So, I read a Blazersedge mailbag which pulled up some stats on Vonleh: They were meant to show his improvement, but the PER is included presumably to show that even with the improvement, he's still meh, and quite possibly won't be re-signed next year. I'm sure there are players with similar numbers, but much higher PER. Vonleh's problem seems to be his poor usage. Sure enough, this shows that PER increases with Usage. Here's a random comparison (LaMarcus Aldridge): FG%: .477 3PT%: .411 TS%: .532 Oreb/36: 2.7 Reb/36: 8.1 PER: 15.2 Even with his 15 PER, he's generally regarded as elite, and an excellent offensive player, while Vonleh is considered the opposite - however their numbers are actually pretty similar. LMA is definitely the better 3-point shooter, Vonleh definitely the better rebounder. This is in line with the eye test. I've seen (on multiple occasions) Vonleh get a rebound, and NOT EVEN LOOK at the basket, searching endlessly for someone to pass it to -even if he's not being guarded. Dave's article is called Noah Vonleh’s Future with the Blazers Looks Shaky, but It seems like Vonleh could easily solidify his hold on the starting position if he were more aggressive more than 4 feet from the basket - even if he doesn't improve his skills this offseason (which he certainly will). Vonleh's time in Portland has been about fitting in. He's the starter now. If he gets more aggressive, his future looks very bright, not "shaky."
Vonleh is best when he goes for Dunk2's coming from Nurkic when Nurk is doubled. If he gains confidence at that mechanic of the game, his offensive rebounding will lead to more Dunk2's.
I would like to see Vonleh shoot more. He should be as aggressive as he can be. If he had Swanigans brain he would be a borderline all-star.
This will be a break out season for Noah....book it! Next to Nurk his game went to another level....a lot of his stats were when he played out of position at the 5...now with Nurk he can be a real PF and capitalize on Nurk getting doubled in the post
I looked at his regular season stats a few weeks ago, pre and post all star game. As I recall he shot about 55% from the field after the break. Some but not all of that was next to Nurk.
Dave seems to be a real downer lately (actually for the past couple years). I think it is fair to compare Vonleh to other players, but I would do it on a /48min scale to even things out and would compare him against other 21-year-old forwards. If you search Basketball-Reference for this, then you can compare some numbers. I could only figure out how to get WS/48, so that is what I use for comparison: For all years (just the most interesting to me for comparison): 1. Anthony Davis .274 2. Nikola Jokic .228 3. Andre Kirilenko .199 4. Zach Randolph .177 (surprising) 8. Ibaka 0.164 11. Milsap .153 22. K Love .138 35. Ed Davis 0.119 53. Al Horford .103 54. Elton Brand .101 78. Cliff Robinson .077 85. Noah Vonleh 0.069 92. Rasheed Wallace 0.63 121. Thomas Robinson -.002 122. Darius Miles -0.032 Okay, just figured out how to get the per 36 numbers: Rebounding: 1. Moses Malone 15.4 13. Al Horford 11.1 15. Noah Vonleh 11.0 24. Paul Milsap 10.3 28. Serge Ibaka 10.1 Total Rebound % 17. Vonleh Okay, after looking at all the 21-year-old forwards that played at least 10 min/game (146 candidates), Vonleh is middle of the pack in almost everything on both ends, except rebounding, where he is top 15 percentile.
There's no doubt in my mind he's gonna b aggressive/become another favorite of Por. fans (some of us have already liked him & will like him even more). Also, OUR guys (Dame etc.) have been pulling for him/like him; our support + the support from OUR guys will fuel the Vonleh beast to breakout!I think he's now comfortable here; Vonleh's time about fitting in's over. Lastly... some ppl saying his time is up ... do we STILL have to remind some ppl that he's STILL 21 & will b turning 22 later this month...?
Not to derail (but to make myself feel better), for 22-year-old centers: Asst/36 1. Brad Daugherty 2. Kareem 3. Andrew Bogut 4. Jusuf Nurkic Reb/36 1. Russell 2. Drummond 13. Oden 16. Kareem 17. Nurkic 20. Olajuwan 21. Lanier 28. Shaq Steal/36 1. Robert Swift ????? 8. Nurkic 11. Olajuwan TO/36 (oops, shouldn't have looked) 1. Nurkic
Yes... but where were most of those guys drafted/what hype surrounded them before even their drafts...?
I like Vonleh and hope he does well this season, but honestly Biebs' highlights looked more impressive, and we all know what that meant regarding his value.
So are the rankings just completely arbitrary or what? I recall a pic where he looks like he slimmed down some. If he moves with confidence like in those clips and makes more mid range jumpers he really could break out.
I think it all comes down to how well he moves in defending the perimeter. If Biggie can move his feet as well or better than Vonleh on the perimeter, then he clearly wins. If he can't keep up on switches, or coverage of quick stretch fours, then his usage will be limited. No doubt he has more fire in his gut and has a better shot and passing skills.
I'm certainly hoping that's true. I don't think Vonleh is particularly good and I don't see a ton of potential, really. I like Swanigan and I think he has a decent shot to be a solid NBAer.
