So, yeah, the whole point of this post is to go through the data sets of the advanced analytics and see what's what. Not just where they end up STD (season to date), but how they've gotten there. For instance, you will see charts comparing the top 9 in the rotation and their personal Offensive and Defensive Ratings (ORtg & DRtg) to the Kings team as a whole. In the first 5 games, DeMarcus Cousins, despite not having playedin 2 1/2 games, has an ORtg of 108.4 and a DRtg of 111. Comparing that to the team averages of 102.2 ORtg and 105 DRtg, it's pretty obvious where Cousins brings a strength and weakness, through 2 1/2 games of where Cousins was on the court and 2 1/2 games where's not is a small sample size. It's not meant to be meaningful, but this is the point of this post. The biggest reason to do this is not only show how individual players are doing, but parse out the meaningful stats. As a rule, I don't think every stat is truly meaningful (for instance I've chosen to not add assist to turnover ratio), but I do think some numbers do illustrate meaningful and important trends.

Offensive and Defensive Ratings, for instance, are simply points per 100 possessions. There isn't a qualification for them. So, the higher the offensive rating there is, the better the offensive rating. Conversely, that's true of defensive rating. So for instance, in the last 2014-15 season, the highest individual ORtg's in the NBA were among others Tyson Chandler at 133.5, DeAndre Jordan at 126.1, Chris Paul at 125.6, Anthony Morrow at 123.9 and Ed Davis at 123.5. Now, obviously, there are a ton of qualifications as to possibly why Chris Paul is the only legitimate star in the actual top 5 at Basketball Reference. (I'm not using either O or D Rtg from B-Ref for the point of this post, I"m just using this as an example.) Likewise, according to B-Ref, the top 5 teams in O Rtg for the 2014-15 season are: Los Angeles Clippers (112.4), Golden State Warriros: (112.6), Cleveland Cavaliers (111.1), Toronto Raptors (111.0) and the Dallas Mavericks (109.5).

But, if there is actually one good thing to note here, it's that NBA.com and Basketball Reference actually use different formulas to calculate both team and personal O/DRtg's. So, even though I used the B-Ref numbers as an example, I won't use them except when noted. Which, in this post, I have not.

So, here's the glossary at NBA.com, and the glossary at B-Ref actually has a pop up feature that you have to use.

So without further adieu, here we go....

DeMarcus Cousins

This is the chart of Cousins personal offensive/defensive (O/DRtg) compared to the Kings from games 1 through 5. Now, obviously, Cousins not playing in 2 1/2 games is going to effect the team. But even when he played, his defensive rating was worse than the teams (on a stupidly small sample size). If one were so inclined, you could say Cousins has less impact on defense rating. After about 15 games, hopefully it shouldn't be that hard to make that statement a bit more definitely. But 2 1/2 games is way too small a sample size for my tastes.

Just for those that don't quite understand how the chart is laid out (it's a bit muddled and I apologize--it was the best I can do) is that ORtg then DRtg is done in sequence as each game happened. In otherwords, first O then D Rtg's are listed on this chart from October 28th to November 4th.

What this chart is clear about, as strange as it may seem, is that Cousins value is on offense and is better than the team. What's also clear is that defensively Cousins is also worse than the team. Again, it's a 2 1/2 game sample. If this continues it's going to be a problematic trend for a team struggling so badly on the defensive end.

And this is the table:

DeMarcus Cousins Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 34:47 28:23 15:19 N/A N/A O Rtg 105.1 111.3 108.4 108.4 108.4 D Rtg 115.8 105.9 111 111 111 Net Rtg -10.7 + 5.3 -2.6 -2.6 -2.6 TS% 61.9% 56.4% 53.3% 53.3% 53.3% TOV% 21.7% 13.1% 12.7% 12.7% 12.7% AST% 14.3% 13% 12.7% 12.7% 12.7% USG% 38.9% 34.5% 35.3% 35.3% 35.3% ORB% 9.4% 11.1% 11.3% 11.3% 11.3% DRB% 33.3% 30.5% 34.2% 34.2% 34.2% TRB% 21% 21.2% 22.9% 22.9% 22.9%

The only point I'm going to make here about the chart is notice the mood swings in Net Rtg alone. Over time those will balance out so I wouldn't worry. And the more obvious point is that 2 1/2 games is 2 1/2 games is 2 1/2 games. Moving on..

