Author Topic: Best Duos in the NBA  (Read 8096 times)

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Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #15 on: August 24, 2021, 10:33:53 PM »

Kiorrik

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This is not all telling but you can sort 2-man line up stats.  I sorted by the best total +/- for each team:

1. UTA  Gorbert/Conley       1368 min / +528
2. PHI  Embiid/Simmons     1164 min / +393
3. LAC  George/Leonard      1028 min / +378
4. DEN  Jokic/Murray           1363 min / +339
5. MIL  Giannis/Middleton   1452 min / +322
6. PHO  Booker/Bridges       1870 min / +279
7. GWS  Green/Curry           1738 min / +278
8. POR  Covington/Lillard    1805 min / +257
9.  ATL Collins/Young         1455 min / +239
10. BKN Irving/Harris         1293 min / +196
11. MIA Butler/Robinson     1177 min / +190
12. MEM Valanci'/Brooks      1314 min / +165
13. LAL  James/Schroder      816 min / +162
14. NYK Randle/Bullock       1811 min / +122
15. NOP Williamson/Ball      1114 min / +112
15. SAS Poeltl/Murray         1307 min / + 106
16. TOR Siakam/VanFleet    1466 mn / +96
17. BOS Tatum/Brown         1263 min / +79

There are a number of top duos that either didn't have the minutes to qualify for my sort or that were on lesser teams that just didn't have the same level of +/- success.  Also, for many of the teams, they had more than one 2-man group that did very well.  For example, Utah had 7 of the top 10 and Gobert was part of 6 of those 7.  Again, I just listed the top one for each team.

I also note that most of these duos include one big.  12 of the top 17.  I did a per 36 sort to normalize against time but that really did not change things all that much.  Utah/Gobert were still most of the best duos.  Harden and Durant are clearly a top duo but this didn't make my sort due to not enough minutes on the floor together.   Lillard/McCullom were 1068 min/+221, not the best on POR for total but best per 36 on POR.

Tatum and Brown did not fare so well in this comparison.

That's excellent.

Such a shame Utah didn't win it all actually. Their regular season was quite insane.

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2021, 10:53:05 PM »

Offline action781

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For me I've got a top 3:

1) AD & LeBron -- the best talented duo and they play pretty well off each other
2) Giannis & Middleton -- a close second behind the Lakers duo and they play well off each other
3) Curry & Klay -- incredibly talented players who definitely make each other better

For the rest:
-Kawhi & PG13 are considered, but PG13 has seemed to play better without Kawhi
-Donovan Mitchell & Gobert I'd consider, but apparently that's not the best duo on their own team by the numbers??  I guess those numbers could be deceiving though and this duo warrants consideration.
-Harden & Durant to mention on talent alone, but they don't really make each other better.  If anything they detract from each other slightly by taking the ball out of the other's hands whenever one has it.
-Jamal Murray & Jokic are a pairing I really enjoy watching, kind of remind me of Tony Parker & Duncan a bit,
but they're not quite talented enough yet to crack the top 3
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Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #17 on: August 25, 2021, 01:18:19 AM »

Offline gouki88

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #18 on: August 25, 2021, 12:32:34 PM »

Offline Moranis

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year. 
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Guards - Cheeks, Petrovic, Buse, Rip

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #19 on: August 25, 2021, 01:35:10 PM »

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-Donovan Mitchell & Gobert I'd consider, but apparently that's not the best duo on their own team by the numbers??  I guess those numbers could be deceiving though and this duo warrants consideration.

Mitchell and Gobert were good, 1058 min / +280, but this was 10th best on the team if ranked by total +/-.  Per 36 they were 5th best of pairs with over 1000 min (per 36 get distorted if the sample size is too small).

On Utah, it is Gobert who really drove the best pairs, not the other half, which I found interesting.  Many of the best pairs were driven by one more than the other.  It was surprising to me that it was Conley and not Mitchell that formed the other half of Utah's best pair.

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #20 on: August 25, 2021, 02:28:34 PM »

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
Last year was a rough one sure. My problem with Porzingis is the disappearing, bad playmaking, bad defense stretches, and then the injuries.

