The Complete Idiots Guide to Pelicans Misconceptions
Misconception #5: “Anthony Davis can’t create his own shot”
Huge thanks to LieutenantKumar for this one, he helped me find many of the resources and stats I needed to prove why this perception is inaccurate!
I’m a little more sympathetic to people who try to argue this, because at least they try to use stats. The problem is that they use those stats completely wrong.
The idea that Davis can’t create his own shot stemmed from the use of “Percentage of Field Goals Assisted” stats, which for Davis, were slightly higher than most traditional bigs.
Anthony Davis % Assisted FGs = 71%
Blake Griffin % Assisted FGs = 67%
LaMarcus Aldridge % Assisted FGs = 48%
Demarcus Cousins % Assisted FGs = 52%
The problem with this stat is it doesn’t really have anything to do with how good of a scorer someone is. It really just measures how fast they make their first move. It’s relevant for spot up players, but generally useless for high scoring big men.
Blake and Davis are freak athletes, meaning they typically will receive the ball, and then immediately either shoot or sprint to the rim.
Aldridge and Cousins are different. They don’t have the same speed, so instead they rely on being highly skilled in the post to get a good look. Both ways are fine, but the first one (the faster one) typically means more assists are generated by other teammates.
Dec 20, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) is guarded by New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first half of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Don’t just take my word for it though, you can read an article right HERE by Ian Levy which discusses touch time, and how LaMarcus Aldridge will need to make quicker decisions with the ball now that he’s a member of the Spurs.
As you’ll see, LaMarcus typically holds the ball 0.4 seconds longer then the average NBA big.
All bigs need to receive the ball from the wing, so imagine if he simply made his offensive move about half a second faster; I bet his assisted FG% would rise. That’s why this stat is basically meaningless when used on non-three point specialists.
Davis is also fundamentally an identical isolation scorer to Steph Curry. Here’s their isolation stats per NBA.com
See how strikingly similar they are? Neither of them needed to take a lot of “isolation” shots because they generally moved quickly with the ball.
If Andre Igoudala passes to Steph Curry and he takes some crazy step-back three that is technically “assisted” does anyone say he can’t create his own shot? Of course not! It’s a good thing to get your points quickly and efficiently. The only reason people target Davis is because he’s a big man, and Steph is a flashy point guard.
If you STILL don’t believe me, here’s a video of AD dropping 35 in the playoffs. Watch how his fast decision-making generally grants his teammates assists, despite them doing fundamentally nothing to actually make his life easier.
Check out that play at 1:35. Did the entry pass (which would count as an assist) actually do anything to help Davis score? It didn’t. He could have posted up, backed down, taken more time (thus negating the assist), but instead he made a quick decisive move towards the basket and scored immediately. You want a player who does that, instead of one who needs to slow down the momentum of the game to get in rhythm.
BOOM.
Okay let’s review
Are Davis’ stats inflated? NO!
Can you play three guards together without destroying your chemistry? YES!
Are Anthony Davis and Omer Asik so bad they should be on the Knicks? NO!
Do the Pelicans have a crazy good collection of three-point shooters? YES!
Can Anthony Davis score a basketball all by himself?
BY THE FEATHERS ON PIERRE’S HEAD I SAY YES!
Nov 2, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans mascot Pierre the Pelican during the first quarter of a game against the Charlotte Bobcats at New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
And remember, If you don’t defend your favorite team from the attacks of other fan-bases, they will ruin your life.
Or at least sometimes it feels that way…