NBA Offseason 2014 - Page 114

If you've spent any time courtside in the middle of an NBA game, you've probably heard it before.

"Shooter!"

Coaches, players and even fans will shout it at the top of their lungs when an opposing team's sharpshooter breaks free off the ball. Find him, put a body on him. Now.

You have to respect the shooter. But have you ever wondered which players get the most respect?

Good news: We can now track it scientifically. Stats LLC has privately crunched the data from SportVU player-tracking cameras in all 29 arenas last season and generated two advanced metrics to assess a player's gravitational pull on a defense.

The first, called "gravity score," quantifies how closely a player's defender sticks to him off the ball. Generally speaking, bigs have higher gravity scores because their primary defender must also protect the basket and muscle for post position. They rarely let the big get too far away. On the other hand, guards typically have lower gravity scores simply because defenders have more liberty to shade off their guy on the perimeter.

The second metric, called "distraction score," quantifies how much a player's defender is willing to help off the ball to stop the ball handler. The worse he is as a shooter, the more likely his defender will be distracted by the ball handler. To shed light on who are the most effective floor-spacers in the NBA, I created a composite score that combines the two metrics. The result is what I've called "respect rating." For reference, the average point guard checked in with a 62.0 rating and centers registered an average 57.8 rating.

As I outlined Wednesday, the most "respected" players aren't necessarily elite shooters. Last season, Dwyane Wade ranked 21st among all players, thanks in part to his elite cutting ability off the ball. On Thursday, Kevin Pelton identified the gravitational outliers, players who surprised us with their respect rating.

Now it's time to reveal the top 10 in respect rating. To be clear, the list below isn't necessarily cataloguing the best shooters in the NBA, nor should it be treated that way. Rather, this list captures which players pulled the defense toward them the most off the ball. What's fascinating is that this metric ignores the box score completely and relies solely on optical tracking. This is the NBA in 2014.

So, which players generated the most respect off the ball? Let's take a look at the NBA's pre-eminent floor-spacers.


Curry
1. Stephen Curry | G | Golden State Warriors
Respect rating: 66.4


A magnet as strong as the Golden Gate Bridge itself. Last season, Curry led the NBA in 3-point field goals for the second consecutive season even though defenses were constantly trying to push him off the arc. Even though Curry mans the point guard position, about half of his 3-pointers were assisted by others last season (119 of 261), and he shot a blistering 48.2 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s, according to SportVU tracking data. With parking-lot range, an instantaneous release and pinpoint accuracy, no one distorts a defense quite like Curry.


Korver
2. Kyle Korver | F | Atlanta Hawks
Respect rating: 65.8

Korver's defender has one job and one job only: Don't let him touch the ball. The problem is, chasing Korver around a barrage of pindowns and flare screens is like sprinting through a minefield. Despite all the attention off the ball, Korver led the league in 3-point percentage last season (47.2 percent) and made over half his catch-and-shoot 3s, which is like playing with a cheat code. There's a reason the Hawks scored 105.4 points per 100 possessions (Golden State level) with Korver on the floor compared with 100.3 points per 100 possessions (Milwaukee level) with him sidelined.


Martin
3. Kevin Martin | G | Minnesota Timberwolves
Respect rating: 65.2

Surprised? Don't be. Martin's a knockdown shooter, but it's important to note Ricky Rubio's role here. Defenses almost never helped off of shooters when Rubio drove to the rim because the Spaniard was such an abysmal finisher in the paint. Thus, Martin's guy was constantly on him like white on rice. Martin shot 38.7 percent from deep last season, but he was a double threat off the ball because he's also an expert cutter to the rim. Let's see how he does without Kevin Love's gravitational pull.


