Defensive stats and big man pairings through 4 games.

[The Oracle]

           Defensive #'s

 BIGS       DFG%     Shots Def.     Def. Rat.     Rim Prot.%   
Olynyk      20.8          5-24             81.1            30
Lee           30.8         12-39            90.7            42.9
Johnson    42.9         15-35            96.4            45.8
Jerebko     48.0         12-25            88.2            36.4
Sullinger   49.1         26-53           103.9           53.3
Zeller        61.1         11-18           109.3           66.7
 Others
Turner       33.3          9-27             93.9
Thomas     36.8          7-19             98.9
Bradley      37.0         10-27           106.4
Smart        45.7         16-35            88.6
Crowder     46.9         15-32           102.5

  Kelly Olynyk is dang near leading the league in Defensive FG%, Defensive Rating and Rim Protection thus far.  Lee has been surprisingly good.  Zeller and Sullinger have been awful.  Crowder doesn't look good either.  Small sample size for sure but still interesting to see.

            Big Man Pairings

                        Minutes       +/-        Net Rating       
K.O./Jerebko         15         +16.3         +17.7
K.O./Lee                 9         +15.7         +13.4
K.O./Johnson         20         +14.1         +12.0
Lee/Jerebko           21         +11.6         +7.9
Amir/Jerebko         23           -2.1          +7.5
Amir/Sully             49          -10.8          -11.0
Lee/Zeller              26          -20.0          -18.7
Lee/Sully               23          -21.3          -18.8
Jerebko/Sully         12          -57.5          -42.3
     
  All other combos have played 3 minutes or less.  There is some overlap in time here because Jerebko has played the SF some.  Predictably this team sucks without a stretch big on the floor.

[The Oracle]

  I forgot to input that Kelly Olynyk's shots defended and thus his defensive field goal #'s have been adjusted from what it states on NBA.COM.  For some reason his #'s from the San Antonio game have not been included as of yet.  I believe them to be 1-8 on shots defended and adjusted his #'s accordingly.

[Celtics4ever]

This backs a lot what I suspected.

Zeller has been weak thus far.  I think Sully has improved some but he is still a liability.  Part of me, does not buy that Amir is worse but here it is to see.  Jonas always plays hard.

[The Oracle]

This backs a lot what I suspected.

Zeller has been weak thus far.  I think Sully has improved some but he is still a liability.  Part of me, does not buy that Amir is worse but here it is to see.  Jonas always plays hard.

Amir is not going to hold up to long playing big minutes.  His ankles already appear to be slowing him.  He clearly sprained his right ankle last night with just under 3 minutes left in the 1st half.  I don't think anyone noticed and I didn't either until I saw it on a replay.

[tarheelsxxiii]

This backs a lot what I suspected.

Zeller has been weak thus far.  I think Sully has improved some but he is still a liability.  Part of me, does not buy that Amir is worse but here it is to see.  Jonas always plays hard.

Amir is not going to hold up to long playing big minutes.  His ankles already appear to be slowing him.  He clearly sprained his right ankle last night with just under 3 minutes left in the 1st half.  I don't think anyone noticed and I didn't either until I saw it on a replay.

I wrote about something along these lines re: Amir in another thread last night. Can definitely tell there's an injury liability there right now.

Anyway, looks like KO's WWF antics have struck fear in all opponents. Boom.

[Greyman]

Thanks for posting. Though in some ways it muddies the waters for me in terms of how I was assessing the team. Don't envy CBS his position ATM.

[chambers]

lol David Lee and Kelly Olynyk as our best defenders.

[34truth]

As crazy as it sounds I did notice that KO was playing very good defense since the start of the season… if his shots start falling (and they probably will) he can have a breakout season

[Chris22]

Start KO and Jerebko.
I say try anything at this point.
I also think Turner needs to start over Crowder.

[furball]

I keep saying that Kelly is their best defensive big and now here are the numbers to prove it.  His problem is that he needs to play inside the three point line on offense and then he will dominate.  Well, maybe not dominate but he will be very effective and help the team win games. 

[Chris22]

I keep saying that Kelly is their best defensive big and now here are the numbers to prove it.  His problem is that he needs to play inside the three point line on offense and then he will dominate.  Well, maybe not dominate but he will be very effective and help the team win games.

Olynyk needs to learn how to shoot a hook shot with either hand, but when Tommy suggested that to him, he brushed it off.
Idiot.
Kareem scored the most points in NBA history with the hook shot.

[Evantime34]

I'm glad you posted these. It seems clear that of the most successful big men pairings includes one guy who can shoot and another who is a paint scorer (either via post ups, rolls to the rim, or cuts).

If the C's are going to be offensively successful all of their big man pairings should include one of Jerebko or Olynyk (if we are going small Crowder at the 4 is also acceptable). None of Lee, Zeller and Sullinger should be on the court at the same time.

Ideally the C's will trade one of their bigs for a swing later in the season that will improve floor spacing.

[Rosco917]

I keep saying that Kelly is their best defensive big and now here are the numbers to prove it.  His problem is that he needs to play inside the three point line on offense and then he will dominate.  Well, maybe not dominate but he will be very effective and help the team win games.

i can see where Kelly has improved his man on man defense, his feet are responding to the drills he's working on. He also has gotten obviously stronger, and more physical in his play. He doesn't loose his man much anymore. He's never going to be a rim protecter, but it's nice to see him become a serviceable defender.

It's time to put a complete package together, and that should include a hook shot in the paint, as Chris has suggested. It's a nice shot for a guy that worries about getting his shot blocked down low.

[Csfan1984]

Well I'm for starting IT, AB, JJ, AJ, Zeller. But if Zeller continues to struggle and Sully is inconsistent then sure give KO a shot at starting C. Would improve pace and space.

[Tr1boy]

IT in no way shape or form should start. He is a 6th man on a good team. A 6th man on a bad team

Just not an above average defender.

Nor is he AI on the offensive end to make up for it