.

Post-Up = How well does the player defend the post when being posted-up? Lower the number the better.

Spot-Up = How well does the player defend PFs or Cs shooting the ball. Do they challenge the shot? Do they sit back? How often do they allow opponents to score in this way? Lower the number the better.

Whats the difference between and ISO and a spot-up? What is the guy shoots a jumper from an ISO?

I'm guessing spot-ups would be assisted (or would-be assisted) jumpers.

[tommer]

Looks like these defensive stats would be pretty unreliabile for teams that switch a lot.

[Lionel Messi]

ISO = Isolation plays. How well does the player defend isolations? Lower the number the better.

Post-Up = How well does the player defend the post when being posted-up? Lower the number the better.

Spot-Up = How well does the player defend PFs or Cs shooting the ball. Do they challenge the shot? Do they sit back? How often do they allow opponents to score in this way? Lower the number the better.

Pick and Roll Man: I didn't record these at first due to an error and then I didn't have the time to go back and add them in. This one is probably the closest thing you'll see to anything help related on Synergy.

Obviously, help defence is an extremely important part of the defensive puzzle when you're trying to guage what players do on the defensive end but shot blockers gamble a lot and that, too, can overrate defenders.

I completely agree that the results are shocking but it's been like this all year long with Synergy. Everybody was shocked to see that Batum wasn't an amazing defender either but Synergy has no bias, no emotional attachment to any player and no agenda.

Anybody who isn't even remotely rattled by some of these results needs to look at themselves in the mirror because this company betters anything we think we know about defenders in the NBA. How often are some of you going to hold onto this idea that Bargnani is easily the worst defender in the NBA when he clearly is not? We can argue till we're blue in the face about the importance of help defence and how hard that is to quantify statistically but if you don't see any value in seeing results this well-recorded across multiple teams and all situations then I guess you only like statistics that show the players you like in a favorable light.

See, that's the difference between me and some of you on here. Time and time again I've been willing to admit and show that Bargnani is below average in many ways but the minute you start seeing other names in the same range as him (when it was Lopez's rebounding average this year or some of the defensive statistics now) it's always... "Well, that's 'cause of _________. It doesn't matter." These stats still show Bargnani as a poor defender. I didn't post them because I thought he looked great; he doesn't. But, for months people have been saying that he's far and away the worst starter in the NBA and he clearly isn't.

The only ones that surprise me are Amir/Ed, and Ibaka. Although those 3 are strongest in their help D.

Also, these stats do show that he's an awful and one of the worst defensive starters in the NBA. He's one of the bottom 3 in defensive awareness among that group (along with McGee), among the worst in providing help (McGee has awful awareness but he still provides help because he's a freak) and he's a bad man defender as well.

He's an absolute liability defensively.

[Double Helix]

As I said before, ALL PFs and Cs due to the nature of their role are going to be lower on the list. This is how it was last year and it's the same this year.

Dwight Howard has an overall defensive ranking of 60 for example.
Andrew Bogut is 83.
Al Horford is 99.
Emeka Okafor, oddly enough, is ranked 33!

[J-Roc]

FWIW, Bargs doens't mind manning up to his man. That's where guys like Boozer and Amare and look bad. But the help D situation is what hurts the Raps as a team. Opposing players know they only have to beat their perimeter man off the dribble, then it's a free ride to the rim. Points get racked up on the Raps that way (are we worst in the league with buckets at the rim?).

[Double Helix]

It would be nice if instead of raw %'s, these were percentages. Like PDSS's stop %.

If you go to the Synergy Site you can see Points Produced Per Possession in each of the situations (including Pick and Roll Man defence) which might be closer to what you're looking for.

[Rhettmatic]

As I said before, ALL PFs and Cs due to the nature of their role are going to be lower on the list. This is how it was last year and it's the same this year.

Dwight Howard has an overall defensive ranking of 60 for example.
Andrew Bogut is 83.
Al Horford is 99.
Emeka Okafor, oddly enough, is ranked 33!

DH, don't you think some of this is sort of misleading though? Like this:

Andrea is a poor defender but anybody who think he's alone in that regard is sorely mistaken. There are a lot of big names in similar defensive territory to Andrea Bargnani in a lot of ways and others who are much worse.

