Interesting statistics thread

[kekgeek]

After 9 games, the Wolves continue to shoot the three ball well (37.9% is 7th in the league), but not frequently enough (22.9 attempts per game ranks third from the bottom).

We continue to struggle on defense, still ranking last in the league in opponents adjusted FG %, although we are closing the gap on the Cavs who rank second to last.

And yet despite not adjusting to the new NBA in emphasizing the three and giving up a much too high shooting percentage, this squad has won 4 in a row and is 5-1 with Butler playing. I'm quite encouraged by this news.

*6-1 with Butler.

Even though we are not playing that good defensively we are doing well defending that 3pt line well.

14th in opt 3pt %
10th in opt 3pt attempts
8th in opt 3pt rate %

Like Q pointed out teams are killing us at the rim but also killing us on mid range jumpers and the mid range jumpers will come back to the norm as the season goes on

[Monster]

After 9 games, the Wolves continue to shoot the three ball well (37.9% is 7th in the league), but not frequently enough (22.9 attempts per game ranks third from the bottom).

We continue to struggle on defense, still ranking last in the league in opponents adjusted FG %, although we are closing the gap on the Cavs who rank second to last.

And yet despite not adjusting to the new NBA in emphasizing the three and giving up a much too high shooting percentage, this squad has won 4 in a row and is 5-1 with Butler playing. I'm quite encouraged by this news.

*6-1 with Butler.

Even though we are not playing that good defensively we are doing well defending that 3pt line well.

14th in opt 3pt %
10th in opt 3pt attempts
8th in opt 3pt rate %

Like Q pointed out teams are killing us at the rim but also killing us on mid range jumpers and the mid range jumpers will come back to the norm as the season goes on

LST Last year through 10 games the Wolves were 8th in the league in made 3's with 9.9 made per game. This year they are making 8.7 and last year they finished with 7.6 per game. What I take from these numbers is it's a small sample size let's see how things go. The Wolves lost their best 3 point threat in Lavine but this year they have some gains from guys shooting more per minute than they did last year.

[thedoper]

We're up to the 25th ranked D. Woohoo!!!! 6th offense per NBA.com

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Latest Net Ratings for the Wolves, from best to worst of our top 10 rotation players:

Taj Gibson +4.1
Butler +2.9
Teague +2.8
Wiggins +1.3
KAT +1.1
Bjelica +.9
Dieng -2.6
Crawford -5.0
Jones -5.0
Bazz - -11.2


Thibs looks like a genius (so far) in that three of his major vet acquisitions appear to be leading the charge in playing winning basketball, regardless of individual box score stats.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Latest Net Ratings for the Wolves, from best to worst of our top 10 rotation players:

Taj Gibson +4.1
Butler +2.9
Teague +2.8
Wiggins +1.3
KAT +1.1
Bjelica +.9
Dieng -2.6
Crawford -5.0
Jones -5.0
Bazz - -11.2


Thibs looks like a genius (so far) in that three of his major vet acquisitions appear to be leading the charge in playing winning basketball, regardless of individual box score stats.

Good stuff, Q. I have almost totally turned around on Taj, and now agree that signing him was a good move...even at the exorbitant price tag. And we all know what a great pick up Butler was (the 7-1 record with hm on the court and 0-2 without him might be a slight hint). Teague has been terrific the past couple games, but I would argue that it's more than likely that Ricky would be more than a +2.8 if he had the chance to play with Butler/KAT/Wig/Taj (but that's a discussion for another thread :))

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Here is the latest on how our starting 5 rank versus the top 19 other 5-man lineups in terms of minutes played (all have played 70 or more minutes together across multiple games).

Minutes - #1 out of 20
O Rating - #3
D Rating - #6
Net Rating - #5

Now these are VERY encouraging because it suggests our starting 5 with Butler is getting their act together defensively (this past weekend certainly helped).

In case you are curious, here are the other 5-man units with a better Net rating:

Houston - Anderson, Ariza, Capela, Gordon, Harden +23.3
Washington - Beal, Gortat, Oubre, Porter, Wall +21.2
Golden State - Curry, Durant, Green, Pachulia, Thompson +17.5
Charlotte (!) - Bacon, Howard, Lamb, Walker, Williams +12.8
Minnesota - Butler, Gibson, Teague, KAT, Wiggins - +11.8

I find it funny how Charlotte is so high up there. And this is AFTER our trouncing of them last night. They are generally very good defensively.

[Monster]

Here is the latest on how our starting 5 rank versus the top 19 other 5-man lineups in terms of minutes played (all have played 70 or more minutes together across multiple games).

Minutes - #1 out of 20
O Rating - #3
D Rating - #6
Net Rating - #5

Now these are VERY encouraging because it suggests our starting 5 with Butler is getting their act together defensively (this past weekend certainly helped).

In case you are curious, here are the other 5-man units with a better Net rating:

Houston - Anderson, Ariza, Capela, Gordon, Harden +23.3
Washington - Beal, Gortat, Oubre, Porter, Wall +21.2
Golden State - Curry, Durant, Green, Pachulia, Thompson +17.5
Charlotte (!) - Bacon, Howard, Lamb, Walker, Williams +12.8
Minnesota - Butler, Gibson, Teague, KAT, Wiggins - +11.8

I find it funny how Charlotte is so high up there. And this is AFTER our trouncing of them last night. They are generally very good defensively.

It's interesting that the Wolves are #1 in minutes played because that's with Butler missing 2 games and obviously these guys are playing a lot of minutes but it could also mean that there is not a huge amount of staggering going on. That might be a criticism of Thibs or an encouraging sign of what the bench had been able to do most nights.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

A lot of coaches don't necessarily start their best 5 players. I think it's fair to say Thibs does, so by definition, they SHOULD play the most minutes. Before the season began, I think an argument could be made that Dieng or Bjelly are the better player, but so far Taj has justified his role as a starter and our most versatile big defensively.

(I'd still like to see Bjelly get more run....)

[kekgeek]

A lot of coaches don't necessarily start their best 5 players. I think it's fair to say Thibs does, so by definition, they SHOULD play the most minutes. Before the season began, I think an argument could be made that Dieng or Bjelly are the better player, but so far Taj has justified his role as a starter and our most versatile big defensively.

(I'd still like to see Bjelly get more run....)

Still believe that they are easing belly back in from his injury and he will get more minutes as the season progresses if he continues his strong play

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

A lot of coaches don't necessarily start their best 5 players. I think it's fair to say Thibs does, so by definition, they SHOULD play the most minutes. Before the season began, I think an argument could be made that Dieng or Bjelly are the better player, but so far Taj has justified his role as a starter and our most versatile big defensively.

(I'd still like to see Bjelly get more run....)

Still believe that they are easing belly back in from his injury and he will get more minutes as the season progresses if he continues his strong play

Yeah, that could be the case. I've always said he's a 3-point shot away from being a really effective player off the bench, especially since he figured out how to defend better (he was one of the few players that improved defensively under Thibs last year).

Now he's suddenly leading the league in 3 point percentage! Crazy....doubt it lasts, but I'm hoping he doesn't go into a total funk. Minnesota does not have the greatest history when it comes to shooters.