How are they doing?

[Dennis]

Got Boston its new Big Three with Sanders, Dragic, Rondo?

Boston, Masschusetts - After starting the season 0-5 the Celtics slowly turn it around. Winning 8 of their last 13 games, including wins against Atlanta, Toronto (twice) and Golden State, Boston actually sits on the 10th seat, only 2 games behind Washington. Though it seems late acquisitions Sanders, Dragic and Knight still arent enough to land a playoff spot in a very tough and close east. But not only Dragic, Rondo and Sanders are trying their best to secure the postseason. Other guys like Faverani or Knight doing all they can to turn Boston into a playoff team. They all are not superstars yet, but they are on their way to prove that they are undervalued by most GMs.


Goran Dragic (32.4 Minutes), 24 Points, 5.5 Rebounds, 5.2 Assists, 1.7 Turnover, 49%FG, 88% stop, 0.9PA/SF, 1.8 TOFC
John Wall (36.6 Minutes), 24.6 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 8.4 Assists, 2 Steals, 4.6 Turnover, 44%FG, 95%stop, 0.9PA/SF, 3.7 TOFC
Derrick Rose (34.5 Minutes), 23.9 Points, 4.4 Rebounds, 4.8 Assists, 2.4 Turnover, 42%FG, 89%stop, 0.8PA/SF, 1.3TOFC
Comparing Dragic to two Point Guards already mentioned in Marcos last "race to the MVP" article he looks really good. Looking at Gorans rating one might believe he is a bad defender, but like already said multiple times, those ratings arent important for stop percentages or points allowed per shot faced. I assume those ratings are important if you are playing full court pressure for example. Guys with a high Def/Steal combination are very good at focing turnover, but the height/weight combination determines if a player is a good defender or not, and Dragics 6'4", 180lbs is nearly perfect to guard opponent point- and shootingguards.
Another eye-popping fact, despite playing less minutes Goran (49%, 1.8TO) is scoring the same amount of points while being way more effective compared to Rose (42%, 2.4To) and Wall (44%, 4.6TO). Wall is actually shooting great from deep, but its only a fluke due to the small sample size. While John also averages 3 assists more per game you have to keep in mind Dragic is playing the offguard position with Rondo running the point. Though Wall will be one of the top csl guys soon. His potentials are way to massive. Lets see how long Dragic can keep John's pace.


Vitor Faverani (23.4 Minutes), 9.1 Points, 5.9 Rebounds, 1.2 Blocks, 68%FG, 39%stop, 0.7 PA/SF, 0.8 TOFC
Tyson Chandler (35 Minutes), 14.6 Points, 11.8 Points, 0.9 Blocks, 57%FG, 88%stop, 0.9 PA/SF, 1.8 TOFC
El Hombre Indestructible - Vitor Faverawsome - This guy already build up a reputation. He's one of those unknown heroes most of the GMs doesnt notice. He's a rookie, he's playing for an average team, he wasnt part of the oCSL - yet he's shooting 68% from the field, allowing only 0.7, grabbing 6 boards, scoring 9 points in only 23 minutes of action. Just to show how efficient he is, Chandler is shooting 57%, same like Ibaka, Drummond and Pekovic, who are all placed second in league FG% rankings- Yeah, right, behind Faverani. So far, so good, but the best news? He's earning 2m per year the next three seasons. Awesome, Faverawsome.


Brandon Knight (since joining Boston)(23.7 Minutes), 13.4 Points, 4.2 Rebounds, 3.1 Assists, 1 Steal, 1.5 Turnover, 47%FG, 37%3pFG, 64%stop, 1.1 PA/SF, 1.5 TOFC
Knight was struggling in Milwaukee, but he slowly starts to put up solid numbers. 13.4 points in only 24 minutes is good for a scoring 6th man. Especially if he's shooting effective 47% from the field and turns the ball over only 1.5 times per game. Since he doesnt have to run the point, like he did for the bucks, he improved his game a lot. Playing next to Rondo he doesnt have to handle the ball, he has to score, and thats what he can. His defense is still piss-poor, but stats are a bit biased by the 8 games he started for the atrocious Bucks earlier this season. So lets hope he can imprive even there.

[Marcos_Beck]

Dragic is great, Wall is too, but in the end I'll always pick wins over stats, so I go with Derrick all the way. And, by ratings, to me he's the best of them all, which means he has the potentials to improve even more as the season goes on.

[Marcos_Beck]

Forgot to mention, Faverani is playing out of his mind right now.. I mean, I'm Brazilian, I know about him and his potentials even before he entered NBA, but man, he's been absolutely amazing here in CSL.

[orangeparka]

DEF rating absolutely matters, but Dragic is fine on that end IMO. 63 is still decent and 88% stop with 0.9 ain't bad at all.

He's been pretty terrific. He's 10th in the league in PER and 54.8% TS isn't bad considering his usage. He's an All-Star for sure.

