Interesting statistics thread

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Latest Net Ratings from NBA.com:

Gibson - +7.7
Butler - +5.8
Wiggins - +4.1
Jones - +3.6
Bjelly - +2.7
Teague - +2.6
KAT - +1.7
Dieng - -8.9
Crawford - -11.1

- Butler is the biggest mover, going into the second position behind Gibson. Kudos to Thibs for getting these two on board. They have been HUGE for us. We'd be a lottery team without them.

- KAT's defensive rating has improved over the last couple of weeks, which has finally gotten him into positive net rating territory. He still has the worst defensive rating of our starters.

- Tyus continues to do a solid job as either a backup or spot starter.

- Crawford is an absolute disaster defensively.

- Bjelly can't get back soon enough to bolster our bench, although he doesn't do much to fix the wing depth problem.

Why no mention of Wiggins? Clearly this is one of the positive stats for him that works in contrast to your theory that he hasn't improved any aspect of his game. This stat shows that good things happen when he's on the court, and unlike Towns he isn't as negatively impacted by Butler or Taj taking a seat. It's not just anecdotal, he is playing better team ball. Making the right first pass, filling the correct lanes on D, rotating to the right cover.

I mentioned Wiggins the last time I posted this set of stats. Yes, he's improved along the margins, but this is just one data point. Keep in mind also that much less is expected of him. He no longer has to guard the #1 wing opponent, nor is he guarded by the #1 wing defender. So he has it easier on both ends, yet he hasn't become any more productive or efficient than in years' past.

Now go look at the other data points: PER, WS/48, TS%, RPM, etc. and tell me what kind of overall picture it paints. He's not even close to anyone else getting max contracts. Frankly, I think we could swap him out for a very large group of other NBA starting wings and we wouldn't miss a beat.

That being said, he's miles better than Crawford or Bazz and is therefore very important to us based on our lack of depth on the wing.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

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Crawford is a mystery to me. My impression of him when I go to games is that he handles the ball well and puts in a lot of effort on defense...but his numbers are terrible. I guess I still think he was a good pickup by Thibs, but his numbers need to improve.

I think Crawford summed it up best yesterday:

"My game honestly isn't for everybody. Like, I'm an acquired taste. I get it. But those fans really took to me and if you like me, you really like me and I'm thankful for the support."

He is either an inefficient chucker. Or, a jolt of energy off the bench. Simply depends whether he's making those shots or not.

Good point, abe. I was never a big fan of Crawford before he came here, because I thought he lacked a conscience. But you have to take him for what he is. His 35% career 3-point percentage consists of a lot of forced 1-8s combined with games that he wins for you by being ridiculously hot. What puzzles me is his ineffectiveness on defense, because I honestly don't see terrible defense when I go to games. He moves well, puts in the effort, understands help defense, and generally doesn't look like a Shabazz out there...but the results are horrible. I'm interested in what others who go to games (Lip?) see in his defense.

LST, you have to watch him a full possession. Often early in possessions you will see him bouncing up and down and waving his arms, looking energized on defense. But once someone takes it at him and he's on his heels, it's game over. He just lacks the lateral quickness and strength to slow someone down going to the hoop.

[thedoper]

Timberwolves are 2nd to GS in assist/TO ratio now. That archaic coach Thibs sure has instilled some good fundamental rules in his horrible offense. Ball control will always be a huge factor in offense. I think it's no secret that Kerr said Assists and Turnovers are 2 of the 3 key stats he looks at after a game.

[Monster]

Usage for Wolves players 2016-2017 compared to 2017-2018 seasons via basketball reference

2016-2017
Wiggins 29.0
Towns 27.5
Butler 26.5
Teague 22.1 (this was a lower usage than his previous years as a starter)
Rubio 17.4 (basically the same as his usage the year before)

2017-2018
Wiggins 23.5
Towns 23.0
Butler 22.7
Teague 20.1
Rubio 23.2

Note the balance of usage of those offensive guys so far through this season.

