Pretty sure you just used foul trouble as the independent variable (and defensive impact as the dependent variable) just then. It's OK if you just want to experiment with analytics, doesn't mean you need to label yourself as "an analytics guy" with all your buddies. 
PS. Is the YouTube songstress a relative? Just curious.. PM if you don't want to have your relationship known!
Lol, TP
. I used to be/still am a numbers guy, but I just think that all of this advanced stuff is a road to nowhere and leads to paralysis by over-analysis, ie., missing the big picture, imo. I'm talking about stuff like the Carmelo projections, real plus/minus, plus minus, and all of the ridiculously complicated formulas that yield virtually nothing, imo. Guys like Ainge and Morey, and I guess Zarren, especially, are trying to quantify a game with too many variables, imo, and try as they might, there is no on base percentage for basketball. The game just doesn't work that way, imo. I do think that it's helpful to know how many miles a guy has run over the course of a year so that you can manage their performance and/or see why they're tired, or you could take the easy way out and look at how many minutes they've played, which usually produces the same result, imo.
Lma0 at 'the YouTube songress', btw, and no, she is not a relative. If only she was as talented musically as Eddie20 is at insulting people (sarcasm)
.
I must say, the amount of joy you seem to take in just ripping on Cs players is a bit baffling, but I suppose thats just the writing style.
Honestly, I don't take any joy in it, at all, as I find Smart to be infuriating, but I do try to blend criticism with humor so that everything isn't so serious all the time and we don't descend into personal attacks on here. Is that okay, lol ?
lol, it doesnt seem to be quite working that way does it?
I guess not, lol
.
I'm not sure about starting the game, but I think a frontcourt of Crowder, Olynyk and Horford could be very good, both offensively and defensively.
On offense, that would mean you'd have five guys on the court (with IT and Bradley at guard) who can shoot the 3 well. All five can put it on the floor, make plays, pass. Olynyk really is one of the most unique players in the league in that regard, as a guy at 7-feet who can dribble, pass, shoot from distance, etc.
On defense, it's about switchability. You may think Olynyk is just a big lead-footed ogre, but you're mistaken. He's very agile and has good feet for a guy his size, and has good positioning on defense. I think that's why he rates highly in advanced defensive metrics. He's usually in the right position, helps effectively, rotates, etc.
Surferdad above asked the question of how good a rebounding duo that would be, and if it would even matter. I wonder that too, but given Brad's penchant for statistics, I trust him to figure it out. Same with shot blocking. Horford isn't exactly Dikembe Mutombo, but he's a superb defender who can guard guys in the paint or on the perimeter. I would venture to say that even without a pure shot-blocker on the floor, that'd still be a good defensive lineup against ball movement-based offenses (most of the league), even as it might get eaten up by the Greg Monroes and Jahlil Okafors of the league.
I don't think that he's unique, at all, quite honestly. Not with how the game has seemingly become almost completely inverted, imo. 30+ years ago, a big guy who could hit 3s was obviously a unique weapon to have, even if they couldn't dribble like KO does, etc., but nowadays, almost every big guy is a 'stretch big'
. What's rare are the guys who can, and actually like to, play in the post, imo.
On whom can he switch, btw? I'll give you that he does almost always seem to be in the right place, defensively, which, as you said, is probably why he ranks so high in certain defensive metrics, but he doesn't have anywhere near the quickness to stay with someone on the perimeter in the event of a switch, imo, nor is he a threat to block the guys' shot because of his t-rex arms, lol
. I'm not sure which is worse, though - having him guard on the perimeter or rely on him to rebound, lol
. Ugh.
If you can't see that the team plays better with him on the court and you don't believe the analytics that confirm this, then I don't know what to tell you. Frustrating, inconsistent, foul-prone. All of these are fair and apt criticisms, but bad Kelly is not.
Are these the defensive metrics or whatever? I'll gladly look at them, although I don't place much, if any, value in them as of right now, but you never know, maybe I'll change my mind.
In the meantime, the only statistical breakdown that interests me as far as Nolynyk is concerned is this graphic that someone posted in a game thread during the season, ahahaha
.
