I'm not sure why everybody is killing Morey in the media. He can only do so much and the rest is up to the players not wanting to come over. Saying that, I'm sure if we had a coach like Stan van Gundy or Phil Jackson, people will be rolling over themselves to come over. Popovich even finds a way to get Patty Mills and Danny Green a strong role in the offense. Think we need to develop our core players and try get a defensive minded power forward (if the stretch 4 isn't available). Dwight kept getting frustrated with the lack of defense and having to cover for breakdowns. Hopefully harden is working on defensive drills. What lost us the Portland series is not 'just' bad calls or losing Lillard at the buzzer. It's Harden getting bullied by Wes freaking Matthews and losing cutters on backdoors. Regardless If Bosh or Love or even LeBron came over we can't play team defense if our starting sg playing 30+ minutes a night can't stay in front of Corey Brewer. Pop can get away with Matt Bonner as he isn't as much a focal point the offense. This is on Harden, whom I love watching but needs to lead our team in the playoffs
Worth noting Wes Matthews shot 41% in the playoffs (down from 44% on the season, ppg was 14, down from 16.5). He was only a +3 for the series. Batum was the killer. Shot 46% (16ppg, up from 13ppg in the regular season). Was a +20 for the series. I'm not excusing Harden, and I hope he improves vastly, but if you want to wail about which wing player killed us with their lack of D in the playoffs, then get the right one!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Free agent forward Ed Davis has reached agreement on a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, league source tells Yahoo.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/489598122512089088">July 17, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Davis' deal is two years, $2M, with a player option on the 2015-'16 season.</p>— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/489598476867866624">July 17, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That's kind of a good deal for the Lakers... Although it might be that Ed Davis is complete garbage now?
Statistically, Marion would be a decent backup to Ariza for defensive purposes but provides minimal impact on the outcome of games much. Marion defensive numbers are pretty good, about the same as Chandler Parsons, but unlike Parsons (and Ariza), Marion is a huge liability on offense. Note the huge negative ORPM (-1.72), xRAPM (Off) [-0.96], negative per game plus/minus (-1.8), and the relatively weak WS (+4.3), WAR (+1.96), and NetRtg (0.00). Compare these numbers with Parsons' ORPM (+1.37), xRAPM (Off) [+1.99], =/- (+4.4), WS (+7.6), WAR (+7.57), and NetRtg (+6.3). I take from this that the good Marion provides on defense is counterbalanced by his negative effect on the offensive end. He's essentially a non-factor; he won't lose us games but won't win us games either. That's not necessarily a bad thing for a backup, especially at 35 y/o, but he's definitely no Chandler Parsons or Trevor Ariza. His 2013-2014 Per Game stats appear below. Shawn Marion (Compared to Chandler Parsons-red font): 2013-2014 Per Game Stats PPG = 10.4 on 9.3 FGA (16.6 on 13.3 FGA); FG% = 48.2 (47.2%); 3ptFG% = 35.8% (37.0%); RPG = 6.5 (5.5); +/- = - 1.8 (+4.4) PER = 13.7 (15.9); TS% = 53.7 (56.5%); eFG% = 52.3 (53.8%); WS (Off) = +2.2 (5.1); WS (Def) = 2.1 (2.5) Total WS = 4.3 (7.6); OffRtg = 107.5 (110.3); DefRtg = 107.5 (104); Net Rtg = 0.0 (+6.3) DRPM = +0.68 (ranking 21st among the 75 SFs in the league); +0.58 (ranks 23rd among the 75 SFs) ORPM = -1.72 (55th among the 75 SFs in the league); +1.37 (ranks 11th among the 75 SFs); Total RPM = -1.04 (ranks 40th among the 75 SFs in the league); +1.95 (ranks 13th among the 75 SFs); WAR = +1.96 (ranks 26th among the 75 SFs in the league); 7.57 (ranks 8th among the 75 SFs); xRAPM (Off) = -0.96 (+1.99); xRAPM (Def) = +1.26 (+0.15); Total xRAPM = +0.30 (+2.14) Min = 31.7 (37.6); Games = 76 (74); Age = 35 (25)Salary (Cap Hit) = $?? UFA; ($14.7M) Per Game, Advanced Box Score Stats from nba.com; Win Shares and salaries from basketball-reference.com; RPMs and WAR from espn.go.com; and xRAPMs from http://stats-for-the-nba.appspot.com/teams/HOU.html.
Do you realize that Matthews shot 41.3% from the floor and 30% from 3pt while averaging 15.3 pts/game vs the Rockets in the playoffs? During the regular season Matthews averaged 16.4 pts on 44.1 FG% and 39.3% 3FG%. So a guy who shot worse and scored less than normal is what you identify as the main reason that we lost? Did you realize that in Brewer's 50 pt game he only made two baskets while being guarded by Harden?
This is awesome breh. Have you done a comparison like this for Ariza and Parsons? Would love to see that. I am sure someone has done this already but I like seeing how they are ranked to other SF's.
I'm starting to wonder if Marion is considering retirement or something. There hasn't been a peep about him and I would think that plenty of contending teams would be interested in him.
Nice work. Marion's definitely not much of a factor on the offensive end. If we were to sign him it would be to have a veteran and someone who could come in and give you real effort on defense at the 3 or 4 in a small lineup. He wouldn't be replacing Parsons, he'd be replacing Garcia in effect. Worth also noting though that he can't shoot, a fluky years not withstanding. Echo that I'd like to see this comparison for these two. In its own thread though perhaps?
At the top of my list right now is Marion mainly since he can guard 1's - 4's for a stretch still. Not sure if he will still be effective next season but he was still a very consistent contributor for the Mavs this season and stepped up as the season wore on. His versatility on offense and defense is what has made Marion millions and got him and the Mavs a ring. His athleticism is fading but fairly slowly. He gets up and down the floor faster than most players, especially 4's. I would consider offering 1 yr. 5 mil with team option on the 2nd year. The downside with his game is shooting the ball but he is effective enough to keep defenders honest and could spread the floor as well or better than Tjones or DMo at the 4.