I think if you were already higher on PP as a defender, nothing has really changed. People who were low on him were, imo, underestimating the role of strength+quickness in NBA guard defense.
Sure, but he’s not a 50% shooter either. He’s a 40/41% shooter who will run hot or cold for stretches like any shooter does.
Fully agreed. But PP maintaining his 40% range from 3 while leveling up handling the ball and playing D is a huge development.
He’s definitely improving. I don’t think it’s as dramatic a change as many do, but agree with the conclusion that he is a quality bench option.
IMHO, rating Kornet as the best of the four doesn’t match the eye test at all. I would guess that is a function of his minutes being protected and playing against lineups where he can have success.
My sense is that this is the case with all of these advanced stats - they will reflect when players are very good situationally and aren't asked to do anything beyond that. Your read feels right but its more of a feature than a bug.
DARKO is very much a context dependent stat, for example you can look at guys like Aaron Gordon and KCP and immediately see where they started playing with Jokic.
I’ve spoken recently how clueless Cam Whitmore is on the floor and that FVV earns his salary simply by positioning him on the floor many possessions, at times literally grabbing him to move him. At least he has a great view to admire Pritchard’s shot LOL!!
The last time they faced off FVV was moving folks all over the court, On this play, what do you see there on whitmores positioning? It looks to me that he somewhat challenges the catch, and (what I see) mistakenly squares to prevent dribble penetration - which isn't even an option - instead of remaining tigh on PP with his hands up.
Positioning was fine. He had no recognition of shot clock and bites on PP’s jab that freezes him, as if PP putting the ball on the floor is a threat there, and he doesn’t close out at all or even raise his arms affect PP’s sight line. Great make by PP for sure but Whitmore allowed him to get off an uncontested look in that spot which is inexcusable.
Maybe he used Lopez' weight against him? Nah, a lot of little guys would have figured Lopez is a monster, let him have the ball.
The bench is helped a lot by being paired with one or more all-NBA-caliber players but POBOBS is following his Butler mantra - get a couple of guys (or more) who can play at any level and then find guys who know their roles and are really good at it.
I love how he pushes, but then slows down if there isn't something there. I don't like it when guys push and then feel like because they pushed the pace they need to try and go coast to coast and reward themselves by taking a bad shot. Pritchard moves up the floor like a bat out of hell, which makes the defense get back, and if it's not there - will slow it down. Such a big change from the whole waste 12 seconds of the shot clock approach from Smart (and sometimes Tatum) from last season.
I thought about this specific video after the play where he cooked and ate Connaughton (?) on a step back 3 after getting the ball with like 5 on the clock, he did like 30 dribbles and 10 crossovers in 2 seconds. The poor defender probably looked like one of those cartoon characters after he gets hit in the head, like eyes becoming these spiral swirls, birds dancing around his head, etc.
This. You get the best of both worlds with him. He pushes, but if there isn't a play to be made he will pull it back out and reset.
I think that the vast majority of the handle shenanigans that he used on that plan and on most plays are absolutely necessary. All the great smurfy players (he's not great yet but definitely smurfy) really need to get defenders leaning in order to get off jumpers and to get to the rim. Every inch matters.
This is true. There's still ragdolling, but now he's the guy doing it. He deserves a lot of credit for his physical transformation. He could always dribble and shoot.
It's shocking how much he improved at this over the course of this season. It wasn't a summertime leap; he just figured it out as the year went along, in the minutes he got.
Rondo had a lot more athleticism, I think he played a lot bigger than his 6'1 frame and was a better on-ball defender. He could finish at the rim better than Pritchard, too. But yeah, the outside shooting and the decision-making, there's a big edge to PP there.
I’m not sure he did, tbh. And I hesitate to mention it, but, since the coach did, I feel comfortable saying the white factor might come into play here regarding his athleticism. He’s quick, strong, has good balance, and can high point rebounds with most anyone his size. Rondo was better at the rim, at least to this point, but Pritch is a much better shooter and I think views his role more as that than a drive to the hoop thing.
There's a lot of that for sure. But he seems significantly stronger and has improved both his top-end speed and short-area footspeed.
Yeah, the way he can move even bigger guys with a shoulder now is impressive. He can get under the hoop, create breathing room, and get his shot up against guys with a significant height advantage.
Absolutely. Not only do the multiple dribble moves get the defender leaning (left/right/backwards) and can lull them to sleep, it also helps the shooter get into a rhythm, to a place in which they are comfortable shooting off the dribble. Even the bigger guys do that - Tatum can get his shot off over 99% of the league without much additional effort, but we've seen him dribble his way into it more often than not.
If PP had Rondo's 6'9" wingspan, he'd probably be an All-Star (assuming that he could still shoot as well as he does; that kind of arm length plus Rondo's huge hands I'm sure didn't make it easy on Rondo's shot).
