Last year, I started something called NBA Mythbusters, I’m bringing it back this offseason.

Background

You ask any Raptor fan to finish the sentence “Andrea Bargnani is…” and you are more than likely going to get the phrase “a terrible defender.”  Bargnani, the number 1 pick in 2006, is the player that Raptor fans point at when looking to blame someone on their roster for their terrible defense.  This past season, the Raptors had the worst defensive efficiency in the NBA, allowing opponents to score 109.8 points per 100 possessions with Bargnani anchoring the defense.

However, is this Bargnani’s fault, and is he truly a “terrible” defender.  To be terrible, you shouldn’t really be able to do anything good (in this case, on the defensive end).  Does Bargnani fit into this category?

Evidence

In my opinion, when you look at a player’s skill defensively, you need to focus on two very distinct aspects.  On ball defense and off ball defense (help defense).

On Ball Defense

Despite the reputation, Bargnani is actually a very good on ball defender, both on the block and when put in isolation one-on-one situations.  I recently looked at Bargnani’s post defense, here is what I wrote last week:

Despite the reputation, Andrea Bargnani is actually a good post defender.  In the 205 times he was posted up last season, Bargnani held his opponent to just 182 points (0.888 PPP) on just 46.8% shooting.  The key is length.  Bargnani has length, and when defending on the basketball, especially in the post, he knows how to use it well:

Bargnani isn’t going to block a lot of shots, but he is able to go straight up and use his length to contest shots without fouling (fouled opponents on the block just 7.6% of the time) by going straight up.

Read more…

Every week, we will be looking at a common NBA myth and try to prove or disprove it.  Today, we will be looking at the following myth:

“Monta Ellis & Stephen Curry Can’t Play Together”

Background

Whether or not Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry can play together has been a topic of conversation for Golden State fans for quite a while.  Even Monta Ellis himself has been flip flopping on the issue.  Last offseason, Ellis said they couldn’t play together:

-Q: You wouldn’t want to give it a shot?

-ELLIS: I just want to win. That’s… not going to win that way.

-Q: Why not?

-ELLIS: It’s different when you’re trying to compare me and Stephen, when you’re trying to go back to when me and BD were playing, it’s a different situation. You’ve got a nine-year veteran who’s been in the game, who understands the game, knows how to play the game, and he’s a big body… You can’t put two small guys out there and try to play the 1 and the 2 when you’ve got big 2 guards in the league. You just can’t do it. OK, yes, we’re going to move up and down fast, but eventually the game is going to slow down. You can’t do it.

This offseason, he thinks they can:

“When I made that comment, I wasn’t knocking him,” Ellis told AOL FanHouse. “I wasn’t bashing him. It was based off of what me and the Warriors were going through at the time. It had nothing to do with him.  ”Like I told him this summer, we can do it. We did it last year. I see now that I have to play the two (shooting guard). I have to play the bigger guards, and I’m cool with that.”

Read more…

Welcome to NBA Mythbusters where every week, we will be looking at a common NBA myth and try to prove or disprove it.  Today, we will be looking at the following myth:

“Dwight Howard Has No Post Game”

Background

This has been something that has hung over Dwight Howard’s head ever since he entered the NBA as a raw young center coming out of high school.  Anytime that Dwight Howard has a bad game on the offensive end, you hear all the snickers and comments about Dwight Howard only being effective on the defensive end.

This became a big topic of discussion during the Magic’s most recent playoff series against the Boston Celtics.  The Celtics were able to use Kendrick Perkins to play single coverage on Howard, and that caused him some troubles.  The fact that Howard had two 30 point games during the series or the fact that Perkins might be one of the best one-on-one post defenders in the NBA seemed to go forgotten as everyone seemed to bash Howard’s offensive abilities yet again.

Read more…