Durant
4. Kevin Durant | F | Oklahoma City Thunder
Respect rating: 64.9

If Durant has any weakness on the offensive side of the floor, it's freeing himself off the ball. Defenders always have made it a point to be up in his jersey when guarding him off the ball, and his respect rating reflects that aggressive defensive scheme. According to SportVU, Durant is one of the rare players who shot better on pull-up 3s (41.1 percent) as opposed to the catch-and-shoot variety (38.2 percent), so letting him get comfortable off the dribble is a fatal mistake. It'll be interesting to see whether lingering effects from his foot injury will affect his ability to create separation.


Harden
5. James Harden | G | Houston Rockets
Respect rating: 64.8

Like Curry, Harden does the bulk of the playmaking for his team, so it makes sense that defenses did everything they could to keep the ball out of his hands. What's interesting is that his teammate Patrick Beverley had the 10th-worst respect rating among point guards, indicating that perimeter defenders fixated most of their attention on stopping "The Beard." Although Harden wasn't quite the sharpshooter from 3 the others on this list (36.6 percent) were, few can tilt the defense like Harden.


Allen
6. Ray Allen | G | free agent
Respect rating: 64.7

Allen should receive a lifetime achievement award for respect rating. For almost two decades, Allen has generated incessant "Shooter!" warnings from opposing coaches alerting the defense to find him off the ball. Evidently, the man they call "Jesus" still has it at age 39. SportVU data tells us he shot 39.9 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s last season in Miami, but he rated a bit below average coming off screens, according to Synergy Sports tracking. Maybe he has lost a step, but teams are still preoccupied with Allen off the ball. Some team would be wise to add his gravitational pull to its system.


Ginobili
7. Manu Ginobili | G | San Antonio Spurs
Respect rating: 64.5

The Spurs are the epitome of a "pick-your-poison" team, but no Spur generated more attention off the ball last season than Ginobili. What's interesting here is that Ginobili was a slightly below-average shooter from deep last season, shooting "just" 34.9 percent from beyond the arc. The key is to close out hard on Ginobili when he gets the ball on the perimeter; Ginobili shot 38.5 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s and just 29 percent when he pulled up for a trifecta, according to SportVU. Ginobili paints masterpieces once he gets the ball, so it makes sense that teams were terrified of letting him get a hold of it even at age 37.


Thompson
8. Klay Thompson | F | Golden State Warriors
Respect rating: 64.4

Yes, the Warriors have two of the top 10 most magnetic players in the game. And from the looks of it, they could have two of the top five soon enough. Thompson has been absolutely lighting it up from 3 this preseason (caveat: It's preseason), converting 56.2 percent from deep. But if new coach Steve Kerr continues to trot out Harrison Barnes 27 minutes a game, defenses will have one less reason to help off of Thompson on the perimeter. With Team USA boosting Thompson's rep, don't expect Thompson to be this far down the list much longer.


Meeks
9. Jodie Meeks | G | Detroit Pistons
Respect rating: 64.3

You're not the only one who did a double take here. However, context is especially important in this case. The Lakers weren't exactly stacked with players who could draw a double-team last season, so locking down Meeks, who shot 40.1 percent from 3-point land, became a higher priority for opposing defenses. It's a shame that Meeks suffered a stress reaction in his back that will knock him out for about two months, because the 27-year-old's gravity could have really decongested Detroit's offense right away. Armed with this SportVU insight, it makes more sense why Stan Van Gundy inked Meeks to a three-year, $19 million deal.


Lillard
10. Damian Lillard | G | Portland Trail Blazers
Respect rating: 64.2

Never let Lillard out of sight, even if he doesn't have the ball. Lillard's range is just absurd. Only Steph Curry made more 3s from 25 feet and beyond last season, according to Basketball-Reference.com data. And, unlike Curry, more than half of Lillard's heaves were assisted by others. All told, Lillard shot a ridiculous 42.5 percent on catch-and-shoot 3s last season, per SportVU tracking, which was far better than his pull-up rate. No, he wasn't off the ball very often, but you'll pay the price if you let him get loose. Right, Houston?