This would make it easier if Giddey was a better player, but that would also be the reason that the Bulls lock him up and this isn’t even a situation. I’d be more excited about Giddey if we didn’t have Avdija. But, we do have Avdija, who I think is a better all around player imo. Giddey is a better playmaker, but Avdija is a much better defender and he probably is a better shooter. I’m going to bank on Scoot and his work ethic. With his physical gifts and true PG type of game, I think having two All-NBA type of vets on both sides of the ball is going to turn him into an all-around PG.
True, I guess maybe he wasn't slotted in at the two, but it didn't feel like he was running the show as the 1 either... My point was simply that these were not good opportunities for Scoot.
as a rookie, he had a higher usage rate than Grant, Brogdon, Sharpe, Ayton, and Camara. Last season Ant's usage rate was only 8.5% higher than Scoot's; Avdija's usage rate was only 3% higher than Scoot's. That's practically insignificant; did Avdija have enough opportunities to show his skills? Last season, Scoot's usage rate was higher than Grant, Ayton, and Camara career usage rates: Scoot 24.5% Simons 23.7% Giddey 23.0% Brogdon 22.4% Sharpe 22.4% Grant 19.8% last season, touches/game stats: Simons: 65.1 touches--->4.49 seconds/touch--->292.3 seconds with ball (4.0 dribbles/touch)-->0.296 points/touch Scoot: 59.8 touches--->4.52 seconds/touch--->270.3 seconds with ball (4.01 dribbles/touch)-->0.212 points/touch Avdija: 64.5 touches--->3.07 seconds/touch--->198.0 seconds with ball (2.25 dribbles/touch)-->0.262 points/touch Sharpe: 52.2 touches--->3.42 seconds/touch--->178.5 seconds with ball (2.86 dribbles/touch)-->0.355 points/touch Grant: 41.0 touches--->2.55 seconds/touch--->104.6 seconds with ball (1.74 dribbles/touch)-->0.352 points/touch Camara: 44.2 touches--->1.99 seconds/touch--->88.0 seconds with ball (1.14 dribbles/touch)-->0.256 points/touch Ayton: 45.1 touches--->1.61 seconds/touch--->72.6 seconds with ball (0.57 dribbles/touch)-->0.320 points/touch Jrue: 46.5 touches--->3.22 seconds/touch--->149.7 seconds with ball (2.79 dribbles/touch)-->0.238 points/touch obviously, the points/touch stat will be skewed against players that are running the offense for the team more; and in favor of players looking for their own shots more Scoot had the ball in his hands 72.3 seconds more a game than Deni. Simons only had the ball for 22 more seconds than Scoot; less than 6 seconds/quarter. Scoot had the ball for 91.8 seconds more than Sharpe; that's more than a minute and a half, per game. Scoot had the ball 2.76 more minutes a game than Grant again, you'd expect a bit of similar skew for PG's and guys who run the offense. But Scoot was 3rd on the team in touches; 1st in seconds/touch; and 2nd in time of possession. It's not a good excuse to claim he didn't have opportunity. I get that roles can make a difference if players aren't put in optimal situations. But still, Scoot and the ball were not strangers to each other
And without Simons (which is when these number get skewed up for Scoot) Scoot often played great. *Edit* I'd also like to say, Grant at 19% is probably twice what it should be. He should be getting the ball in position to score and that's it. Catch and shoot or on the cut to the basket. If it's not an easy look he should be passing almost immediately.
I don't agree about Grant. His two very solid seasons in Portland prior to last season had usages rates around 23% and 26%. Dropping his usage rate didn't result in better efficiency. I know Grant bugged a lot of people here last season. He didn't have a good year. But he had been a really effective player the two previous seasons when he was a more used option. And if you believe Grant's usage rate should have been under 10%, then you haven't really looked at the stat as far as Scoot and Simons, that 2-man combo was 8th best on the Blazers last season. On the other hand Simons+Sharpe was the 4th worst. Simons was toxic for Sharpe (Grant was even worse for Sharpe); not really that way with Scoot the 4th best 2-man combo was Scoot-Sharpe and they were only one of four that had a positive net points differential at +0.5. Simons+Sharpe were -9.0. Sharpe (+0.5), Simons (-1.3) and Camara (-0.4) were all better with Scoot than was Avdija (-5.3). Avdija + Clingan (+3.5); Avdija + Camara (+0.8); Avdija+Simons (-0.6); Avdija+Sharpe (-1.3); Avdija+Grant (-2.7); Avdija+Ayton (-4.2) were all better than Avdija+Scoot....and that's not encouraging.
I didn't even watch Grant last season. Actively avoided watching him. I hated him holding the ball the prior two seasons
That had zero bearing on why I’d prefer Scoot over Giddey. All we know is she sneaked into the club with a fake id, bragged about it on snapchat, her family declined to press charges, and no consequences were handed out.