I like Faverani. He's shooting a great percentage inside and plays primarily in the post. I'd switch him and Sanders though, he's heavy for a PF which explains his stop %. Sanders is more of a PF anyway.

Good to see Knight shooting a lot better too, though small sample size and we'll have to wait and see.

I actually think BOS will make the Playoffs. TBH I thought the team was doing better, but the bad start accounts for that IMO. Rondo/Dragic/Green/Sanders with guys like Faverani/Knight/Sullinger/Olynyk. A lotta talent there for sure and I can see them making it.

[Dennis]

DEF rating absolutely matters, but Dragic is fine on that end IMO. 63 is still decent and 88% stop with 0.9 ain't bad at all.

He's been pretty terrific. He's 10th in the league in PER and 54.8% TS isn't bad considering his usage. He's an All-Star for sure.

I like Faverani. He's shooting a great percentage inside and plays primarily in the post. I'd switch him and Sanders though, he's heavy for a PF which explains his stop %. Sanders is more of a PF anyway.

Good to see Knight shooting a lot better too, though small sample size and we'll have to wait and see.

I actually think BOS will make the Playoffs. TBH I thought the team was doing better, but the bad start accounts for that IMO. Rondo/Dragic/Green/Sanders with guys like Faverani/Knight/Sullinger/Olynyk. A lotta talent there for sure and I can see them making it.

It matters, but just isnt that important. So many examples for it. Look at fat lowry for example.

(at least what i noticed)

[orangeparka]

DEF rating absolutely matters, but Dragic is fine on that end IMO. 63 is still decent and 88% stop with 0.9 ain't bad at all.

He's been pretty terrific. He's 10th in the league in PER and 54.8% TS isn't bad considering his usage. He's an All-Star for sure.

I like Faverani. He's shooting a great percentage inside and plays primarily in the post. I'd switch him and Sanders though, he's heavy for a PF which explains his stop %. Sanders is more of a PF anyway.

Good to see Knight shooting a lot better too, though small sample size and we'll have to wait and see.

I actually think BOS will make the Playoffs. TBH I thought the team was doing better, but the bad start accounts for that IMO. Rondo/Dragic/Green/Sanders with guys like Faverani/Knight/Sullinger/Olynyk. A lotta talent there for sure and I can see them making it.

It matters, but just isnt that important. So many examples for it. Look at fat lowry for example.

(at least what i noticed)

I wouldn't say it's unimportant at all. Both are needed. You want a decent height/weight combo AND a good DEF rating. Having just either one won't make the player a good defender.

[bt]

The Dragic move has been great so far. Suns might regret that one.

[Dennis]

DEF rating absolutely matters, but Dragic is fine on that end IMO. 63 is still decent and 88% stop with 0.9 ain't bad at all.

He's been pretty terrific. He's 10th in the league in PER and 54.8% TS isn't bad considering his usage. He's an All-Star for sure.

I like Faverani. He's shooting a great percentage inside and plays primarily in the post. I'd switch him and Sanders though, he's heavy for a PF which explains his stop %. Sanders is more of a PF anyway.

Good to see Knight shooting a lot better too, though small sample size and we'll have to wait and see.

I actually think BOS will make the Playoffs. TBH I thought the team was doing better, but the bad start accounts for that IMO. Rondo/Dragic/Green/Sanders with guys like Faverani/Knight/Sullinger/Olynyk. A lotta talent there for sure and I can see them making it.

It matters, but just isnt that important. So many examples for it. Look at fat lowry for example.

(at least what i noticed)

I wouldn't say it's unimportant at all. Both are needed. You want a decent height/weight combo AND a good DEF rating. Having just either one won't make the player a good defender.

Yep, though height,weight is way more important. I know more guys with good weight/height bad def that are good defenders than vice versa

The Dragic move has been great so far. Suns might regret that one.

The 76ers pick will secure them top talent. They got Bradley + (a probably) top5 pick. But I can remember some guys said it was a huge overpay by my side. So Im glad it seems it wasnt.

[Marcos_Beck]

There's more than STP% or PA/SF when it comes to defense.
Everyone who has already played an exhibition game and watched their team play knows that bad defenders usually lose their man on defense, allowing easy shots, uncovered shots, either at the rim (backdoor cuts) or jumpers / 3pts.
Good defenders usually trap / double preventing easy baskets or creating turnovers.

[Dennis]

There's more than STP% or PA/SF when it comes to defense.
Everyone who has already played an exhibition game and watched their team play knows that bad defenders usually lose their man on defense, allowing easy shots, uncovered shots, either at the rim (backdoor cuts) or jumpers / 3pts.
Good defenders usually trap / double preventing easy baskets or creating turnovers.

Watched some exhibition games right now and there was no cut or something. Only unstopped drives. TOFC you can look up ingame too. So there is nothing more than STP%, pa/sf and TOFC.
(But yeah, there might be something we are missing)

[orangeparka]

Yep, though height,weight is way more important. I know more guys with good weight/height bad def that are good defenders than vice versa

Eh, I'm not convinced. By all physical measures a guy like Etwuan Moore then should be a great drive-stopper playing the 2 even with his low 57 DEF, but he's clearly not. Same argument would go the other way, and we're dealing with very limited sample sizes overall.