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2021, 03:50:25 PM »

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Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #22 on: August 25, 2021, 04:48:59 PM »

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-Donovan Mitchell & Gobert I'd consider, but apparently that's not the best duo on their own team by the numbers??  I guess those numbers could be deceiving though and this duo warrants consideration.

Mitchell and Gobert were good, 1058 min / +280, but this was 10th best on the team if ranked by total +/-.  Per 36 they were 5th best of pairs with over 1000 min (per 36 get distorted if the sample size is too small).

On Utah, it is Gobert who really drove the best pairs, not the other half, which I found interesting.  Many of the best pairs were driven by one more than the other.  It was surprising to me that it was Conley and not Mitchell that formed the other half of Utah's best pair.

Well, Conley was in the All Star game for a reason. He had a really good season. Many Utah fans will claim that he in fact was better last season than Mitchell. Actually a lot of advanced stats favor Conley in that regard. A bit of a surprise he still had it in him. Like Paul who was written off in Houston.

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #23 on: August 25, 2021, 05:40:32 PM »

Offline gouki88

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
And none of those stars have played less than him over the last 3 seasons. All of those guys had injured years, sure. For Kristaps it's a routine. The most games he played was as a rookie.

He's also gotten hurt in consecutive playoffs
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2021, 10:23:54 PM »

Offline Moranis

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
And none of those stars have played less than him over the last 3 seasons. All of those guys had injured years, sure. For Kristaps it's a routine. The most games he played was as a rookie.

He's also gotten hurt in consecutive playoffs
He wasn't hurt in the playoffs this year.  He finished the year healthy playing big minutes in all 7 Dallas playoff games.  As to your other point, he missed the 2018-19 season entirely, that will skew the numbers, just like it would for say Durant.  That said, he has obviously played more games than Durant over the last 2 years, but also played more games than Davis and just 2 less than Embiid the last 2 as well.  There is no question he is injury prone, but he performs on the court quite well despite not getting along with Luka nor being a great fit with Luka on the floor.  He also just turned 26.   
2023 Historical Draft - Brooklyn Nets - 9th pick

Bigs - Pau, Amar'e, Issel, McGinnis, Roundfield
Wings - Dantley, Bowen, J. Jackson
Guards - Cheeks, Petrovic, Buse, Rip

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #25 on: August 25, 2021, 11:09:32 PM »

Offline gouki88

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
And none of those stars have played less than him over the last 3 seasons. All of those guys had injured years, sure. For Kristaps it's a routine. The most games he played was as a rookie.

He's also gotten hurt in consecutive playoffs
He wasn't hurt in the playoffs this year.  He finished the year healthy playing big minutes in all 7 Dallas playoff games.  As to your other point, he missed the 2018-19 season entirely, that will skew the numbers, just like it would for say Durant.  That said, he has obviously played more games than Durant over the last 2 years, but also played more games than Davis and just 2 less than Embiid the last 2 as well.  There is no question he is injury prone, but he performs on the court quite well despite not getting along with Luka nor being a great fit with Luka on the floor.  He also just turned 26.   
I thought he was. That was my justification for him playing so terribly. If he was uninjured putting up 13/5 then that is even more [dang]ing!
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #26 on: August 25, 2021, 11:45:55 PM »

Offline Moranis

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
And none of those stars have played less than him over the last 3 seasons. All of those guys had injured years, sure. For Kristaps it's a routine. The most games he played was as a rookie.

He's also gotten hurt in consecutive playoffs
He wasn't hurt in the playoffs this year.  He finished the year healthy playing big minutes in all 7 Dallas playoff games.  As to your other point, he missed the 2018-19 season entirely, that will skew the numbers, just like it would for say Durant.  That said, he has obviously played more games than Durant over the last 2 years, but also played more games than Davis and just 2 less than Embiid the last 2 as well.  There is no question he is injury prone, but he performs on the court quite well despite not getting along with Luka nor being a great fit with Luka on the floor.  He also just turned 26.   
I thought he was. That was my justification for him playing so terribly. If he was uninjured putting up 13/5 then that is even more [dang]ing!
yeah on Luka who refused to pass him the ball.  His USG was 16.4 in the playoffs that is awful (10% lower than the regular season), but he doesn't bring the ball up the court so he has to have others pass it to him and Luka froze him out.  Maybe if Luka got the Zinger involved, they wouldn't have choked away the series.
2023 Historical Draft - Brooklyn Nets - 9th pick

