Yeah, interesting numbers. It looks like perimeter players who are primary scorers and generally create shots on their own (low assisted%) tend to shoot very poorly in those ultra-clutch moments. Not so surprising -- when everyone on the opposing team knows who's going to handle and take the shot, they can force him into very difficult shot attempts. It makes me wonder why teams go to isolation plays so often in those situations. Even great ISO players like Gilbert Arenas, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade shoot horribly overall when pressed like that. I'd like to see the numbers separated out so its not including last second shots where the ball is inbounded with only a few seconds left. That could be driving down the percentages for certain players.
I don't believe in numbers, at least in basketball "advanced stats". We all know Kobe is the best clutch player in the game, period.
Faith-based analysis, eh? And you don't believe Kobe's missed 70% of his shot attempts in the final minute of close games, or you just don't think it matters?
So does Wade, And? He's actually worse in Ultra-Clutch situations. He's still a great clutch player, better than various players at getting their shot off in a short amount of time within an offense. Not only is Kobe at the top of most of these clutch lists statistically, I just saw the article btw, but that doesn't sound like a fair assessment. The problem I had with this article is that it talks about Steve Nash's TS%, well maybe I also want to know points per game as well? It was misleading last week, still is to a degree.
If he wrote "We all know Wade is the best clutch player in the game, period." then I would have said Wade. Ok. And what percentage of those "shots he gets off in a short amount of time within an offense" does he make in the final minutes of close games? Seems like a relevant question to ask. If its a fairly low percentage, it would be interesting to know why. Maybe that means the quality of the shots he's getting/taking aren't so great. Kobe (and LeBron, and Wade, and some others) usually take it upon themselves to take a lot of shots at the end of close games. Consequentially, teams put more pressure on them, and their efficiency will go down. Points scored per minute in clutch situations would be interesting to look at, as is the TS%. I'd also like to see team offensive efficiency in clutch situations with a particular player on the floor. If it turns out that Kobe's teams tend to overall be less efficient in the clutch, perhaps asking him to shoot so frequently in those situations (and consequentially with less than stellar efficiency) isn't the best strategy. My guess, though, is that Lakers generally do very well in close games, with Kobe being a big reason for that.
I still think you missed his larger point. He didn't say, "Kobe is the best one minute left in the regular season player, over the last five years, period". He thinks taking everything into account, that Kobe is the best clutch player. Bringing up that list is an even more unfair assessment of their clutch production. His post was not perfect but your retort is also flawed, way too specific. The way the author wrote his piece last week is what troubles me, made it sound like TS% was the end all. Steve Nash isn't one of the very elite scorers in the league and he's asked to do different things. It was just lazy to rank them by that.
"I don't believe in numbers, at least in basketball "advanced stats". We all know Kobe is the best clutch player in the game, period." You interpret that as him taking everything into account?
You replied as if he considers field goal percentage an advanced stat. His purpose wasn't to comment on every specific list.
I assume he considers shooting% in the final minutes of close games an advanced stat. That is, after all, what the article was presenting.
I don't see the need for your input though, which is my point. He did not claim dominance over every single situational stat.
If he's actually trying to take everything into account, as you put it, then I'd like for him to respond more directly to the information presented in the article. Especially when he apparently knows with such certainty that Kobe is the best clutch player. For those of us who haven't already internalized as truth that Kobe is the best clutch player, it would be nice to hear a better explanation than "I don't believe in it" when data that may challenge that view is brought up.
Does someone want to take a stab at what it means to be "the best clutch player in the game"? That's really where this conversation should start. ---------------------------------------------------- To start things off ... The most straightforward definition of "best clutch player" is the guy I'd want to have on the floor at the end of a tight game. Relevant criteria to consider: Are you able to create/take high-percentage shots down the stretch of close games? - scoring in isolation - drawing double teams and finding teammates - shooting off screens (e.g. Regge Miller) How successful is your team in clutch situations with you on the floor? - if margin is within 2 points at the 1-minute mark, what's your win-loss record? Free throw shooting in close games is very important. Other considerations -- defense, rebounds I don't believe there's any one number that defines how "clutch" a player is. What you can do is look at specific areas that are relevant and evaluate players accordingly. The NBA.com article looked at scoring efficiency, relevant information, but definitely not the end of the story.