Rudy Gay

This is for Rudy Gay, and well it will show something entirely different than it had for Cousins in large part due to the Rudini having played all 5 games so far.

Even though it's generally considered not the case, Rudy Gay has been a pretty productive player in terms of his personal O/D Rtg's in comparison to the team as a whole. Now that's not to say that Gay has performed very well, because he really hasn't, but this is the problem of small sample size. And, to the surprise of very few I'm sure, it's not going to be like that for most guys.

And here is the table:

Rudy Gay Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 31:21 31:21 31:03 32:00 30:15 O Rtg 104.6 115.8 111.9 108.2 107.3 D Rtg 109.4 99 101.2 103.7 105.3 Net Rtg -4.8 + 16.8 + 10.6 + 4.5 + 2 TS% 47.4% 58.8% 51.3% 51.1% 48.1% TOV% 9.1% 5.3% 7.5% 7.7% 7.4% AST% 14.3% 12.5% 11.8% 13.3% 13.2% USG% 24.3% 20% 24.4% 25.8% 25.2% ORB% 3.3% 3.4% 7.4% 6.6% 6.9% DRB% 10.2% 16.1% 16.7% 16.5% 18% TRB% 7.2% 10.0% 11.7% 11.3% 12.2%

Well, yeah it looks different. When Rudy plays well, that's my main takeaway, he gives the Kings a much greater shot at winning games. And when he does not, well, yeah, so much for that. Stunning analysis, I know.

Darren Collison

This might be the one that surprises people.

I'm not really sure what to say about this other than the mix of the players Collison might be as important a contributor to this as anything else. And, it's a small sample size....

Darren Collison Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 30:22 23:50 35:00 30:45 32:23 O Rtg 94.6 99.8 101.3 97.7 97.1 D Rtg 100.3 106.7 107.9 104.9 106.0 Net Rtg -5.7 - 6.9 -6.0 -7.9 -5.8 TS% 45.8% 49.6% 47.6% 52.1% 48.1% TOV% 4.7% 5.2% 6.3% 6.4% 7.4% AST% 28.6% 23.1% 23.1% 21.1% 13.2% USG% 20.3% 20.5% 20.4% 20.6% 25.2% ORB% 3.3% 1.8% 2.0% 1.6% 6.9% DRB% 0.0% 1.9% 3.9% 3.8% 18% TRB% 1.7% 1.8% 2.9% 2.6% 12.2%

Like I said, there's not a lot here to like, but it's early, and I'm not convinced this is anything more than circumstantial.

Ben McLemore III

I'm not a huge fan of sample sizes due to distortion, but they don't help Ben either way. The good news is that there is still time so that's something I guess.

Now, the chart:

Ben McLemore Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 30:22 23:50 10:25 20:27 14:29 O Rtg 94.6 99.8 112 106.7 106.2 D Rtg 100.3 106.7 111.4 113.6 112.0 Net Rtg -5.7 - 6.9 + 0.6 -6.9 -5.8 TS% 45.8% 49.6% 43.3% 38.1% 45.9% TOV% 4.7% 5.2% 5.2% 10.6% 15.7% AST% 28.6% 23.1% 2.0% 4.7% 5.4% USG% 20.3% 20.5% 12.6% 13.4% 15.2% ORB% 3.3% 1.8% 1.9% 1.4% 1.2% DRB% 0.0% 1.9% 6.4% 8.2% 9.7% TRB% 1.7% 1.8% 4.0% 4.5% 5.1%

Pretty, it's not. And for those going, but you said this, I meant it. It didn't mean that it was a guarantee to happen, or that it would happen right away. The one thing I've noticed early on (and the TOV% doesn't surprise me) is that Ben is being asked to create too often on the dribble. That isn't a strength of his right now, so why does he continue to do that?

