I know some around here don't think stats matter - and yes there are limitations to each one - but there are still interesting things to be drawn from each.
I looked at TS% (takes into account threes and FTs) vs. USG to try to look at impact to scoring vs. how many possessions are used up by that player. This doesn't incorporate helping others score (assists) or turnovers, rebounding, and bench players typically face lesser defenders than starters.
Y-axis is TS% and X-axis is usage. Some observations:
- Kawhi is uber efficient and top 40 in the league in possessions. Only guys above him in both usage and TS% are Curry and Durant, and only two that come close above him in USG are Harden and Lebron. But I guess he's a one way player according to half this board.
- LMA wasn't as efficient as Kawhi for the entire season, but looking at his splits from December onwards, he shot a lot better as he was integrated into the offense while his usage continued to climb. Good sign going forward assuming he doesn't fall off a cliff age-wise.
- Manu was solid this year and remains a positive offensively. Turnovers, yes, but still facilitating and was the engine that kept the bench afloat this year.
- Parker meandered around his career average TS%, likely on the back of his much improved outside shot. Was surprised to see him up at that level - shooting is fine, but explosiveness being spotty hurt the overall offense. For him to not be a huge hindrance going forward, he'll need to keep that 3pt% above 40% and increase the amount of looks he gets there when playing off the ball.
- Green had an off year, WELL off his career average of 57.1% TS but turned it on in the playoffs. Had good January/February, but otherwise was the definition of icy-hot. Hope for a bounce back year next year but expect the shooting to disappear at times. That's why it's key for the Spurs to find some more outside shooting in case he gets into a funk. His defense is still essential.
- Duncan remained one of the top defenders in the league this year, but really struggled offensively. Could be spacing issues / learning to play with LMA, but mostly drop-off in athleticism. Going forward if he comes back, he's probably best suited going up against bench bigs while anchoring the defense.
- Mills actually shot around his career average, but deficiencies defensively and his disappearing act in the playoffs (not captured above) are disconcerting, especially as he gets older and will become more of a defensive liability.
- Simmons was a very pleasant surprise. He's older, so not sure how much room there is for improvement or if there would be a drop with higher usage, but he's definitely a keeper. He actually has nearly identical TS%/USG to Draymond.
- West and Diaw had very similar offensive output. Both shot well in the regular season. Too bad that part of their game fell off a cliff when it mattered most, and they continued not to be able to defend or rebound.
- Anderson has a long way to go before becoming the next Boris.
- Boban off the charts. If only he could defend the pick and roll...
- Lumping in the others together. Martin's stats include MIN, but he doesn't bring much to the table anymore. Miller played within himself. Bonner shot well in a very small sample size but we know his limitations.
- Spurs are much less lopsided than most other teams. If you ran the same chart for OKC, you'd see Westbrook and Durant both above 30% USG with only Kanter well above 20% and Payne at 20%. Others are in the 17.5% and below range. By comparison, LMA and Kawhi don't cross 26% and there are 10 players above 17.5%.
Side note: that mark on the bottom right? Tony Wroten had higher usage than Curry and Harden (and almost as high as Cousins) yet some terrible shooting efficiency. Right to the northwest of him is ... chucker Kobe.