An Issue of Assists

[azirish]

One of the hardest things for the Suns to deal with is when Nash is not in the lineup. Steve Nash not only leads the NBA in assists with 11.6 apg, he lead the league in assists per 48 at 15.8. No one else was even close.

Of the top assist guys, only 5 had 8 or more per game:

Nash 11.6 (15.8 per 48)
Deron Williams 9.3 (12.1 per 48)
Jason Kidd 9.2 (12.0 per 48)
Chris Paul 8.9 (11.6 per 48)
Baron Davis 8.1 (11.0 per 48)

It is curious is how many "name" point guards rank relatively low in assists, especially per 48 minutes:

Billips 7.2 apg and 9.5 per 48 (ranked 11th)
Heinrich 6.2 apg and 8.5 per 48 (ranked 15th)
Mo Williams 6.1 apg and 8.1 per 48 (19th)
Tony Parker 5.5 apg and 8.1 per 48 (20th)
Duhon 4.0 apg and 7.8 per 48 (23rd)
Diaw 4.8 apg and 7.5 per 48 (26th)
Arenas 6.0 apg and 7.2 per 48 (28th)
Jason Terry 5.2 apg and 7.1 per 48 (30th)
Marbury 5.4 apg and 7.0 per 48 (32nd)
Devon Harrris 3.7 apg and 6.8 per 48 (35th)
Jameer Nelson 4.3 apg and 6.8 per 48 (36th)
Barbosa 4.0 apg and 5.8 per 48 (47th)
Fisher 3.3 apg and 5.8 per 48 (49th)
Smush Parker 2.8 apg and 4.5 per 48 (64th)

In 2005-06 Boris average 6.2 apg and 8.4 per 48 (13th). Last year, Diaw had more assists per 48 than Tony Parker who had 8.1 and ranked 18th.

For whatever it is worth, this year the Spurs offense ranked only 11th in assists with 22.1 apg and Dallas ranked 24th with 19.9 apg. In each case, this reflected offenses that featured guys who do a lot of "one-on-one" style play.

 

[RingtheBell]

Doris Diaw rocks.

 

[elindholm]

Slow work day, George?

 

[Sunsman44]

Why don't u dig deep into your little stat sheets and actually prove me and other realist fans a valid argument on why and how Suns will actually go deep in the playoffs with this current 7-man rotation with no bigs and no depth.

I'd love to read that post...

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Why don't u dig deep into your little stat sheets and actually prove me and other realist fans a valid argument on why and how Suns will actually go deep in the playoffs with this current 7-man rotation with no bigs and no depth.

I'd love to read that post...

So abraisive! Making friends in new places isnt really your strong point is it?

Aside from that, your argument is flawed. Statistics cannot prove the "why" of an issue, and your "how" condition is quite subjective, something statistics do not perform well in.

Considering that, I guess i'd love to read that post too...

 

[azirish]

I got interested in the assist ranking when I found that Tony Parker averaged only 5.5 assists per game and was only 20th in assists per 48 (among qualified players).

We tend to get down on Barbosa because he's not a great assist guy, but considering Leandro plays off the ball more than half the time I'm not sure that's really fair. Leandro is like Tony Parker in that he's more of an offensive threat than a playmaker. The difference is that the Spurs are not as reliant on having a playmaker as the Suns are.

 

[mathbzh]

Leandro is like Tony Parker in that he's more of an offensive threat than a playmaker. The difference is that the Spurs are not as reliant on having a playmaker as the Suns are.

I am not sure about that. I think Parker is now a playmaker. He don't have many assists, but he can control the game. He would not be the passer Nash is of course but in the Suns system Parker would have 1 or 2 more assist per game. Nash in the Spurs system would still be a great playmaker, but would probably not reach the 10 apg.

 

[azirish]

I am not sure about that. I think Parker is now a playmaker. He don't have many assists, but he can control the game. He would not be the passer Nash is of course but in the Suns system Parker would have 1 or 2 more assist per game. Nash in the Spurs system would still be a great playmaker, but would probably not reach the 10 apg.

My read on it is that Spurs are very team oriented without being dependent on the PG to make the plays for them. I think we may see a bit more of that from the Suns due to the addition of Hill. IMHO, it would be a good thing because it forces defenses to have more to worry about and reduce the static tendency of the Suns players to just stand around and wait for Nash to get them the ball.

There is going to be continual trend toward double teaming Nash and the Suns need to be better prepared to exploit the opportunities created.