Glen Davis and the art of the charge

[Sun Devil]

Glen Davis tries to take a charge every possession. It really is a thing of beauty. He's at what 12-13 right now? I don't know where to find stats regarding charges (is that website called 82reference.com?), but I'd like to know if he is on pace for some sort of record. I've never seen anything like this. As polarizing a player/character Big Baby has been to the celtics' fan base, I've got to think whatever side of the fence you were on you've gotta respect the significant impact he's having on the team this year.

[CelticG1]

Am I wrong in thinking that it is ridiculous that they don't count charges as an actual stat? It's better than a blocked shot and just as good if not better than a steal. People usually make a pretty big deal over a guy who leads the NBA in blocked shots or leads the league in steals. If they counted this as a real stat, Big baby leading this category would add tremendously to his value. He is creating almost two turnovers a game, while tacking on a personal foul to the culprit as well as adding a team foul to the opposing team. It really is a huge stat that should be     brought up more

[moiso]

He is awesome at this.  I love watching it.  He is always squared up, always an inch outside of the circle.  He is one of the best I've seen at this.  No he doesn't block shots, but he saves a lot of points drawing charges.

[guava_wrench]

Charges should be credited like steals are.

While Baby is great at getting charges, he has also become a shameless flopper. Even the slightest contact and he hits the floor. The refs ignore his flops sometimes, but he is one of the most egregious floppers in the league at the moment.

I'll take it though. He does get into great position.

[Prof. Clutch]

Both Baby and Jermaine are tremendous at taking charges.  We may have the two best players in the league at that particular skill on our team which makes it so difficult for the other team penetrate the lane for a clear path to the basket.

[bopna]

at the top of my head, 2 of the best at taking charges, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen during their three-peat Bulls run.. that is why they were one of the best defensive teams during those seasons.  What Big Baby is doing is awesome and he i definitely think is onpace at breaking or even creating a record for himself since the media and stat stuffers are taking notice.

[indeedproceed]

Charges should be credited like steals are.

While Baby is great at getting charges, he has also become a shameless flopper. Even the slightest contact and he hits the floor. The refs ignore his flops sometimes, but he is one of the most egregious floppers in the league at the moment.

I'll take it though. He does get into great position.

Charges are kept track of. Davis has 3 on the year, which puts him in a 5-way tie for 3rd among PF's for charges taken per game.

EDIT: Sorry, didn't tell you where!

http://www.hoopdata.com/defrebstats.aspx?team=%25&type=pg&posi=PF&yr=2011&gp=0&mins=0

[Fafnir]

Charges should be credited like steals are.

I don't know about that. Offensive fouls sometimes are drawn through skills. But should a shot blocking big man get credit like a steal when a guard uses his off arm to push him away to avoid a shot block?

[ballin]

Davis finally learning how to take charges makes him literally 3x as valuable on the defensive end (which was my main gripe with him previously). He's definitely no longer a huge liability on that end.

Frankly, I've felt that ever since Posey left there was a void of players taking charges. Baby is starting to fill that gap, but we need more players to get in on the action. Ray, for one, could stand to take a few more charges.

[the_Bird]

I'm sure someone has quantified this somewhere, but I'd love to know how effective it is to take charges (in general) versus going for the shotblock.

Obviously some players are better at drawing charges than others (quicker, better footwork).  For some players, their other limitations (lack of a decent vertical leap) make taking charges one of the only ways they can be a good defensive player.

Still....   sure seems that two times our of three, players who try to take charges seem to get called for blocking fouls, putting the offensive player on the line for two freebies (or an And-1).  Skilled ballhanders often will go by a statue-esque defender.  There's no chance of a blocked shot (granted, going for the block will often result in a foul anyway)

Is taking charges REALLY an effective defensive strategy?  How effective do you have to be at getting the charge called for it to be a better strategy than going for the block/trying to alter the shot? 

Since people are tracking the number of charges players take, do they also track the number of *attempted* charges that get called as blocking fouls?

I don't know the answers to any of this, I've just been skeptical and wondered if anyone's ever come across any good analysis on this.

[pearljammer10]

Charges should be credited like steals are.

While Baby is great at getting charges, he has also become a shameless flopper. Even the slightest contact and he hits the floor. The refs ignore his flops sometimes, but he is one of the most egregious floppers in the league at the moment.

I'll take it though. He does get into great position.

Couldnt agree with you more. I love the fact the Baby is causing turnovers, but also hate the face that he is flopping like Ginobili out there.

[BballTim]

Charges should be credited like steals are.

While Baby is great at getting charges, he has also become a shameless flopper. Even the slightest contact and he hits the floor. The refs ignore his flops sometimes, but he is one of the most egregious floppers in the league at the moment.

I'll take it though. He does get into great position.

Charges are kept track of. Davis has 3 on the year, which puts him in a 5-way tie for 3rd among PF's for charges taken per game.

EDIT: Sorry, didn't tell you where!

http://www.hoopdata.com/defrebstats.aspx?team=%25&type=pg&posi=PF&yr=2011&gp=0&mins=0

  They keep track of charges but I think the numbers are way off.

[Witch-King]

I will say this; Glen Davis is quite resilient to be able to take hard fouls by NBA-sized players as they are driving into the paint.

Last year there was that incident where Carl Landry lost some teeth while driving into the paint against Dirk Nowitzki and we are playing the Dallas Mavericks tonight so I'm just hoping that nothing like that happens with Glen Davis this season. He is way too valuable to this team right now.

[CelticG1]

Charges should be credited like steals are.

I don't know about that. Offensive fouls sometimes are drawn through skills. But should a shot blocking big man get credit like a steal when a guard uses his off arm to push him away to avoid a shot block?

I really don't know what you are trying to say here

I do think that they should be credited like steals. Steals are huge cause you create the turnover and can lead to fast break points/transition points. Charges are huge because of the turnover and the personal foul and team foul that comes which can be huge especially if you draw a charge on a star.

I'd say shot blocking is a pretty overrated stat. I don't know for sure but I bet 50% of blocks end up just going back to the other team. Guys like Dwight and Lebron must block at least 75% of their shots out of bounds. It's more the threat of a shotblocker or altering shots that is more valuable than an actual blocked shot if that makes any sense

[moiso]

Three on the year?  I've seen at least 8 or 9 of them.  And I don't think Davis is a flopper- he simply draws charges correctly.  He actually takes quite a bit of punishment.  Ginobili will go run near another player and flail and go down.  Baby never does this.  He anticipates where the offensive player is going, gets out of the circle and into his path, and takes the contact.  I give him extra testosterone points for this, not less.