Bigs - Pau, Amar'e, Issel, McGinnis, Roundfield
Wings - Dantley, Bowen, J. Jackson
Guards - Cheeks, Petrovic, Buse, Rip

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #27 on: August 25, 2021, 11:53:06 PM »

Offline gouki88

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
And none of those stars have played less than him over the last 3 seasons. All of those guys had injured years, sure. For Kristaps it's a routine. The most games he played was as a rookie.

He's also gotten hurt in consecutive playoffs
He wasn't hurt in the playoffs this year.  He finished the year healthy playing big minutes in all 7 Dallas playoff games.  As to your other point, he missed the 2018-19 season entirely, that will skew the numbers, just like it would for say Durant.  That said, he has obviously played more games than Durant over the last 2 years, but also played more games than Davis and just 2 less than Embiid the last 2 as well.  There is no question he is injury prone, but he performs on the court quite well despite not getting along with Luka nor being a great fit with Luka on the floor.  He also just turned 26.   
I thought he was. That was my justification for him playing so terribly. If he was uninjured putting up 13/5 then that is even more [dang]ing!
yeah on Luka who refused to pass him the ball.  His USG was 16.4 in the playoffs that is awful (10% lower than the regular season), but he doesn't bring the ball up the court so he has to have others pass it to him and Luka froze him out.  Maybe if Luka got the Zinger involved, they wouldn't have choked away the series.
Ah yes, it was the guy who averaged 36/10/8 on good efficiency who lost them the series, not the 7'3 guy on a max contract averaging 13/5 and making 8/27 three point attempts.

You can't seriously be trying to say that. It's beyond ludicrous to imply that Porzingis' numbers were only down because he was being "frozen out". Is that why his rebounding dropped? Is that why he couldn't buy a three pointer despite taking 4 a game?
'23 Historical Draft: Orlando Magic.

PG: Terry Porter (90-91) / Steve Francis (00-01)
SG: Joe Dumars (92-93) / Jeff Hornacek (91-92) / Jerry Stackhouse (00-01)
SF: Brandon Roy (08-09) / Walter Davis (78-79)
PF: Terry Cummings (84-85) / Paul Millsap (15-16)
C: Chris Webber (00-01) / Ralph Sampson (83-84) / Andrew Bogut (09-10)

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #28 on: August 26, 2021, 06:53:18 AM »

Offline Moranis

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It's interesting to see offense and defense pairings.

My top 5 would be

Kawhi + PG
Jokic + Murray
KD + Harden
LeBron + Davis
Giannis + Holiday

Think these pairings are all tied because of health. The healthiest pairing is probably the best.

Next 5
Gorbert + Mitchell
Butler + Bam
Young + Collins
Brown + Tatum
Green + Curry

All these are pretty much same class. They are just below the first 5.

Last 5 worth mentioning
Booker + Ayton
Lillard + McCollum
Zion + Ingram
Brooks + Ja
Embiid + Simmons


Biggest thing I noticed from doing this list is Luka needs a legit running mate. If he had one no way is he all the out the top 15.
Porzingis averaged 20.1 ppg and 8.9 rpg last year.  I'm not sure how more legit you are going to find than that.
Getting on the court would be one way
He played more games than Durant, Davis, Harden (in BKN, same general range overall) and in the same general range as James and was within 5 games of Murray, McCollum, and 10 games of Embiid, Kawhi, Butler. 

He has certainly missed a lot of time over the years, but certainly not much different than a lot of stars last year.
And none of those stars have played less than him over the last 3 seasons. All of those guys had injured years, sure. For Kristaps it's a routine. The most games he played was as a rookie.