Like CHI said, I don't think defense can only be measured statistically or through mere height/weight either. It really depends on matchups I think. Like more weight means you're a better post defender (and scorer) but less apt at stopping drives or something like that I believe, and I noticed a lot of perimeter players have some post tendencies now too, so that'll be another factor to consider.

There are definitely a lotta elements involved. It sucks we can't really be absolutely sure of anything or like watch the games haha.

[Jestor]

It's more accurate to say it's the ratio of height to weight, and what ratio is important differs depending on if you're talking about perimeter guys or post players.

There's also a rather strong school of opinion that believes the exhibition engine is different from the actual sim game engine, so any results from it should be taken with a massive grain of salt.

[orangeparka]

It's more accurate to say it's the ratio of height to weight, and what ratio is important differs depending on if you're talking about perimeter guys or post players.

There's also a rather strong school of opinion that believes the exhibition engine is different from the actual sim game engine, so any results from it should be taken with a massive grain of salt.

Oh you sure it's ratio?

[Marcos_Beck]

There's more than STP% or PA/SF when it comes to defense.
Everyone who has already played an exhibition game and watched their team play knows that bad defenders usually lose their man on defense, allowing easy shots, uncovered shots, either at the rim (backdoor cuts) or jumpers / 3pts.
Good defenders usually trap / double preventing easy baskets or creating turnovers.

Watched some exhibition games right now and there was no cut or something. Only unstopped drives. TOFC you can look up ingame too. So there is nothing more than STP%, pa/sf and TOFC.
(But yeah, there might be something we are missing)

Didn't you notice any bad defensive rotations or something like that?
Weird it always seemed to help to me with JJ Barea at the other file, or Ryan Anderson.. They were average defenders at that time (~60 DEF) and had average PA/SF and STP% but they once in a while fucked my defensive rotations. Also they never challenged a shot at the rim as a help defender nor made traps or anything like that. But Howard was always there challenging shots at the rim, or George trapping.. Things like that. Also George never lost his man coming off off-the-ball movements.. Barea once in a while lost his..

I think DEF is very important otherwise it wouldn't exist. Only put STL BLK and height weight combination.
We just need to know how it impacts the game engine and gameplay. As OP said, sucks to not be able to watch our games. :/

[Marcos_Beck]

It's more accurate to say it's the ratio of height to weight, and what ratio is important differs depending on if you're talking about perimeter guys or post players.

There's also a rather strong school of opinion that believes the exhibition engine is different from the actual sim game engine, so any results from it should be taken with a massive grain of salt.

Exhibition's engine does not takes into account some things like chemistry, and other things.. Of course it's different.
But anyway I'm not talking about the engine at all, but at the play-by-play analysis. If it happens in exhibitions, it should happen in online sim leagues too. I mean, if a player gets lost in defensive rotations in exhibition, it should happen in league games too..

[Dennis]

Height/weight combination was my word for Ratio.. Sorry. Bad english, my fault, should have used Ratio as keyword. Obviously thinner bigs are better at shotblocking and stopping Drives while they suck at rebounding or PA/SF or scoring inside.
Same for thinner guards. While they are better at driving, stopping, stealing if thinner. Etc. Etc.

Like said, Im not saying defense ratings are unimportant. I just believe they are more Important for TOFC, steals etc. And not too Important for stop% or Pa/Sf

@marcos: Nope didnt notice any. Maybe my guys are just epic defender, haha

[Jake0890]

Man, are you really gonna put Dragic in the same category as Wall and Rose? He's played well, no doubt, but he's not in their tier of players and won't ever be.

Faverani has been great though. You definitely found a diamond in the rough.

[Dennis]

Man, are you really gonna put Dragic in the same category as Wall and Rose? He's played well, no doubt, but he's not in their tier of players and won't ever be.

Faverani has been great though. You definitely found a diamond in the rough.

Why exactly?

[bt]

I think Dragic needs to be doing this on a good team with the team winning. Then he can be mentioned with them but he's just stat stuffing on Boston who are not overall as talented as Chicago or Washington (no offense Dennis).

[Dennis]

I think Dragic needs to be doing this on a good team with the team winning. Then he can be mentioned with them but he's just stat stuffing on Boston who are not overall as talented as Chicago or Washington (no offense Dennis).

We are 8-5 since dragic, Sanders & co joined, beat Toronto twice, raped golden State by 30 points, won solid against Atlanta etc.
And yeah, given Washington and Chi are more talented its only dragic carrying us to a 8-5 Record, even more impressive. (No offense too )
But yeah Record needs to improve before he can be considered being a superstar. Just compared his stats with Walls and Rose's, didnt say he is a superstar.