Rajon Rondo

Graph:

Rajon Rondo Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 25:15 23:47 33:00 26:59 29:26 O Rtg 102.6 111.4 108.7 104.3 101.7 D Rtg 120.9 108.8 111.2 113.2 115.0 Net Rtg -18.3 + 2.6 - 2.5 -8.9 -13.3 TS% 25.0% 57.1% 55.4% 47.9% 22.2% TOV% 14.3% 15.0% 10.2% 10.4% 10.5% AST% 19.0% 33.3% 33.9% 32.9% 32.3% USG% 15.5% 22.4% 22.9% 22.9% 22.2% ORB% 4.2% 2.3% 2.5% 2.9% 2.3% DRB% 31.6% 23.1% 20.6% 21.7% 20.6% TRB% 16.3% 12.2% 10.6%d 11.2% 10.3%

Now, the main thing I take away is that Rondo gets lots of rebounds and assists, and that's not necessarily a good thing for a team that struggles in defensive rebounding without DeMarcus Cousins, and a team that needs shooting and/or scoring. Rondo's a player that can help some things, but without the tools around him he won't lift you into another tier. As many have said, Rondo's value dramatically changes without DeMarcus Cousins, but his raw statistics (hence his percentages in the defensive rbounding and Assist percentage) are still fine due to the fact that he plays with the ball in his hands.

Marco Belinelli

Graph:

Now, I think it's pretty clear that Marco is a quality role player but not a trajectory franchise changing player. He'll have ups and downs shooting the ball, and so far it's been more quite a bit more down than up.

Marco Belinelli Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 31:57 22:12 28:04 24:56 26:13 O Rtg 88.8 99.5 100.9 97.5 98.0 D Rtg 97.7 101.4 100.8 99.1 101.0 Net Rtg -8.8 -1.8 + 0.1 -1.5 -3.0 TS% 37.5% 37.7% 42.6% 45.1% 49.4% TOV% 0.0% 6.5% 4.7% 5.2% 5.4% AST% 31.8% 20.5% 15.6% 18.1% 18.0% USG% 15.2% 15.3% 15.2% 16.8% 17.7% ORB% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% DRB% 6.5% 7.1% 7.8% 6.0% 6.5% TRB% 3.0% 3.4% 3.6% 2.7% 3.0%

The one thing that I've been interested in seeing with Marco Belinelli is whether or not that AST% continues to stay up in the 16-20% range as the season wears on. If he can shoot and increase ball movement through passing, that will help the offense quite a bit, IMO. The AST% indicates that Beli might be able to help that. The question is whom he fits with effectively, and I think Collison is the better fit.

Omri Casspi

So, here's the graph:

One thing I've noticed is that, for all the legitimate complaints about how bad the Kings defense has been, Omri seems to indicate that he's part of the early solution on the defensive side of things, SSS of course. Onto the table:

Omri Casspi Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 20:07 21:59 21:23 22:47 20:05 O Rtg 98.2 106.1 104.3 103.6 99.8 D Rtg 83.5 103.7 94.3 93.6 99.9 Net Rtg + 14.7 + 2.4 + 10.0 + 10.0 - 0.1 TS% 50.0% 55.5% 60.8% 50.1% 51.7% TOV% 28.6% 10.4% 16.0% 15.9% 16.8% AST% 0.0% 5.7% 7.7% 9.2% 9.0% USG% 15.3% 16.1% 16.7% 17.8% 18.0% ORB% 5.6% 9.5% 7.6% 7.0% 5.9% DRB% 38.1% 31.8% 27% 22.4% 23.2% TRB% 12.5% 20.9% 17.1% 14.6% 14.4%

As you can see, the same stuff with Omri shows up in the table. He's helpful on the defensive end, rebounds quite a bit, but turns over the ball too much and, unlike Belinelli, doesn't make enough plays with passing to offset that. It's really a question of optimization in lineup's, and figuring out how which guys do what. Which, obviously compounded by the losses of players and games, that's making it harder. Such is life in the NBA.