[thedoper]

Usage for Wolves players 2016-2017 compared to 2017-2018 seasons via basketball reference

2016-2017
Wiggins 29.0
Towns 27.5
Butler 26.5
Teague 22.1 (this was a lower usage than his previous years as a starter)
Rubio 17.4 (basically the same as his usage the year before)

2017-2018
Wiggins 23.5
Towns 23.0
Butler 22.7
Teague 20.1
Rubio 23.2

Note the balance of usage of those offensive guys so far through this season.

I think we all suspected it was going to be a chore to integrate this roster. I think it's been really fun to watch, you never know who could step forward every night. The consistency still isn't there but I really think Thibs and Teague can get some credit in this area.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Usage for Wolves players 2016-2017 compared to 2017-2018 seasons via basketball reference

2016-2017
Wiggins 29.0
Towns 27.5
Butler 26.5
Teague 22.1 (this was a lower usage than his previous years as a starter)
Rubio 17.4 (basically the same as his usage the year before)

2017-2018
Wiggins 23.5
Towns 23.0
Butler 22.7
Teague 20.1
Rubio 23.2

Note the balance of usage of those offensive guys so far through this season.

I would like to see Wiggins at 20 and take that 3.5 percentage points and give it to KAT. He needs more touches, Wiggins needs to become more of an off the ball cutter and spot up shooter.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Butler working his way up the RPM rankings: #2 among SGs; #5 among SGs/SFs combined (i.e. wings), and #15 overall in the NBA.

The next best starter we have by positional ranking is KAT at #15 among Centers. Obviously it's his defense that brings him down. He's ranked 4th offensively. Dieng is dead last among Centers in defensive RPM - even worse than KAT, lol! That is quite a turnaround from last season where he was ranked 6th among Centers defensively! I think part of that is legit and part of that is the quirkiness of RPM.....weird.

[kekgeek]

15-3 when leading after 3 quarters
15-4 when shooting > 44.0% FG
13-4 when outrebounding opponents

and...

9 wins in games decided by 6-points or less (#1 NBA)

For how much we complain about our late game struggles and how we are blowing games because of minutes the stats really don't say that. We have only lost 3 games when going into the 4th with the lead, that is pretty darn good. And we are the best clutch team in the NBA based on wins.

Now we are 1-10 in games where we are losing entering the 4th. But lets not talk about that it doesn't fit my narrative. hahah

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

15-3 when leading after 3 quarters
15-4 when shooting > 44.0% FG
13-4 when outrebounding opponents

and...

9 wins in games decided by 6-points or less (#1 NBA)

For how much we complain about our late game struggles and how we are blowing games because of minutes the stats really don't say that. We have only lost 3 games when going into the 4th with the lead, that is pretty darn good. And we are the best clutch team in the NBA based on wins.

Now we are 1-10 in games where we are losing entering the 4th. But lets not talk about that it doesn't fit my narrative. hahah

We've also lost our last four games decided by 4 points or less, so it all depends on how you slice the data!

Thibs 4th quarter offense is not a horrible strategy for holding leads, as ugly as it looks. Slow it down, clear everyone out, avoid the turnover, and make sure you get some sort of shot up late in the clock. But heaven forbid we relinquish the lead or go into the 4th down a few points, because it's a terrible strategy for actually catching up. The other thing is as good as Butler can be at times, he's no Durant, LeBron, or Irving. He is simply not at their level as an isolation player.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

A little more optimism here after two nice wins against division rivals. But unfortunately we have sunk to the bottom again in adjusted FG%, just a fraction behind Denver. The problem lies in overall shooting percentage (as opposed to 3-point %) where we are dead last giving up an astonishing 48.2%. Some of the recent off-the-charts shooting performances by opposing centers has a lot to do with this. Despite his brilliant offense, I think this still points toward KAT as the main culprit on defense...he not only gives up far too many easy baskets to the guy he is guarding, but he is also often slow to help out when teammates get beat, resulting in too many layups.

This is a promising basketball team that is going to make the playoffs this year, but they are not going to go very far if they can't improve on this stat. I don't know what the answer is, but somehow Thibs has to make the adjustments for us to improve here. Maybe it's more minutes for Cole....unlike KAT and G, he has a solid lower base and doesn't get pushed around in the paint as much. But of course subbing Cole in for KAT means a big dropoff in offense. I would still give it a try. What do others think about us being last in AFG%, and what would you recommend Thibs do to fix this?