He's also gotten hurt in consecutive playoffs
He wasn't hurt in the playoffs this year.  He finished the year healthy playing big minutes in all 7 Dallas playoff games.  As to your other point, he missed the 2018-19 season entirely, that will skew the numbers, just like it would for say Durant.  That said, he has obviously played more games than Durant over the last 2 years, but also played more games than Davis and just 2 less than Embiid the last 2 as well.  There is no question he is injury prone, but he performs on the court quite well despite not getting along with Luka nor being a great fit with Luka on the floor.  He also just turned 26.   
I thought he was. That was my justification for him playing so terribly. If he was uninjured putting up 13/5 then that is even more [dang]ing!
yeah on Luka who refused to pass him the ball.  His USG was 16.4 in the playoffs that is awful (10% lower than the regular season), but he doesn't bring the ball up the court so he has to have others pass it to him and Luka froze him out.  Maybe if Luka got the Zinger involved, they wouldn't have choked away the series.
Ah yes, it was the guy who averaged 36/10/8 on good efficiency who lost them the series, not the 7'3 guy on a max contract averaging 13/5 and making 8/27 three point attempts.

You can't seriously be trying to say that. It's beyond ludicrous to imply that Porzingis' numbers were only down because he was being "frozen out". Is that why his rebounding dropped? Is that why he couldn't buy a three pointer despite taking 4 a game?
He didn't shoot great obviously at 30% from 3, but he did have the same TS% as Luka in the series, who had a USG over 40, while Porzingis fell to a 16.2 USG.  There were countless articles about how Luka was freezing him out, how they can't stand each other, etc.  The problem with Dallas isn't that Porzingis isn't good enough, it is that Porzingis and Doncic don't get along and don't fit well on the court.  Doncic is the better player, so a team will always pick him, but Doncic clearly has had maturity issues based on all of the reporting out of Dallas.  He is already an epic diva that will only get more diva like moving forward.  Immense talent on the court, but seemingly an immense problem off it. 
2023 Historical Draft - Brooklyn Nets - 9th pick

Bigs - Pau, Amar'e, Issel, McGinnis, Roundfield
Wings - Dantley, Bowen, J. Jackson
Guards - Cheeks, Petrovic, Buse, Rip

Re: Best Duos in the NBA
« Reply #29 on: August 26, 2021, 09:50:28 AM »

Offline Rosco917

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This is not all telling but you can sort 2-man line up stats.  I sorted by the best total +/- for each team:

1. UTA  Gorbert/Conley       1368 min / +528
2. PHI  Embiid/Simmons     1164 min / +393
3. LAC  George/Leonard      1028 min / +378
4. DEN  Jokic/Murray           1363 min / +339
5. MIL  Giannis/Middleton   1452 min / +322
6. PHO  Booker/Bridges       1870 min / +279
7. GWS  Green/Curry           1738 min / +278
8. POR  Covington/Lillard    1805 min / +257
9.  ATL Collins/Young         1455 min / +239
10. BKN Irving/Harris         1293 min / +196
11. MIA Butler/Robinson     1177 min / +190
12. MEM Valanci'/Brooks      1314 min / +165
13. LAL  James/Schroder      816 min / +162
14. NYK Randle/Bullock       1811 min / +122
15. NOP Williamson/Ball      1114 min / +112
15. SAS Poeltl/Murray         1307 min / + 106
16. TOR Siakam/VanFleet    1466 mn / +96
17. BOS Tatum/Brown         1263 min / +79

There are a number of top duos that either didn't have the minutes to qualify for my sort or that were on lesser teams that just didn't have the same level of +/- success.  Also, for many of the teams, they had more than one 2-man group that did very well.  For example, Utah had 7 of the top 10 and Gobert was part of 6 of those 7.  Again, I just listed the top one for each team.

I also note that most of these duos include one big.  12 of the top 17.  I did a per 36 sort to normalize against time but that really did not change things all that much.  Utah/Gobert were still most of the best duos.  Harden and Durant are clearly a top duo but this didn't make my sort due to not enough minutes on the floor together.   Lillard/McCullom were 1068 min/+221, not the best on POR for total but best per 36 on POR.

