Post#1 » by homecourtloss » Mon Mar 25, 2019 11:29 pm

Oh, wait. When looking at all the data available, the exact opposite is true . NBA.com has play type data available again and guess what? It shows that not only is James not a bad defender, but he’s rather a very good one.

PICK AND ROLL BALL HANDLER (2+ defensive possessions per game, 50+ games played

HAND OFF DEFENSE (.5+ defensive possession per game, 50+ games played.)

ISO DEFENSE (1+ defensive possession per game, 50+ games played.)

SPOT UP DEFENSE (3+ defensive possession per game, 50+ games played.)

ROLL MAN DEFENSE IN PICK AND ROLL (only .2 possessions per game)



DEFENSE OFF SCREENS (.4+possessions per game)

POST UP DEFENSE (.5+ possessions per game, 50+ games played)

Top 6% in defending the pick and roll ball handlerTop 10% in defending hand offsTop 14% in defending the roll man in pick and rollTop 20% in defending off of screensTop 27% in defending in ISOTop 30% in post up defenseTop 43% in spot up defense (only defense he was average in)Additionally, opponents whom James defends shoot 3.8% WORSE when defended by James. https://stats.nba.com/player/2544/defense-dash/ In December, they shot a whopping 9.8% WORSE.—Lakers are 3.1 points per 100 possession BETTER defensively with James on court.With James ON court, the Lakers’ defense is equivalent to the 10th ranked defense.With James OFF court, the Lakers’ defense is equivalent to the 23rd ranked defense—James’ DRPM is 1.74, top 10% in the NBA. His DRPM is ahead of players such as Smart, Winslow, Butler, Ball, Dipo, Lowry, Kidd-Gilchrist, Tatum and Brown, KD, Simmons, LMA, [REST ARE ALL NEGATIVE DEFENDERS PER DRPM—Like James was last year]: Kawhi, Brogdon, Ingram, SGAJames is 2nd best out of 141 players, top 6%, who defend 2+ such possessions per game.James is 5th out of 140 players in defending hand offs, top 10%.James is 15th of 61 players, top 27% in points per possession allowed (.78)ahead of Siakam, Draymond, Simmons, Klay, Aminu. For reference, Giannis allows .72 PPP.James is 35th of 94 players, top 43% in PPP allowed, ahead of Embiid, Brown, Lowry, Draymond, KD, Danny Green,Top 14% in the leagueJames is 18th out of 163 players, top 20% in the NBA.James is 49th of 176 players, top 30%