Kostas Koufos

Here's the graph:

Kostas Koufos Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 22:32 21:15 29:12 26:21 28:21 O Rtg 96.8 103.1 100.5 98.2 97.4 D Rtg 121.6 116.3 112.2 111.0 111.1 Net Rtg -24.8 -13.2 -11.7 -12.8 -13.7 TS% 83.3% 52.9% 50.0% 57.1% 61.4% TOV% 12.5% 13.0% 10.7% 11.1% 10.4% AST% 6.7% 9.4% 5.7% 4.5% 3.7% USG% 12.4% 17.4% 13.0% 13.2% 14.4% ORB% 13.6% 17.8% 14.6% 12.4% 13.1% DRB% 21.1% 23.1% 20.0% 19.8% 18.5% TRB% 17.1% 20.2% 16.9% 15.7% 15.5%

I really don't want to rip on KK. His performance so far has just not been that good, and he's been pretty bad whenever he's been needed to rebound the ball, in small lineups, defensively in particular. He's one guy that really needs to pick it up, and while I like him, I think Kostas Koufos is a perfect example when you take a player who is perfect for a role, ask him to expand beyond that, and then play above his pay grade so to speak. It's a lot different playing on a team with DeMarcus Cousins and without him for games, then playing with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, or as a younger player when KK played with Nene in Denver. Talent matters, and the Kings don't have enough of it for KK to shine. It shows. This is also why, very early on, I really wondered how much of an upgrade KK provides over Jason Thompson. I'm still waiting to see it.

A good thing, early on, is that Koufos is a good finisher around the rim and has shown a quality hook that the Kings can make great use of every now and again. I don't want to slam the guy any more than I have to, but he's the one guy who really has not done himself, or management, any favors early. He's looked bad on the court, and in the numbers. Even with his clear strengths of offensive rebounding and finishing when given clean looks, he's still a pretty limited guy.

One thing I'm happy about that I'm hoping to continue to see is that his AST% to TOV% is nearly identical through 5 games. That's a pleasant surprise any time a big man can display that.

To me, the Koufos signing and subsequent metrics is a perfect referendum on how short-sighted management seemed when attempting to upgrade the roster.

Willie Cauley-Stein

So here's the graph:

And the table:

Willie Cauley-Stein Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 7:51 30:11 22:48 34:02 16:19 O Rtg 81.9 121.1 114.1 107.4 105.8 D Rtg 87.2 96.8 97.1 102.3 104.5 Net Rtg -5.3 + 24.3 + 17.3 + 5.1 + 1.2 TS% 50.0% 77.9% 71.2% 70.3% 70.3% TOV% 0.0% 13.2% 16.7% 15.3% 15.3% AST% 0.0% 2.9% 1.9% 2.9% 2.4% USG% 11.2% 14.2% 14.5% 13.1% 11.3% ORB% 12.5% 11.1% 15.3% 12.8% 11.4% DRB% 12.5% 20.0% 22.0% 21.1% 22.9% TRB% 12.5% 15.2% 18.3% 16.4% 16.5%

So, you can see that Willie-Trill has all the goods to be a defensive stud, but he's still a bit light in the defensive rebounding department. In a lot of ways, WCS was drafted to compliment DeMarcus Cousins, and he might end up being the perfect compliment by the time it's all said and done. His athleticism, defensive disruption and activity have helped the team clearly in the early going without DeMarcus Cousins either in the lineup or on the floor. (I'm obviously doing this after the Houston and Golden State games, but it was clear earlier than that.)

