Fun with the new stats.nba.com

#1
So NBA.com has a new stats page powered by SAP, and there all kinds of goodies to be had. For instance, I decided to dive into our horrible rebounding numbers and found the following:

John Salmons Contested Rebounds through 6 games = 0

What's a contested rebound? A rebound gathered when an opponent is within 3.5 feet. Apparently with all the new camera's they are able to track this kind of data. So in 2 and 1/2 hours of playing basketball, Salmons has only been within 3.5 feet of an opposing player rebounding six times and gotten zero of those rebounds. He is actually getting 71.4% of rebounds that are with 3.5 feet of him. But is 3.5 chances an average #? If you look at player who have played over >25 minutes a game so far, sorted by Rebound Chances per Game

Player / Minutes / Rebound chances per game / Rebound % / % Contested
John Lucas III- 28.0 - 3.0 - 79.2 - 5.3
Jamal Crawford - 27.0 - 3.1 - 60 - 13.3
Deron Williams - 27.3 - 3.3 - 60 - 25.0
JJ Reddick - 30.3 - 3.4 - 81.5 - 0.0
Joe Johnson - 29.6 - 3.5 - 71.4 - 20.0
John Salmons - 26.4 - 3.5 -71.4 - 0.0


Salmons is 6th after a bunch of guards. To put this in perspective:
Player / Minutes / Rebound chances per game / Rebound % / % Contested
Isiah Thomas - 27.8 - 4.2 - 52.0 - 30.8
Grevious Vasquez - 27.7 - 4.3 - 50.0 - 7.7

Though I would like to point out that our 6'6" guard is not rebounding better than our 5'7" guard.

So how's our SG doing?
Player / Minutes / Rebound chances per game / Rebound % / % Contested
Marcus Thorton - 28.5 - 4.8 - 51.7 - 13.3
Kevin Martin - 35.0 - 4.6 - 70.3 - 15.4

And how is our PF doing?
Player / Minutes / Rebound chances per game / Rebound % / % Contested
Patrick Patterson - 26.0 - 8.5 - 54.9 - 25.0
Jason Smith - 28.7 - 8.3 - 56.9 - 21.2

So besides Cousins our starting 4 is rebounding the same as

I. Thomas/Kevin Martin/Joe Johnson/Jason Smith

That is going to make it almost impossible to win.

However there is hope:
Player / Minutes / Rebound chances per game / Rebound % / % Contested
Ben McLemore - 20.0 - 5.3 - 43.8 - 35.7
Travis Outlaw - 16.0 - 4.7 - 78.6 - 22.7
Jason Thompson - 19.5 - 8.7 - 59.6 - 41.9

I know it won't be a straight linear progression, but that should give us a net of +7 rebounds per game if those 3 started. Also for comparison:
Player / Minutes / Rebound chances per game / Rebound % / % Contested
Kevin Love - 36.6 - 23.6 - 63.5 - 36.7
DeMarcus Cousins - 32.1 - 13.2 - 73.4 - 39.7
oh and don't forget
Steve Adams - 20.2 - 11.0 - 54.5 - 69.4
 
#2
Thanks, that is a really interesting stat and is the root of the problem. The one that definitely pin points the aspect that we've been talking about with "effort". I think the better word may be "fight", as in fighting for the ball.

You have to have players who fight for loose balls and rebounds. If 3 of your starters are terrible at this, you're gonna get pounded most of the time, unless you're absolutely shooting the lights out.

The other deal is the three players in question are all generally outsized by the opponent in most games. Thornton is the size of a point gaurd, Salmons a shooting gaurd, and Patterson is matched up against guys who are longer than him. Two many undersized players in the heart of our lineup. You can get away with one, maybe two undersized players, if they make up for it with outstanding play in other areas, or play their guts out with super effort,.. but that isn't the case here.

Our size and length goes way up with McClemore, Outlaw or Moute, and JT. No brainer at this point
 
#4
Notice how Love puts himself within the 3.5 ft? His rebound chances are off the hook. He has a nose for the ball. Damn I wish there was some way we could have got Love.

I wonder why in four minutes of playing time Love is averaging 10 more rebound attempts than Cousins.
 
#5
Notice how Love puts himself within the 3.5 ft? His rebound chances are off the hook. He has a nose for the ball. Damn I wish there was some way we could have got Love.
He's fully prepared mentally every game, to do physical battle on the floor. A throwback to how several effective guys played in the 70's and 80's. Players like Kurt Rambis, Jerry Sloan, etc etc. Even more recently in one of our coaches..Corliss Williamson. Guys you knew were literally going to leave bruises as evidence of their war like effort.

We have too many guys who avoid contact and/or don't have the physical makeup to engage in this kind of battle
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#6
Notice how Love puts himself within the 3.5 ft? His rebound chances are off the hook. He has a nose for the ball. Damn I wish there was some way we could have got Love.

I wonder why in four minutes of playing time Love is averaging 10 more rebound attempts than Cousins.
I'm wondering that too. Love is a freakish rebounder. Was what jumped out about him form his first game as a rookie. Has a nothing body, but he's country strong. Everything he gets his hands on he keeps. But the stat there suggests that the reason he's heads and shoulders above everybody else is because he's actually racking up far more opportunities. Nose for the ball I suppose.
 
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#7
Notice how Love puts himself within the 3.5 ft? His rebound chances are off the hook. He has a nose for the ball. Damn I wish there was some way we could have got Love.

I wonder why in four minutes of playing time Love is averaging 10 more rebound attempts than Cousins.
Probably because he's working with another very physical player, their center Pekavic. They have two guys constantly around the basket fighting for position and the ball. Cousins is forced to do it more on his own, when he plays with the Patterson
 
#8
I'm wondering that too. Love is a freakish rebounder. Was what jumped out about him form his first game as a rookie. Has anything body, but he's country strong. Everything he gets his hands on he keeps. But the stat there suggests that the reason he's heads and shoulders above everybody else is because he's actually racking up far more opportunities. Nose for the ball I suppose.
I remember him saying after his 30-30 games that at one point in that game he just decided he was getting every single rebound. To get 30 in todays NBA, that's what it takes almost to get 30. He can actually do it. And that's with minimal leaping ability. Desire and timing are more important.

to shasta, love can rebound no matter who is opposite him. He did it before Pecovic, and he'll do it after.
 
#9
I remember him saying after his 30-30 games that at one point in that game he just decided he was getting every single rebound. To get 30 in todays NBA, that's what it takes almost to get 30. He can actually do it. And that's with minimal leaping ability. Desire and timing are more important.

to shasta, love can rebound no matter who is opposite him. He did it before Pecovic, and he'll do it after.
No doubt about it, but it helps to have another physical player fighting along side