For once, an admittedly COF thread: Another look at Casspi's D. Can you explain the following?

Casspi is a great guy off the bench. Will not be as good when starting though.

 

Omri's a pretty solid defender, he realises his limited minutes means he can play more aggressively and just let the ref call them, he gets a bit lost in the rotations though (but then so has our whole team...)

 

I like Caspi but he has a long way before that would happen. Parsons 3 pt shot has actually gotten better than it was earlier. Also Parsons is able to handle, pass and shoot higher percent than Caspi. Caspi has rebounded at a higher rate per min so props there and his 3 ball has been more consistent. Idk about him taking over Parsons through, the guy is versatile enough to contribute in ways when his shot is off that he is too valuable to replace by Caspi imo.

 

<table width="100%" class='inner1'><tr><td colspan="20" class="inner">Stats Leader - Houston Rockets, Average Over 18 Mins Per Game</td></tr><tr align="right" bgcolor="#AADDFF"><td width="1%">#</td><td align="left" width="18%">&nbsp;Player</td><td align='left' width="2%">Team</td><td align='left' width="4%">Pos</td><td title="Games Played" width="2%"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,gp,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>G</a></td><td title="Minutes Per Game"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,mpg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>MPG</a></td><td title="Field Goal Percentage"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,fg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>FG%</a></td><td title="3 Points Field Goal Percentage"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,f3p,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>3P%</a></td><td title="Free Throw Percentage"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,ft,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>FT%</a></td><td title="Offensive Rebounds"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,off,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>OFF</a></td><td title="Defensive Rebounds"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,def,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>DEF</a></td><td title="Rebounds"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,rpg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>RPG</a></td><td title="Assists"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,apg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>APG</a></td><td title="Steals"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,spg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>SPG</a></td><td title="Blocks"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,bpg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>BPG</a></td><td title="Turnovers"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,turnover,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>TO</a></td><td title="Personal Fouls"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,pf,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>PF</a></td><td title="Points"><a href="http://ns.twhappy.com/?select=14,leader,pg,ppg,17,all,mpg" target='_blank'>PPG</a></td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>1</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,245' target='_blank'>James Harden</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>G</td><td>12</td><td>39.3</td><td>44.6</td><td>30.9</td><td>85.8</td><td>1.0</td><td>3.8</td><td>4.8</td><td>5.4</td><td>1.8</td><td>0.8</td><td>4.3</td><td>2.8</td><td>24.2</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>2</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,246' target='_blank'>Dwight Howard</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>F-C</td><td>14</td><td>35.1</td><td>56.0</td><td>0.0</td><td>54.3</td><td>3.4</td><td>10.2</td><td>13.6</td><td>1.8</td><td>0.6</td><td>2.4</td><td>3.1</td><td>3.9</td><td>17.9</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>3</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,250' target='_blank'>Chandler Parsons</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>F</td><td>14</td><td>37.7</td><td>50.6</td><td>30.9</td><td>75.5</td><td>0.7</td><td>4.6</td><td>5.3</td><td>4.1</td><td>1.1</td><td>0.7</td><td>2.1</td><td>2.4</td><td>16.6</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>4</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,248' target='_blank'>Jeremy Lin</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>G</td><td>14</td><td>31.9</td><td>50.7</td><td>41.1</td><td>80.0</td><td>0.2</td><td>2.4</td><td>2.6</td><td>4.9</td><td>1.3</td><td>0.6</td><td>3.2</td><td>2.6</td><td>16.5</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>5</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,238'>Patrick Beverley</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>G</td><td>11</td><td>29.4</td><td>42.4</td><td>37.5</td><td>84.6</td><td>1.5</td><td>2.3</td><td>3.8</td><td>2.3</td><td>1.2</td><td>0.5</td><td>1.5</td><td>2.8</td><td>10.0</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>6</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,247' target='_blank'>Terrence Jones</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>F</td><td>11</td><td>21.9</td><td>55.4</td><td>53.8</td><td>73.9</td><td>1.8</td><td>3.9</td><td>5.7</td><td>1.0</td><td>0.2</td><td>1.3</td><td>0.9</td><td>1.8</td><td>9.6</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>7</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,242' target='_blank'>Omri Casspi</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>F</td><td>13</td><td>21.0</td><td>42.0</td><td>36.6</td><td>66.7</td><td>0.6</td><td>3.5</td><td>4.1</td><td>1.8</td><td>1.0</td><td>0.4</td><td>1.3</td><td>1.9</td><td>7.9</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>8</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,244' target='_blank'>Francisco Garcia</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>G-F</td><td>13</td><td>19.4</td><td>38.4</td><td>33.3</td><td>75.0</td><td>0.2</td><td>1.6</td><td>1.8</td><td>0.9</td><td>0.5</td><td>0.5</td><td>0.6</td><td>1.8</td><td>6.1</td></tr><tr align='right' onmouseover="this.style.backgroundColor='#CECECE';" onMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#FFFFFF';"><td>9</td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,player,237' target='_blank'>Omer Asik</a></td><td align='left'><a href='?select=14,team,17' target='_blank'>HOU</a></td><td align='left'>C</td><td>12</td><td>18.1</td><td>50.0</td><td>0.0</td><td>62.5</td><td>1.6</td><td>5.3</td><td>6.8</td><td>0.2</td><td>0.3</td><td>0.5</td><td>1.3</td><td>2.5</td><td>4.3</td></tr></table>

 

These stats indicate that Omri may be better than expected on defense, although using 5 man lineups and synergy stats with such small samples is of questionable value.

What's more clear is he's an offensive liability.

 

Why is that?

 

He's at best an average 3pt shooter, and he isn't any good at anything else.

 

Well, he does shoot slightly above the league average in 3pt percentage, and he rebounds well for his position (especially considering he is sharing the court with Dwight). Advanced stats show that his presence on the court correlates with overall better ball movement. Not suggesting he is an all star, but there seems to be no evidence for your claim that he is an offensive liability (unless you consider anyone who is not an all star a liability).

 

Casspi is the worst player on the Rockets team. Donatas should be getting those minutes.

 

Casspi has a +14.6 +/- per 48 so far, that's extremely good, there's nothing to really pick on here, he's a better Delfino so far basically. and younger / healthier.

 

He also has handles for a big and he doesn't get destroyed by opposing bigs. That's the definition of a backup-4 in this Rockets offense. Are there better versions of him? Sure. Ryan Anderson is basically a rich-man's Casspi. Bargnani too when he's actually trying. But for the veteran minimum as a bench player? This is about what you can expect.

 

Ryan Anderson is more then a rich man's version but Anderson gets paid accordingly. Casspi is a bargin for what he brings to the team. He rebounds well, he is great at running the floor and finishing off outlet and bounce passes and the guy has a consistent perimeter shot.

 

He's a project. Drafted by a bad organization and then traded to another bad organization. Playing for the rockets has been his first glimpse of a functional nba organization.

I do like the idea of a power forward being a point against blake griffin, Tim duncan, zach randolph and making easy points against the defensive chaos but he doesn't have the court vision.