Seth Curry

I debated doing a graph for Seth Curry, brother of Stephen, but was an actual high level recruit (unlike one Stephen Curry) but I chose not to because I don't think it will be helpful. In the next batch of games if there is anything near 15 minutes as there was for Seth in the Houston contest, we shall see. And, for everyone else, you will only see a table and nothing else. Making the graphs is, to put it kindly, a colossal pain in the ass. Also, nobody else got enough minutes for it to be worth it.

Seth Curry Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes N/A 3:49 N/A 3:16 5:05 O Rtg N/A 90.0 90.0 98.9 106.2 D Rtg N/A 111.5 111.5 91.3 107.2 Net Rtg N/A - 21.5 - 21.5 + 7.6 -1.1 TS% N/A 50.0% 50.0% 75.0% 75.0% TOV% N/A 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% AST% N/A 33.3% 33.3% 40.0% 44.0% USG% N/A 20.0% 20.0% 22.0% 19.9% ORB% N/A 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% DRB% N/A 20.0% 20.0% 14.3% 9.1% TRB% N/A 12.5% 12.5% 7.7% 1.8%

Small sample size, huzzah.

James Anderson

Here's his table:

James Anderson Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 3:14 4:30 N/A 4:15 24:35 O Rtg 103.1 90.6 90.6 97.1 96.2 D Rtg 123.0 120.5 120.5 104.2 113.8 Net Rtg -19.9 - 29.9 - 29.9 -7.1 -17.6 TS% 0.0% 75.0% 75.0% 63.0% 52.0% TOV% 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 29.6% 18.4% AST% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 8.30% USG% 0.0% 20.2% 20.2% 22.7% 29.3% ORB% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% DRB% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 9.1% 4.0% TRB% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 4.5% 1.8%

Here's my comments: There are none.

Caron Butler

Here's his table:

Caron Butler Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes 12:40 N/A 13:45 9:57 5:58 O Rtg 58.3 58.3 83.1 77.1 75.8 D Rtg 77.6 77.6 95.0 93.9 91.6 Net Rtg -19.3 -19.3 -11.8 -16.8 -15.8 TS% 57.1% 57.1% 54.5% 53.0% 50.0% TOV% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 7.1% 6.7% AST% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% USG% 20.1% 20.1% 16.6% 15.7% 15.2% ORB% 5.9% 5.9% 3.7% 5.1% 4.3% DRB% 7.7% 7.7% 4.2% 9.1% 8.3% TRB% 6.7% 6.7% 3.9% 6.9% 6.1%

Here's my comments: Butler's best days are behind him. And that's okay. But he's not the player he was in his Washington heyday, that is for sure.

Eric Moreland

Table:

Eric Moreland Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes N/A 3:14 N/A 4:15 3:20 O Rtg N/A 90.0 90.0 99.6 99.7 D Rtg N/A 123.0 123.0 97.2 101.8 Net Rtg N/A - 33.0 - 33.0 + 2.4 -2.1 TS% N/A 100.0% 100.0% 53.8% 34.7% TOV% N/A 0.0% 0.0% 7.1% 0.0% AST% N/A 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% USG% N/A 10.0% 10.0% 14.3% 9.9% ORB% N/A 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 10.0% DRB% N/A 25.0% 25.0% 28.6% 25.0% TRB% N/A 14.3% 14.3% 14.3% 16.7%

/ end table

On a serious note, in case you are wondering what the highest actual TS% is, it's 150% not 100%. That's due to the value of a 3 pointer.

Quincy Acy

Here's the table:

Quincy Acy Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Total Minutes N/A N/A N/A N/A 3:31 O Rtg N/A N/A N/A N/A 100.0 D Rtg N/A N/A N/A N/A 112.5 Net Rtg N/A N/A N/A N/A -12.5 TS% N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.0% TOV% N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.0% AST% N/A N/A N/A N/A 33.3% USG% N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.0% ORB% N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.0% DRB% N/A N/A N/A N/A 100.0% TRB% N/A N/A N/A N/A 25.0%

How do you comment on a guy who hasn't even played 30 total minutes through 7 games as I type this?

