Thursday, November 1, 2007

To The Dummies Who Don't Get It

First, if you think Willie Green is a good player, this is not the blog for you. Yes, I understand he works hard and is a "sparkplug" and all that bullshit. But he has no place starting for ANY NBA team.

Second, there is a difference between scoring points and scoring points efficiently. If someone on average needs 20 shots to score 20 points, as Green would based on his career points per shot numbers, they're actually not doing a good job of scoring efficiently. Points per shot takes into account more than FG%- it's simply the total points scored (from FG's and FT's) divided by the field goals a player attempted.

For example, Andre Iguodala, an actual good player, scored 1.4 points per shot (18.2 PPG on 13 SPG) he that took last season. That is someone you want taking shots. So is Dwight Howard- he put up a monster 1.65 PPS last year. Willie Green averaged less than one point per shot he took- that is AWFUL. When Willie Green is firing away, it costs the Sixers wins because there are other players on the team can score more points on fewer shots. It's about maximizing each offensive possession. Having Willie Green out there makes that difficult.

If the simple math we're pulling out here is too complex or seems stupid to you, you're not going to enjoy what we write. Feel free to bash us, but you will not change our opinions. We're not the rah-rah, intangibles and hustle matter more than ability and skill types here. We don't say they don't matter, but they also don't make up for lack of talent.

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