DeJuan Blair and Defensive Rebounding

[TJastal]

The latest numbers are in ... and they aren't encouraging for DeJuan Blair and his ability to grab defensive rebounds. When Blair is on the court, the Spurs are 5.6% less likely to grab a defensive rebound. To put it in context, only the Magic defensive rebound the ball better than the Spurs when Blair is on the bench. When Blair is on the court, 16 teams in the league grab defensive rebounds at a higher rate than the Spurs.

And this update isn't even counting the Magic game. In the 17 minutes Blair was on the court, the Magic grabbed 12 offensive rebounds. In the 36 minutes Blair was on the bench, the Magic grabbed the same number of offensive boards. Obviously, those numbers look really ugly for Blair.

Subjectively, he was doing an extremely poor job of boxing out against the Magic. As of late, he's personally grabbing more defensive rebounds but it also appears he's giving up even more offensive rebounds. Not a very good development . . .

Jeebus, wasn't this supposed to be his one great strength, rebounding the basketball?

Personally I can't wait until both the turd towers are flushed out of SA.

[Bruno]

A quick look at some stats:

Team defensing rebounding when Blair is on the court:
09-10: 72.8%
10-11: 71.7%
11-12: 72.8%

Team defensing rebounding when Blair is off the court:
09-10: 73.9%
10-11: 72.9%
11-12: 77.1%

Blair defensive rebounds per 36 minutes
09-10: 7.9 (9th in the league among qualified players)
10-11: 7.3 (13th in the league among qualified players)
11-12: 5.3 (88th in the league among qualified players)

So:
- Spurs with Blair are rebounding the ball defensively as good or better this year than in previous years.
- Blair defensive rebounding offset has gone from -1.2% in 09-10 and 10-11 to -4.3% this year because Spurs are doing a way better job than in the past at rebounding the ball when Blair isn't on the court.
- Despite Blair being statically an elite defensive rebounder in 09-10 and 10-11, Spurs were defensively rebounding the ball better when Blair was off the court.

These stats are bad for Blair. What is truly important isn't having some good personal defensive rebounding stats, it's that the team defensively rebound well as an unit. Things like boxing out, not fighting for a rebound with a teammate are important and don't appear in personal stats.
Labeling Blair as a great rebounder seems wrong. The correct label would be a great offensive rebounder.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

So should Blair be put on the trading block? I know since his contract is cheap I'm not sure what kind of value he'll bring in return. His offense has come along nicely.

[ohmwrecker]

It seems like Blair has been trying to improve on his weak areas this season. I've noticed that when some players concentrate on improving an overall game, that their strengths tend to suffer. Also, opponents have a better grasp on his game and have adjusted accordingly. Hopefully, this is all just temporary.

[TJastal]

It seems like Blair has been trying to improve on his weak areas this season. I've noticed that when some players concentrate on improving an overall game, that their strengths tend to suffer. Also, opponents have a better grasp on his game and have adjusted accordingly. Hopefully, this is all just temporary.

Too bad everybody who plays against him is an MVP candidate going by the PER numbers.

[smrattler]

It seems like Blair has been trying to improve on his weak areas this season. I've noticed that when some players concentrate on improving an overall game, that their strengths tend to suffer. Also, opponents have a better grasp on his game and have adjusted accordingly. Hopefully, this is all just temporary.

Almost a summary of what I wrote, so, I agree 100%!

Both parts of your post are my best guess too.

[Stalin]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[ohmwrecker]

Almost a summary of what I wrote, so, I agree 100%!

Both parts of your post are my best guess too.

Yeah, I don't read through whole threads anymore. So, I probably missed your post.

[GSH]

It seems like Blair has been trying to improve on his weak areas this season. I've noticed that when some players concentrate on improving an overall game, that their strengths tend to suffer. Also, opponents have a better grasp on his game and have adjusted accordingly. Hopefully, this is all just temporary.

I was thinking the same thing - but I don't know. Here's an article that isn't about the Spurs, but definitely on the subject. It talks about how DeAndre Jordan would benefit the team more if he focused on defensive rebounding, rather than shot-blocking. Kinda wondering if the Spurs' defensive efficiency wouldn't improve overall, if Blair wasn't trying to be as well-rounded, and went back to what got him here.

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/0...s=iref:nbahpt1
Over the last four years, there has been a positive correlation between defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) and the percentage of their opponents shots that a team blocks. But the correlation is not as strong as the one between defensive efficiency and defensive rebounding percentage.

[therealtruth]

I was thinking the same thing - but I don't know. Here's an article that isn't about the Spurs, but definitely on the subject. It talks about how DeAndre Jordan would benefit the team more if he focused on defensive rebounding, rather than shot-blocking. Kinda wondering if the Spurs' defensive efficiency wouldn't improve overall, if Blair wasn't trying to be as well-rounded, and went back to what got him here.

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/0...s=iref:nbahpt1
Over the last four years, there has been a positive correlation between defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions) and the percentage of their opponents shots that a team blocks. But the correlation is not as strong as the one between defensive efficiency and defensive rebounding percentage.

Good link. I've always felt blocks were overrated. They certainly have their uses but good defense is much more than that. Stoudemire has averaged over a block a game for his career but isn't that great of a defender. Rodman never averaged a block a game and was usually way under but he's one of the best post defenders in NBA history.

[playblair]

BLAIR haters ..................