We’re two weeks into the 2023-24
NBA season, which is far too early for overarching declarations,
but not too early for a statistical deep dive into some numbers
that jumped out at us. Put on your wetsuits.
52
Portland Trail Blazers sophomore
Shaedon Sharpe has been assisted on 52% of his made baskets this season, down
considerably from the 67% he was assisted on last season. That
number dropping, combined with Sharpe’s points per game
rising (20.1 PPG, up from 9.9 last season), allows us
to infer a few things.
First, it shows that Sharpe’s
role has increased significantly, which we expected. With Damian
Lillard gone and Anfernee Simons sidelined for a few months with an
injury, Sharpe was the obvious next man up regarding shot attempts.
And the 20-year-old isn’t afraid to put up shots, as he’s
attempting over 15 per game.
Secondly, it shows that Sharpe
is getting his own buckets. His self-creation ability is one of the
main reasons he was the No. 7 overall pick in last year’s draft –
despite not playing any college ball – and he’s starting to turn
that creation potential into a real skill on a nightly
basis.
Shaedon Sharpe’s 26-point second half:
pic.twitter.com/lyhXlJzCcg— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA)
November 2, 2023
36.9
That’s how many minutes Los
Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis is playing per game thus far,
which would be a career-high. While that number will surely come
down as the season progresses – we don’t think Darvin Ham wants to
run AD into the ground during the regular season – it’s a good sign
nonetheless that he can play that many minutes a night.
Davis is making the most of his
minutes too. He is leading the league in blocks per game (3.3) and
has shot the ball extremely well from three-point range (42.9%).
Maybe more importantly, he’s shooting just one three-pointer a
game! That’s a great number!
100.7
That’s the league-leading
defensive rating of the Minnesota Timberwolves. This would be the
best DRTG in the NBA since the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs, who
finished the season with a simply outrageous 98.2
DRTG.
Is Minnesota the best defensive
team in almost a decade? Probably not, but they
do have the potential to be elite defensively, and
they are showing that through two weeks. Rudy Gobert is blocking
2.4 shots per game – much closer to his career average (2.1) than
last season, when he was down to 1.4 blocks per
game.
Surrounding Gobert is Kyle
Anderson (who is still being a pest, while averaging 1.9 steals +
blocks per game), a healthy Jaden McDaniels (who solidifies any
defense), a 36-year-old Mike Conley (who has lost a step but still
provides intelligent play on both ends), Nickeil Alexander-Walker
(who is blocking shots like a madman, with a 2.7 block percentage)
and budding (budded?) superstar Anthony Edwards (who is as bought
in defensively as he ever has been).
Anthony Edwards is a two-way force
– hard closeout + block on defense
– tough PnR euro + finish through contact on offense pic.twitter.com/G3zZJNVJKf— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips)
November 5, 2023
50
That is Tyrese Haliburton’s AST%
right now. Seriously. If a player on the Indiana Pacers makes a
shot, there’s a coin flip chance that Haliburton assisted it.
Sustainable? Maybe not. But I am confident in calling Haliburton a
top-three facilitator in the league, and he could absolutely get to
No. 1 on that list if his game continues to ascend at the pace it
has in his first few seasons.
Haliburton has flash in his
game, of course:
Haliburton with the no-look pass🙈pic.twitter.com/daZesj2sml
— BasketballNews.com (@basketbllnews)
October 30, 2023
But like all the great
distributors, some of his best passes don’t even end up as assists
– like this cross-court dime against Charlotte last
Saturday:
This is a great cross court pass from
Haliburton and swing to Buddy. Pay attention to Charlotte’s defense
Melo sprints over to Brown but no one else tries to make a run at
Hield until after he’s making the catch. pic.twitter.com/A0msdX9Cih– Mo Dakhil (@Modakhil_nba)
November 5, 2023
10.3 and
13.8
The first number is how many
assists Chris Paul records for every turnover he commits. Paul’s
facilitation is still elite, and the Golden State Warriors’ second
unit is benefitting mightily because of it. Point God lives
on.
Here come the Dubs 👀 pic.twitter.com/oPW29CMIgg
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors)
November 6, 2023
The second number, however, is
Paul’s three-point percentage this season. Paul is struggling to
score regularly right now.
Dario Saric has been a nice
surprise for Golden State off the bench, Jonathan Kuminga is
scoring nearly 13 points per game and Gary Payton II is shooting
the ball well too. Everyone plays better when Paul is distributing
at an elite level like this.
81.0
That’s Mark Williams’ field goal
percentage through six games. The Charlotte Hornets’ second-year
big man is looking like the big rim presence the franchise has
desperately needed in recent years.
Williams was solid in a starting
role down the stretch of last season – and he appears to have
refined pretty much every aspect of his game in year
two.
As a prospect, Williams was
widely perceived as a defensive force with minimal offensive
ability. But seemingly every game, Williams gets more comfortable
on the offensive end, showcased by a career-high 27 points on
November 4.