Tatum and Brown did not fare so well in this comparison.





Above is a tell-tale sign. It's all about making the players around you better, pushing them to be the best they can be. Just as this real plus/minus comparison is:

1   Stephen Curry, PG   GS   63   34.2   7.08   0.10   7.18   19.05
2   LeBron James, SF   LAL   45   33.4   4.63   2.10   6.73   11.91
3   Rudy Gobert, C   UTAH   71   30.8   -1.45   8.00   6.55   16.52
4   Paul George, SG   LAC   54   33.7   1.55   3.89   5.45   11.98
5   Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF   MIL   61   33.0   3.89   1.20   5.09   14.03
6   Nikola Jokic, C   DEN   72   34.6   3.12   1.96   5.08   15.85
7   Joel Embiid, C   PHI   51   31.1   2.04   2.98   5.02   10.01
8   James Harden, SG   HOU/BKN   44   36.6   3.99   0.98   4.97   9.94
9   Damian Lillard, PG   POR   67   35.8   3.88   1.09   4.97   14.55
10   Lonzo Ball, PG   NO   55   31.8   3.19   1.27   4.46   10.06
11   Mike Conley, PG   UTAH   51   29.4   1.25   3.12   4.37   8.28
12   Fred VanVleet, SG   TOR   52   36.5   1.27   2.78   4.05   10.67
13   Kyle Lowry, PG   TOR   46   34.8   2.90   1.12   4.02   8.98
14   Kevin Durant, PF   BKN   35   33.1   4.07   -0.11   3.95   6.06
15   Devonte' Graham, G   CHA   55   30.2   1.92   1.97   3.88   9.24
16   CJ McCollum, SG   POR   47   34.0   2.09   1.78   3.87   8.42
17   Ben Simmons, PG   PHI   58   32.4   1.28   2.39   3.67   9.80
18   Chris Paul, PG   PHX   70   31.4   0.48   3.06   3.54   10.78
19   Jamal Murray, PG   DEN   48   35.5   0.41   3.07   3.48   8.04
20   Kyrie Irving, PG   BKN   54   34.9   2.96   0.49   3.44   9.16
21   Jimmy Butler, SF   MIA   52   33.6   1.50   1.90   3.40   8.70
22   Julius Randle, PF   NY   71   37.6   -0.76   4.16   3.40   12.36
23   Joe Harris, SF   BKN   69   31.0   -0.60   4.00   3.40   10.14
24   Clint Capela, C   ATL   63   30.1   -1.63   4.98   3.35   9.12
25   Zion Williamson, PF   NO   61   33.2   1.07   2.13   3.20   9.45
26   Christian Wood, C   HOU   41   32.3   0.54   2.60   3.14   6.19
27   Bam Adebayo, C   MIA   64   33.5   -0.77   3.78   3.01   9.56
28   Luka Doncic, PG   DAL   66   34.3   2.44   0.51   2.96   10.37
29   Duncan Robinson, SG   MIA   72   31.4   -0.56   3.45   2.89   10.04
30   Terry Rozier, SG   CHA   69   34.5   1.29   1.59   2.88   10.77
31   Jaylen Brown, SG   BOS   58   34.5   2.10   0.71   2.81   9.39
32   Danny Green, SF   PHI   69   28.0   -0.87   3.67   2.80   8.28
33   De'Aaron Fox, PG   SAC   58   35.1   2.92   -0.27   2.66   8.85
34   Kyle Anderson, SF   MEM   69   27.3   0.16   2.44   2.60   7.82
35   Jrue Holiday, PG   MIL   59   32.3   1.80   0.77   2.57   8.64
36   Kawhi Leonard, SF   LAC   52   34.1   1.46   1.10   2.55   7.55
37   Donovan Mitchell, SG   UTAH   53   33.4   3.26   -0.76   2.50   7.52
38   Zach LaVine, SG   CHI   58   35.1   1.82   0.65   2.47   8.78
39   Tobias Harris, PF   PHI   62   32.5   -0.20   2.65   2.45   8.21
40   Jayson Tatum, SF   BOS   64   35.8   1.06   1.39   2.44   9.60