Oh, and there's nothing to write about Duje Dukan so there's going to be nothing to type out. Unless you've missed something I've not missed, that is. You are free to add any statistical analysis on Dukan if you like. :)

Four Factors of the Sacramento Kings for Offense and Defense

This is where the rubber meets the road. Even though you can start to see how lineup optimization might work, what you ultimately see is the offense getting enough points, and the defense giving up way too many. There's far more defensive issue's with this team than offensive, and the offensive issue's seem more important because you need to score more than the other guy to win. Obviously. But, if you can't get stops consistently on the defensive end, you're going to have a terrible eFG% defensively as a team. Without ranking them (I'm going to wait for future posts to do that), I'll just say it's bottom 3.

Sacramento Kings Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Pace (Total Possessions) 105.28 108.66 108.15 105.69 105.04 O Rtg (Points per 100 Poss) 96.4 107.2 105.5 102.2 101.0 Offensive eFG% 49.5% 52.1% 49.8% 48.6% 49.7% TOV% 16.7% 14.5% 14.1% 14.1% 26.7% ORB% 25.0% 30.1% 32.0% 28.5% 75.0% FT/FG 19.10% 24.6% 24.7% 30.5% 27.5% DRtg (Points per 100 Poss) 108.1 104.9 105.4 105.0 106.8 Defense eFG% 56.3% 54.1% 54.1% 53.0% 55.5% TOV% 14.6% 15.8% 15.9% 16.2% 17.6% Opp's ORB% 14.0% 15.4% 15.7% 19.3% 22.5% Def FT/FG% 38.8% 34.3% 42.4% 39.3% 36.1%

Here you go. The other main concern that I left out in the initial paragraph is that the Kings also don't seem to hit as many shots as needed that typical high level offenses are built around, the Kings haven't been getting to the FT line as much as they did in the 9-5 start a year ago, and the offensive rebounding is still there. But here's the thing about all that: Offensive rebounding isn't as wonderful when you are missing so many shots. Getting to the FT line requires that the ref's call things, and you cannot rely on that. You can rely on getting quality shots, not turning the ball over a ridiculous amount, and ultimately allowing the FT line to work a bit more in your favor. But, that has not seemed to happen. Oh, and the pace... the pace. It's too......how do I put this.....the Kings are not the 7 Second or Less Suns.

Yes, the teams the Clippers are tougher than the Grizzlies or Suns offensively, and that's true. It's also true that this team has a problem with DeMarcus Cousins or not defending at a high level. Sometimes rebounding is a problem, too. One last graphic.....

Total Minutes Played for Sacramento Kings players Through 5 games Rudy Gay 156 Minutes Darren Collison 152 Minutes Rajon Rondo 138 Minutes Marco Belinelli 133 Minutes Kostas Koufos 128 Minutes Willie Cauley-Stein 111 Minutes Omri Casspi 106 Minutes Ben McLemore 90 Minutes DeMarcus Cousins 78 Minutes Caron Butler 42 Minutes James Anderson 37 Minutes Seth Curry 12 Minutes Eric Moreland 11 Minutes Quincy Acy 4 Minutes Duje Dukan N/A

Well, that's pretty much it. I think this table speaks to the problems of this team. I might seriously argue for a few more minutes for Casspi, but other than that I don't have a huge issue with the minute distribution short of Cousins not playing those minutes.

Just as an aside, for those more familiar with the Google family of web products please feel free to suggest alternative methods to the graphs that I did not use from my spreadsheet. I also used Photobucket (mainly because I found it easier to use the HTML code with the SBN browser) mainly because I didn't see an option the Google photo service to use HTML as a code. So any helpful hints or suggestions are welcome.

Last but not least, here is the NBA.com stats tool I used for the individual player numbers along with the the 4 Factors. Feel free to check them (or be a Grammar nazi) for any errors I made. I'll update them when I get a chance.