Let's take a look at Draymond versus the OKC Thunder from last Saturday. Steve Kerr called it the best game a player has ever had without making a FG. Lets take a look.
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Last night the Thunder lost. They gave up 123 points to a team that average 102.7. They got embarrassed by a team that is 23-34. It was as literal of a gut punch as a metaphorical gut punch can be.
I followed the game via the commenting on FSOK. Brian Davis a typically positive guy couldn't get over how many points the Thunder had allowed off turnovers and offensive rebounds. Let's look at the 14 second chance points the Thunder allowed in a 4 point game. I'm all aboard the New Zealand wave of basketball. Hyperbole abounds in my mind every time I watch the Big Kiwi physically overwhelm opponents, every time he soars through the air to catch a Russ lob. He's learning this game and he's doing it at a rate I never would have guessed after his first season or so of playing. He's become a reasonable offensive factor while anchoring the Thunder defense. It's such a welcome sight. The next step in his progression needs to be a step by the team. They have to stop going away from the action that works so well. Too many times we've seen Russ run the pick and roll resulting in massive alley-oops or fouls in the first quarter only to never run it again that game. Time to get the consistency figured out.
Now, lets look at Adams destroying Dallas last night. Yesterday we looked at how the league has altered their scoring philosophies to try and become more efficient. The takeaway was, they are making systemic changes that offset existing efficiencies resulting in basically zero change in efficiency. Change for change's sake.
Today let's look at how teams are building lineups. This uses minutes data from 2000 to present to look at what percentage of a team's minutes each year go to a certain position. Are team's trending towards playing more wing minutes? Has the center position really fallen out of fashion? This is going to be a lot of charts. You've been warned. Here we will take a look at some visuals to explain the way the league is changing.
Lockout shortened seasons as well as this season had their counting stats adjusted to match an 82 game season. Here I decide to look at one of the dream trade targets for the Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks wing, Kris Middleton. The dude has an intriguing mix of size and skill that makes him the seemingly perfect fit for the Thunder's needs. I don't get to see much Buck's basketball so I decided to take a look at his most recent and on happenstance one of his better games, against the Wizards on the 11th of this month. He shot 9-17 for 27 points on the night.
Per a DT comment section request, here is a breakdown of Anthony Davis' shot attempts last night versus the Thunder.
I took a look at the Warriors Rockets game because I wanted to take a look at how Steph gets his points. What kind of action do the Warriors employ to get him open? Does he always take so many shots that would be terrible if they didn't go in? So far this year, every highlight package I've seen of the Warriors I come away thinking, "Those were some awful shots that just happened to go in." I wanted to explore if this is commonplace for him, or just what makes the highlight reels.
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