Wolves vs Pacers GDT

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Wow, that's great stuff Kek. What about during the Thibs era? I recall us complaining about the same thing even under Thibs, probably because he favored iso plays for Wiggins. I'm curious if the data bears that out.

[AbeVigodaLive]

So I went to NBA.com today and looked at NBA clutch stats since Ryan Saunders took over because it seems like Kat never gets the ball in clutch situations.

So here was the criteria I put in. Tied or Wolves trailed by 3 or less, under 10 seconds left to go in the game. So pretty much the last possession of the game in a one possession game.

Ryan Saunders after Thibs got fired: 9 games of this scenario, Kat had 0 FGA.
Ryan Saunders 2nd year: 8 games of this scenario, Kat had 2 FGA (Missed both, 1 was a 3)
Ryan Saunders this year: 2 games of this scenario when Kat plays 0 FGA

So in the Ryan Saunders era there have been 19 games where the wolves have been trailing by 3 or less with 10 seconds left. Kat has 2 shot attempts and 0 FTA in those 19 games. There is something wrong with that.

Wolves need to find a way to get the ball into your best players hands when the game is on the line. I don't want to hear about Kat is a big man. Embiid for this season and last has played in 15 games with this criteria. He has gotten 4 FGA and gotten to the line once. So in the 33% of the games they have put the ball in Embiid hands compared to Towns 10.5%. Jokic had 14 games last year and got the shot 3 times (made all 3) and this year he has 8 games and has gotten 2 shots. (Murray gets most of the end of the game shots with the Nuggets) So in 22 games Jokic has gotten the ball 5 times 22.7% of the time the ball goes to Jokic.

Kat who doesn't have as much talent around him has gotten the ball 2 times out of 19. 2!!! Arguably the best offesnive big man ever gets the ball 10% of the time when the game is on the line under Saunders. We need to be able to get him the ball in crunch time. For some context in the Thibs era. The year before Thibs was fired he got the ball 2 out of the 5 games. (Fouled on both). The Jimmy Era, Kat got the ball 4 out of the 14 times. In Thibs 1st year it was not good it was it was only 2 of the 18 games Kat got the ball. In the Thibs era Kat got the ball in 8 out of the 37 games, so 22%.

Im not doing this to compare Thibs and Ryan, we just need to find a way to get Kat the ball more then 10% of the time when the game is on the line. Especially when the Wolves are not super talented around him. 2 out of 19 games is not good enough and needs to be corrected!

But the rookie is so promising. Just imagine how good he'll be in a few years.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Don't worry, guys. Using your best players in high-pressure, crucial spots doesn't actually matter. Quality of shots don't matter either. They made sure there was no more time on the game clock. That's what's really important.

[kekgeek]

Wow, that's great stuff Kek. What about during the Thibs era? I recall us complaining about the same thing even under Thibs, probably because he favored iso plays for Wiggins. I'm curious if the data bears that out.

For some context in the Thibs era. The year Thibs was fired he got the ball 2 out of the 5 games. (Fouled on both). The Jimmy Era, Kat got the ball 4 out of the 14 times. In Thibs 1st year it was not good it was it was only 2 of the 18 games Kat got the ball. In the Thibs era Kat got the ball in 8 out of the 37 games, so 22%.

So the last year and a half it was pretty good with Thibs 6 out of 19. 31.6% the 1st year was bad 2 of 18. All together its 22% (wish it was higher but it was trending in the right direction).

I don't want to make this a Thibs vs Ryan thread. Just think Ryan needs to find a way to get Kat the ball late. I understand it's harder to get the ball to a big but Kats peers shouldn't have double and triple the opportunities Kat is getting, especially when Kat doesn't play with an elite guard currently

[FNG]

I always appreciate the interesting stats you dig up, kek. I agree that not getting the ball to our best player down the stretch is a big problem. But is it a coaching problem, or is it a KAT problem. If I understand the data, the first 19 games Ryan coached KAT in that scenario, he took only three shots. The first 18 games Thibs faced that situation, KAT took the exact same number of shots...3. Now it got better as thibs coached more games, so maybe it will for Ryan too. But it seems like whoever the coach is, or the PG for that matter, KAT doesn't shoot at the end of close games. How are we supposed to conclude based on that data?

[AbeVigodaLive]

Don't worry, guys. Using your best players in high-pressure, crucial spots doesn't actually matter. Quality of shots don't matter either. They made sure there was no more time on the game clock. That's what's really important.

That strategy (waiting until the end... shooting a low percentage shot out of an iso) is not unique to the Wolves.

It's a copycat league. And obviously, the Wolves have never been innovators.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I always appreciate the interesting stats you dig up, kek. I agree that not getting the ball to our best player down the stretch is a big problem. But is it a coaching problem, or is it a KAT problem. If I understand the data, the first 19 games Ryan coached KAT in that scenario, he took only three shots. The first 18 games Thibs faced that situation, KAT took the exact same number of shots...3. Now it got better as thibs coached more games, so maybe it will for Ryan too. But it seems like whoever the coach is, or the PG for that matter, KAT doesn't shoot at the end of close games. How are we supposed to conclude based on that data?

Karl-Anthony Towns not getting shots in those close games matters less when the team is winning games more regularly, which they were doing a lot more under Thibs. They aren't winning under Saunders and Towns isn't getting his opportunities. That's when it becomes a major problem as there's really no excuse for that.

[kekgeek]

I always appreciate the interesting stats you dig up, kek. I agree that not getting the ball to our best player down the stretch is a big problem. But is it a coaching problem, or is it a KAT problem. If I understand the data, the first 19 games Ryan coached KAT in that scenario, he took only three shots. The first 18 games Thibs faced that situation, KAT took the exact same number of shots...3. Now it got better as thibs coached more games, so maybe it will for Ryan too. But it seems like whoever the coach is, or the PG for that matter, KAT doesn't shoot at the end of close games. How are we supposed to conclude based on that data?

Fair rebuttal. It could do something with Kat, I do think that has something to do with it. My one quibble is Thibs 1st year Kat was a 2nd year player, Kat is a 6th year player now, a max player and a former All NBA player now. I do think Kat should take some blame, I mean if Kat rolls hard last night like Ryan said he should of does he get the ball with a smaller guy on his back Im not sure. My main takeaway is Ryan needs to do better on finding plays Kat can get the ball and score. Wolves just need to do better whoever the coach is to get the best player the ball. This year Dlo has shot in 3 of the 4 games he was in this situation, Ant 1 of 6 games and Naz got the other one. Just annoys me we can run a play for Naz at the end of the game but we don't do the same for Kat

[Leado01]

In all fairness, this board skewered recommendations to evaluate Sabonis and would have been hard on him his rookie season!! Really good NBA players, the majority of the time, are developed.

Just take a minute to look at Domantas Sabonis' stats tonight. 36 points shooting 60%, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and a block. Now that's a monster triple double.

No disrespect to KAT, but when has he ever posted those type of numbers?

[AbeVigodaLive]

In all fairness, this board skewered recommendations to evaluate Sabonis and would have been hard on him his rookie season!! Really good NBA players, the majority of the time, are developed.

Just take a minute to look at Domantas Sabonis' stats tonight. 36 points shooting 60%, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and a block. Now that's a monster triple double.

No disrespect to KAT, but when has he ever posted those type of numbers?

We'd probably be ripping how he was being used, too.

OKC wanted him to be a stretch 4 and shoot three pointers. Adams and Kanter manned everything near the hoop. Sabonis showed immediate improvement in IND when they let him work almost exclusively near the hoop.