Work rate is not the same as speed (not at all). But thanks for the article, anyways.
Here's is the important stat about Mills regarding speed: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/ba...-1226951759547
In short, he runs more than everyone else on the court at a much faster speed than anyone. The player that ranks second to Mills is Tony Parker.
The Spurs basically tire out the opponent by working harder than the opponent. This IMHO is how they are able to beat team with superstars like James and Durant. Rather than make it a game that will favor athletes (i.e. 100m dash), make it a game that favors long distance runners (3000 meters).
Work rate is not the same as speed (not at all). But thanks for the article, anyways.
Not saying that its the same, I'm saying is this is the stat that's relevant for Patty Mills. Also note that Paul Pierce is a the bottom of this stat.
Question for Jimmer is that can he work at the same pace?
It is very relevant for Mills. I'm not shocked at all to see him leading the league at it. That's what tends to happen when one consistently picks up his man full court. But the reason that it was a topic is ceds was trying to argue that it was an "elite speed" measurement (which it is not).
I doubt Jimmer's gonna pick up guys full court. But if he were to learn to do it from half court here and there to show he's not intimidated, then that'll help his defense overall, imo.
Not a surprise spurstacular is a jimmy fan too. Lol
jimmers 3/4 court sprint: 3.21 secs...pretty fast.
again numbers can lie about on court ability?
Mills used to play Australian Rugby and he's using that skill set in the NBA court.
He's able to do a full court press because he has the speed to keep up with his man. This I guess compensates for his lack of size.
This lack of speed indeed will hurt Jimmer on the defensive end. But in fairness, he's not the same kind of player as Mills. The only two things in common they share is (1) the lack of height and (2) a high percentage long range shot.
Mills is actually a pretty intelligent and mature person for his age. The two guys he hung around with were Bobo and Manu. These two are at least 5 years older than him, but he apparently can keep up with the conversation. If anybody is the 'glue' guy in the Spurs, it is without a doubt Patty Mills. The guy gives character to the team, he invents stuff like the Kawhi hand signal or the Froggy pose.
Once again Mills is in the top 10 all time at 3/4 sprint at the combine at 3.10
He leads the league in MPH at 4.8 and has done so multiple times
His ceiling isn't that high. He is one of the five fastest players in the league, easily, and he does have a quick release, in combination with foot speed and his shooting accuracy thats a deadly combination. Shot 40% in 13-14 and torched the Clippers in limited minutes in the postseason.
Not sold he will ever be a traditional play making PG ,he is an undersized two. He is an excellent shooter off the dribble (a rarity),much of his P&Rs are for him to score. After taking a screen he's really good at side dribbling into open space for an uncontested jumper.
Having such a great shooter at "PG" is a luxury only very few teams have.
Shorter guys have an advantage when the sprint is that short. Their steps are closer to the ground. Big guys need that extra bit of space to hit their stride. Keifer Sykes hit 3.13 3/4 and he doesn't strike me as someone having that great of speed either (relative to everyone else).
I got the posts per page at the max so it's 13 pages for me. Still a lot for Jimmer Time.
Patty Mills is at the top of the average speed (for the whole NBA last season) at 4.8mph, followed by Cory Joseph (2nd in the NBA). Parker is the 3rd player in the whole NBA (accounting for significant number of games played, ie 21+) at 4.6mph with 17 more games played than Mills and double the mpg... That just says that the Spurs playbook requires the acting PG to run around a lot, and fast. It's called the loop.
Mills is fast for a NBA player, and quite fast for a guard. 19y old Parker was one of the fastest players in NBA history, his first step off the dribble is legendary, sorry but there is no comparison here.
At this point, you're reaching. Mills is one of the fastest players down a court. Jimmer isn't. It's pretty cut and dried.
Mills has elite straight-line speed. His lateral quickness doesn't seem to be on that level.
I hadn't looked up the distance numbers before, but I am not surprised at all to see Mills, Joseph, and Parker leading the league. Parker being injured really compromised the Spurs offense, and Parker has never contributed much on defense.
Pop was stuck, though. Patty's game isn't at all suited to heavy minutes and Joseph didn't inspire much confidence either.
Still only concerned about his defense.
I wasn't making a Jimmer vs. Mills speed comparison. But 3.10 to 3.21 is not that big a difference if we're going there.
