I just wonder what kind of pressure that would put on Pop to break TPs heart and the front office because if the offense is going through Kawhi then Tony really doesn't have a place on the floor unless its off the bench.
I think everyone in San Antonio knows including tony. All his teammates know. Everyone talks and reads. They can see how bad tony leading would be. The spurs aren't there to keep players egos intact. The spurs are about evolution. Stagnation is a disease.
Fail to evolve and you go extinct.
second option
Need a huge game from him tonight. He has to be dominating.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SAS/2015.html
Scroll down to Playoffs Advanced and sort by USG%, the percentage of possessions a player uses when he's on the court. You'll see this:
Kawhi is the first option and the numbers prove it.
In contrast, here are the regular season USG% numbers.
For USG%, the differentials between postseason and regular season for rotation players is:
Mills +3.1%
Leonard +3.0%
Belinelli +1.7%
Duncan -1.5%
Ginobili -2.2%
Green -2.4%
Parker -3.5%
Splitter -4.0%
Good to see Leonard's usage up and making the most of it. His numbers back up the bump.
Too bad not enough of the others are doing the same.
It also means that OP is full of . Kawhi is the #1 option right now and Parker is using fewer possessions than in the regular season, meaning he is passing more. 3.5% is a big drop. Splitter's drastically lower usage also reflects his non-involvement in the offense.
Leonard's usage may be up but I wouldn't consider him the number one option either. There's still too many long stretches where he doesn't even touch the ball. He's certainly up there in the pecking order but I think he could be used even more.
If Parker and Splitter could be a quarter as effective as Leonard has been they'd probably see a bump in usage too. One is settling for an alarming amount of jumpers and the other is getting stuffed or throwing up more embarrassing garbage than usual.
Green isn't helping himself either.
Parker handles the ball much more than Leonard, sure. That's the role of a PG in just about any offense. Also, either Kawhi isn't enough of a playmaker to trust handling the ball on most possessions, or Pop just doesn't trust him enough yet. You're right that 26.0% USG isn't all that high. True possession hogs like Westbrook and Kobe are in the mid to high 30s. There's always the question of how much offensive load you want your best defensive player to shoulder. It's tricky, and Parker's huge decline has made the answer much less clear.
Parker is likely taking more jumpers because he's hurt. It really hurts the team because he's not getting the respect in the paint to cause mismatches and scrambles elsewhere. Splitter seems to be very afraid of getting his shot blocked, even sometimes with Jordan on the bench.
lol passing more
You mean with his pathetic 2 apg average? He's not passing more he's just been relegated to play off the ball a little more since he's been playing like .
BTW would you kind enough to post the usage formula? Pretty sure dribble dribble dribbles or two man games aren't taken into account. Basically Enrique can dribble around for 20 seconds, which isn't that uncommon, and dump it off to TD last second for a missed, low percentage shot and it doesn't increase his usage rate.
#1 option to me is when the ball runs through you primarily. Like the years of Duncan 4 down. He either abused his man or found the open cutter/shooter when he drew double and triple teams.
The torch was then passed to Parker when he attacked nearly every time. He either had his way or kicked out to the open shooter.
#1 option is also when they look to you to get a must basket. Maybe when the offense has stalled or game winner type situations.
The torch is now slowly being passed to Leonard. But I would not consider his new role in the same fashion as the two above. Yet. Why that is is certainly up for discussion.
So while I'm thrilled Leonard's usage rate is up, I do not consider him the #1 option. My interpretation of that could be different from how others view what a #1 option is though.
good for him. one of our few bright spots in the tired roster
Passing more doesn't always equal assists. Parker has never been a shot creator other than to drive and kick. And right now, he can drive and kick all he wants, but if his shooters don't make threes, then he won't get assists.
We've got a mismatch at that spot and we need to expose it.
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