If you put Casspi in the same lineup as Cavs from last year or Kings 3 years ago, which he had his best year, his rating would be negative. His previous years in DefRtg: 2009 105.6 (-2.9) 2010 107.5 (-5.0) 2011 107.1 (-11.4) Casspi, a role player, will have his ratings varied with whom he plays with. He does NOT change other players ratings; his ratings depend greatly on the leaders of the team he is playing with. Please understand who he is and isn't. If you keep insisting you are correct on your illogical arguments that those data are legit and a direct reflection on a player's skills, you needn't send me any more messages because you will be disappointed with my replies.
It's not about contradicting about everything you said, nor I have anything personal against you. There is nothing defensive about my post. It's about you NOT understanding ratings and how those data are RAW. I understand perfectly if a player plays 48 min, his ratings will become team average. Lebron plays 38 minutes, not 48 min, but his ratings are not closer to the average, as stated by your hypothesis. You are trying to twist the stats to make a point of your argument and it's not working. Your logic is flawed. The raw stats need to be refined or adjusted as according to who Casspi is playing with and the players he played against. By the end of the season, you will find his defensive stats are at MOST average and don't be surprised if he is below average in defensive RAPM. The reason Casspi is having great ratings is the same as Chalmer last year and Norris Cole THIS year; all those players benefited with superior players he is playing with.
... If ANY player would be on court ALL the time, his NetRtg would be identical to the team's. By definition. Since Lebron played 38 minutes a game (and was off court for only about 10 minutes) - 1. His 38 minute on court are a time span when his own rating and team rating are identical. 2. His 10 minutes off court are the only while when the team's rating deviates from his rating. Since Lebron's rating is notably better than the Heat's (1.5:1 ratio), the short time without him was probably significantly worse for the team. I know you think there was a contradiction in my response, but there wasn't: Playing so many minutes (80% of the time) DOES mean that one's rating is PULLED CLOSER to the combined stat, mathematically (Believe me - I do this for living), but unless one is playing 100% of the time - it DOESNT mean that individual rating can't be considerably higher (or lower) than the team's. I hope I made myself clear this time... :-) The Jabberwock
Since you were so keen to contradict everything I wrote in public posts, I figured you may be less defensive in a private message. First, I just saw that Casspi's effect on the Rockets' D has caught more professional eyes than mine: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/64486/surprisingly-productive-defenders Second, in your latest wondering about my response you asked me if I'm saying "ANYONE who plays high amount of minutes, his ratings will reverted back to team average?" The answer is YES. You got it! You now grasp this stat perfectly! That's the way a player's personal NetRtg (or OffRtg, or DefRtg) is calculated - It shows how many points of score difference the whole team creates (or how much it scores, or allows DURING THE MINUTES THAT A SPECIFIC PLAYER IS ON COURT. So...