I hope it's fair to say that we both know that the reason Bargs is such a horrible defender is his complete and total lack of understanding of team defence, which is the biggest part of a big's defensive responsibilities and is also not tracked by these statistics.

I think many of us already knew that he's not bad at defending other bigs 1-on-1 but it's his help defence that's non-existent, and these stats do nothing to disprove that.

[Double Helix]

FWIW, Bargs doens't mind manning up to his man. That's where guys like Boozer and Amare and look bad. But the help D situation is what hurts the Raps as a team. Opposing players know they only have to beat their perimeter man off the dribble, then it's a free ride to the rim. Points get racked up on the Raps that way (are we worst in the league with buckets at the rim?).

We are in fact worst in that category according to Sports Illustrated's recent article (posted yesterday I think) but to be fair... It's hard imagining any but the best defensive Cs in the NBA being able to take the amount of charges/blocked/altered shots/smart fouls they'd need to make up for the amount of dribble penetration we give up. Any center hoping to cover the likes of Calderon, Derozan and (pre-JJ) Kleiza would feel like Johnny Knocksville facing a paintball shooting squad.

[flatjacket1]

The only ones that surprise me are Amir/Ed, and Ibaka. Although those 3 are strongest in their help D.

If that. I always argued Amir was a below average defender and Ed was flat out bad but everybody was trying to act like they were in line for defensive player of the year.

People overreacting to Bargnani's bad defense on our forum :O
Never would have thought!!!

People need to stop acting like putting him on the inactive list would make us better, just hold onto him for now why rush one of the only players who chose to play here out of town? I hope he does get traded then Ed and Demar leave ASAP and screw our franchise even harder.

[tommer]

As others have said help/team defense is such a critical part of NBA defense. For example if you could split the synergy data 3 ways into:

- help defense received (including switches)
- help defense given (eg, your man scores while you were giving help)
- non-help situation

or even 2 ways (help / non-help), that would be tremendously illuminating.

It would also be very interesting to see PDSS data (makes/misses) split between help/non-help situations.

[Double Helix]

As I said before, ALL PFs and Cs due to the nature of their role are going to be lower on the list. This is how it was last year and it's the same this year.

Dwight Howard has an overall defensive ranking of 60 for example.
Andrew Bogut is 83.
Al Horford is 99.
Emeka Okafor, oddly enough, is ranked 33!

DH, don't you think some of this is sort of misleading though? Like this:

Andrea is a poor defender but anybody who think he's alone in that regard is sorely mistaken. There are a lot of big names in similar defensive territory to Andrea Bargnani in a lot of ways and others who are much worse.

I hope it's fair to say that we both know that the reason Bargs is such a horrible defender is his complete and total lack of understanding of team defence, which is the biggest part of a big's defensive responsibilities and is also not tracked by these statistics.

I think many of us already knew that he's not bad at defending other bigs 1-on-1 but it's his help defence that's non-existent, and these stats do nothing to disprove that.

Put it this way, Rhett.

Yes, these don't include help defence beyond making sure that the player doesn't get burned on a pick and roll switch but the fact that there are this many big names on the list should give pause to what we think we know about defence period. If these guys aren't very good in these areas... what makes so many so sure they're making up for that with tremendously better help defence than Bargs? Why are these players given the benefit of the doubt? Does anybody really think David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Andris Biedrins, JJ Hickson, Roy Hibbert, Pekovic, and even Dalembert etc make up for their weaknesses here with tremendously better "help defence?" Some people are surprised because some of these guys are shot blockers but being able to block a shot and a half per game doesn't make you a tremendous help defender either. We saw this with our own eyes last year when Bargnani was hovering around 17th in blocked shots.

There's always been this huge assumption that Bargnani is the worst defender in comparison to every other starting big in the NBA and I've always had my doubts because I watch a lot of basketball and while I know he's bad... I also knew there are a lot of other surprisingly bad defending bigs in the NBA who often aren't called out as much.

[djsunyc]

amare is that much worse than bargs? and he gets $20 mil a year for the next 5 years and is already slowed down and bandaged up. that contract could haunt the knicks for a while.