KO, Turner and Thornton are all terrible. Sully and Rondo aren't great, but they are way better than the first three
way better?? Rondo is one of the worse defenders on the team. Especially man to man.
Sully is a smart defender but saying he is way better than KO is a stretch. KO tries and with more strength won't be bullied as easily.
when was the last time you seen Sully even block a shot before? he can't even really alter shots from going in
It's amazing how easily can one assess players to their liking when the determining factor of such an assessment is what one sees with a biased eye.
What are your answers for the questions i asked?
Sorry, I was posting when you were and didn't see your post above.
I don't think there's any question Rondo is a better defender than Pressey. If this wasn't true I have a hard time seeing us continually forcing Evan Turner to be the team's backup PG without Smart. There simply isn't any other explanation for Pressey's lack of playing time with Smart out. There's no reason for Stevens to be sitting him. He's a low-cost, young, undrafted PG that would fit in perfectly with Stevens' philosophy of showcasing and developing young, unproven talent, except Stevens clearly believes there's not much talent to be showcased.
I don't hate on Pressey as much as other posters do on this site. I think he's a perfectly capable facilitator and someone with the offensive savvy to be a backup PG on a pretty good team, actually, like a poor man's washed up Andre Miller (that isn't as bad as it sounds). But clearly he is not good enough defensively to see minutes or else we'd be seeing him more often on the court.
As for KO and Sully... the question is clearly a result of your preference for Olynyk. The answer is obviously Sully. If Sully's defense was worse than KO's he would have his minutes reduced, not the other way around. Here's some stats that back up CBS' thinking in benching Olynyk and putting more trust in Sully:
Per-48 mins. in 2014-15, opposing PFs post around 26/12 on Sully with a PER of 21.2 and an eFG% of around 52.5%. Opposing Cs post around 14/11.5 with a PER of 10.8 and an eFG% of about 47.5%.
Per-48 mins., opposing PFs post around 19/12 on Olynyk with a PER of around 13.5 and an eFG% of around .421%. Opposing Cs post around 22.5/13 with a PER of 20.5 and an eFG% of around 55.5%.
Keep in mind that Sully plays
at least 10% of the team's total minutes at both positions (43% at PF and 18% at C), while Olynyk plays only about 5% of the team's total minutes at PF (and 47% at C). This is significant to note because it provides context for Olynyk's halfway decent defensive showing at PF.
It must also be noted that while Sully has a PER of about three units less than his opponents when playing PF, he has a PER of almost 16 units more than his opponents at center. At both positions, Olynyk's PER net differential is negative.
When Sullinger is off the court, opponents score about three points more per 48 minutes than when he is on the court. When Olynyk is off the court, opponents score about 2.5 points less per 48 minutes than when he is on the court.
When Sullinger is off the court, opponent eFG% increases about 1%. When Olynyk is off the court, opponent eFG% decreases about 1%.
And your point about shot-blocking doesn't seem to be affirmed by advanced stats. Per 48 mins. the Cs block about 4% of opponent field goals when Olynyk is on the floor. When off, they block about 5% of opponent field goals. Whether Sully is on or off the court, that number remains consistent at 4%.
And, although I don't think it's that meaningful, of the team's five most used five-man rotations, the one with the highest defensive rating includes Sullinger at C, Green at PF, and Olynyk on the bench.
Topic: Sullinger is the worst defender on the team (Read 14492 times)