05-19-2023, 08:39 AM
Watching Denver's come back last night made me want to dig into their team construction a little bit. They essentially have six guys (and squeeze a few minutes out of Green). The offense of Murray and Jokic is all that really matters down the stretch which is probably similar to Luka and Kyrie. Yes, there are others who can hit an open shot, but the creation is coming from the stars in the playoffs.
They are a middle of the pack defensive team. EPM and Raptor don't agree on who their good defenders are. One attributes defensive success more to Jokic (3.6 Defensive Raptor) than KCP and Gordon (each of them rated 1.0...the same a Josh Green). EPM has Gordon and KCP in the 96th and 85th percentile defensively and Jokic in the 63rd percentile. No matter where the credit should go, we can probably all agree that it would be nice to have players like KCP and Gordon surrounding Luka/Kyrie.
Before we look at targets, let's define what we have in our non-star players.
THJ had a surprisingly good year defensively last year. DRap = 1.7. DEPM = 66. Dillon Brooks has the same DRap, but is a much better DEPM at 95. As noted before, Josh had a DRap of 1.0...the same as KCP, and a DEPM of 63. Powell shows up better than some might predict. His DRap is 1.2 and his DEPM is 71. The DEPM is similar to WCJ, Okongwu, Ayton and Zubac. His best comps in DRap are WCJ, Okongwu, Sengun and Zubac. If you just listed Powell's data, and his On/Off as Player X instead of the apparently triggering Dwight Powell, you'd have the profile of an excellent backup big. For reference, DFS's DRap was 1.4 but DEPM was a career high 89.
Dallas has two must-starts in Luka and Irving. If those are your starters, I'd argue Hardy can't start. You might could get one more starter from among Green, THJ and Powell, but two of those guys need to come off the bench (Maxi and Reggie were actually worse defenders last season despite their reputations). So, as so many have said, to be a good defensive team, we really need two more superior defensive players in the starting lineup.
Here are some top names based on D-Raptor (all but Capela and Claxton are FA's):
P. Reed (3.6). Wow, except his DEPM at 68 doesn't match. Ready to start? Probably not.
D. Green (3.5)
DiVincenzo (2.5) This one jumps off the page to me. DEPM also good at 84. If we lose a guard in a trade, I'd do this.
Thybulle (2.5) DD is the better offensive player and is unrestricted. Give me DD
Capela/Claxton (2.4)
M. Wagner (2.0) Feels like the Hartenstein of 2023. Unfortunately DEPM is only 42.
D. Brooks (1.7) As mentioned before, DEPM is 95
K. Anderson (1.1) Not a FA, but doesn't want to play with Gobert any more
Here are some top names based on DEPM:
D. Green (99)
Thybulle (98)
Claxton (97)
B. Lopez (97)
D. Brooks (95)
K. Anderson (93) This is intriguing since he shows up well on both lists
LaVert (86)
DiVincenzo (86)
R. Oneale (81) He's a 1.0 on DRap
PJ Washington (73)
I think there are two ways to look at what we have depending on where one places Luka
New Center/Powell
Luka/Maxi
Green/THJ
New Perimeter/Reggie
Irving/Hardy
New Center/Powell
New Big Wing/Maxi
Green/THJ
Kyrie/Reggie
Luka/Hardy
Conventional wisdom is the second grouping, but I wonder if making Luka the second tallest player and adding a perimeter defender might be just as effective. DiVincenzo is certainly worth looking at in this regard. Trade for a center and use your exception on DD? You'd always have the flexibility to have Maxi close if need be (matchup dependent). But someone controlling the paint with Green and DD disrupting things on the Perimeter wouldn't be bad. And, both can hit outside shots really well.
They are a middle of the pack defensive team. EPM and Raptor don't agree on who their good defenders are. One attributes defensive success more to Jokic (3.6 Defensive Raptor) than KCP and Gordon (each of them rated 1.0...the same a Josh Green). EPM has Gordon and KCP in the 96th and 85th percentile defensively and Jokic in the 63rd percentile. No matter where the credit should go, we can probably all agree that it would be nice to have players like KCP and Gordon surrounding Luka/Kyrie.
Before we look at targets, let's define what we have in our non-star players.
THJ had a surprisingly good year defensively last year. DRap = 1.7. DEPM = 66. Dillon Brooks has the same DRap, but is a much better DEPM at 95. As noted before, Josh had a DRap of 1.0...the same as KCP, and a DEPM of 63. Powell shows up better than some might predict. His DRap is 1.2 and his DEPM is 71. The DEPM is similar to WCJ, Okongwu, Ayton and Zubac. His best comps in DRap are WCJ, Okongwu, Sengun and Zubac. If you just listed Powell's data, and his On/Off as Player X instead of the apparently triggering Dwight Powell, you'd have the profile of an excellent backup big. For reference, DFS's DRap was 1.4 but DEPM was a career high 89.
Dallas has two must-starts in Luka and Irving. If those are your starters, I'd argue Hardy can't start. You might could get one more starter from among Green, THJ and Powell, but two of those guys need to come off the bench (Maxi and Reggie were actually worse defenders last season despite their reputations). So, as so many have said, to be a good defensive team, we really need two more superior defensive players in the starting lineup.
Here are some top names based on D-Raptor (all but Capela and Claxton are FA's):
P. Reed (3.6). Wow, except his DEPM at 68 doesn't match. Ready to start? Probably not.
D. Green (3.5)
DiVincenzo (2.5) This one jumps off the page to me. DEPM also good at 84. If we lose a guard in a trade, I'd do this.
Thybulle (2.5) DD is the better offensive player and is unrestricted. Give me DD
Capela/Claxton (2.4)
M. Wagner (2.0) Feels like the Hartenstein of 2023. Unfortunately DEPM is only 42.
D. Brooks (1.7) As mentioned before, DEPM is 95
K. Anderson (1.1) Not a FA, but doesn't want to play with Gobert any more
Here are some top names based on DEPM:
D. Green (99)
Thybulle (98)
Claxton (97)
B. Lopez (97)
D. Brooks (95)
K. Anderson (93) This is intriguing since he shows up well on both lists
LaVert (86)
DiVincenzo (86)
R. Oneale (81) He's a 1.0 on DRap
PJ Washington (73)
I think there are two ways to look at what we have depending on where one places Luka
New Center/Powell
Luka/Maxi
Green/THJ
New Perimeter/Reggie
Irving/Hardy
New Center/Powell
New Big Wing/Maxi
Green/THJ
Kyrie/Reggie
Luka/Hardy
Conventional wisdom is the second grouping, but I wonder if making Luka the second tallest player and adding a perimeter defender might be just as effective. DiVincenzo is certainly worth looking at in this regard. Trade for a center and use your exception on DD? You'd always have the flexibility to have Maxi close if need be (matchup dependent). But someone controlling the paint with Green and DD disrupting things on the Perimeter wouldn't be bad. And, both can hit outside shots really well.