Wow, this thread is still going...
Regarding Fredette, the key points are, to me:
1) Spurs do like him:
With the E-N confirmation, it looks like his contract is half guaranteed and not the typical training camp contract like reported first. With the luxury tax, it means that Spurs have already invested $1.27M in him. The timing of the signing and Fredette pushing Spurs as 15 players with significant money guaranteed is also meaningful. 3 weeks after the start of free agency, Spurs have basically said: "Fredette is the best we can do, let's call it an offseason". If Spurs didn't like him, they would have waited more before settling for him.
2) Spurs view Fredette as a wing:
Few days before his signing, RC talked about Spurs situation during a SL game. He praised the McCallum trade and explained how the PG rotation would work: Parker will start with Mills subbing him and when/if Parker is given the night off, McCallum would replace him as a starter. He then said that Spurs were looking at wings. I just don't see Spurs adding Fredette few days after that if they were considering him mainly as a PG.
3) There are some minutes to take at wings this summer:
Behind Green, Kawhi and Ginobili, the compe ion for playing time is wide open. Anderson, Simmons, Fredette and McCallum all have an opportunity to be a part of the rotation this year. These players will basically fight to take Belinelli spot.
4) If Fredette can turn up into a serviceable player in the NBA, it's as Gary Neal 2.0:
This one is my personal opinion. While his previous franchises aren't beyond reproaches, Fredette has shown his limits in his 4 years NBA career: he can't be a NBA PG. He just isn't reliable enough. He could make it as an undersized scoring/shooting SG. Of course, he will be 3 inches shorter than the average SG but, at about 200 lbs, he is bulky/strong enough for that spot.
Nice writeup Bruno.Restores my faith in this message board.
Not a reach at all. Shorter guys traditionally do much better at running lines for a reason.
It was obvious from the beginning that they view him as a wing, given that they already had 3 PG's and a clear need for another shooter on the wing.
It sounds trite, but it really is this simple in his case: If he makes threes at around or above 40%, he'll be a good fit offensively. But I don't see any way Mills-Fredette-Ginobili can work defensively against most teams, particularly with Diaw-West.
This is why, barring him shooting out of his mind in training camp/preseason and the few games he's likely to get leading up to his fully guaranteed date, he's likely to get cut.
Spurs also value SGs who have some play-making skills, ala Manu and Beli, and further exemplified by the fact that they aren't afraid to go into 2 PG sets with Parker and Mills. Fredette may not be good enough to play full-time point guard, but the fact that he has some experience at the spot and CAN run offense only helps when he is paired next to another PG in the motion offense. This was also one of Neal's weak points...he was a great shooter, but not really adept at creating for others.
Great write up. I don't like the idea of him being a wing though. Way too short IMO.
The only other reason I can think of signing him this early is also for trade purposes. Maybe the Spurs thought they could also use his salary along with Reggie Williams in a trade if needed? Isn't the minimum time you can trade someone after signing him 3 months? or would the Spurs not do that to someone they just signed?
I agree with this take. Mills' straight line speed is elite. He's not the fastest laterally though, but as I also said, his ball handling lets him down and doesn't allow him to unlock his true speed in the half court set. If he was a better ball handler, he'd be absolutely lethal and be able to get to the rack with ease. Parker is a superior ball handler. I rate Parker quite highly in regards to his ball handling. I'm not sure if Patty continues to work on his ball handling or not, but I think he should as that could help take his game to the next level, especially his ball handling in traffic needs work.
I know, but he needs to be paired in the back court with a big combo guard, who can essentially play PG offensively, but guard SG's. This is why Ginobili-Mills works. How does Ginobili-Fredette-Mills work, in most match-ups?
If this were legitimately the sixth wing spot, it wouldn't matter much, but because it could easily end up being fourth (probably not him, but whoever get's this spot eventually), it does.
He is an SG offensively though, since he can't run an offense. Defensively, stature wise he's a PG, but really, he's the type that's only playable when the opposition has a safe hiding place. Which is to say, a perimeter player in the game who's neither an off the dribble or post up threat.
We all take Mills for granted, but the reality is, he's just turned 27 and has still room for improving, particularly if he can make those Tony Parker layups.
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