The Most Troubling Statistic for Every NBA Team
It's tough to watch an NBA game and come away with a clear idea of exactly what happened.
Sure, LeBron James bowling his way to the basket, Stephen Curry catching fire from deep and Kobe Bryant doing the exact opposite are simple to discern. But with 10 players whirring around the hardwood at any given moment, there's a lot to track—and even more to miss.
And that's in just one contest. Try watching even a fraction of the 1,230 games put on by the NBA during the regular season, and the eye test is bound to break down at some point.
That's where statistics come in. They can't tell us everything—like, say, how two teammates get along or how long it takes a streak shooter to heat up—but they can discern a host of short-term tactics and long-term trends that might otherwise escape detection.
In that way, numbers might not always be honest, but they can add some brush strokes to an otherwise incomplete picture. With that in mind, let's see if we can incorporate some less-than-flattering statistical detail to the paintings, masterpieces and otherwise, of all 30 teams from around the Association so far through the 2015-16 season.
Atlanta Hawks
1 of 30
Last year, Kyle Korver quietly emerged as the electric AC motor powering the Atlanta Hawks' Tesla-efficient attack. The three-time three-point shooting champ's ability to both shoot accurately from seemingly any distance and mobilize that threat by running all over the floor forced opposing defense to game plan for him and, in turn, made it easier for his teammates to find operating space.
So far through 2015-16, the rest of the NBA has adapted to Atlanta's Korver-centric tactics. Defenders have been diligent about running Korver off the line and into shots worth 50 percent less than those with which he butters his basketball bread.
According to Basketball Reference, he's taken nearly twice as many long twos per game this season, largely at the expense of his three-point attempts:
| % Long Twos | Long Two FG% | |
| 2014-15 | .148 | .449 |
| 2015-16 | .266 | .511 |
"I'm trying to get more shots," Korver told Hawks.com's K.L. Chouinard. "I'm really being guarded hard on the three-point line. There's just not a lot of space to pull up from three a lot of time. I'm trying not to overdo it. I have no idea what the percentages are, but I feel like I'm shooting them [OK]."
Knocking down more than half of one's looks from just inside the arc is more than OK; it's one of the best such marks in the league. But even that has the effect of crowding the court and slicing a smidgen of efficiency from Atlanta's offense. According to NBA.com, the Hawks, while still scoring at a top-10 rate, have netted nearly three points per 100 possessions fewer than they did last season.
That may not seem like much, but it could mean the difference between Atlanta soaring near its 60-win mark from 2014-15 and slipping into the middle of a more competitive Eastern Conference pack.
Boston Celtics
2 of 30
Brad Stevens has done well to coalesce the Boston Celtics' collection of good-but-not-great parts into a competitive whole. Even so, it's clear that Boston won't add to its 17 titles until—or unless—it unearths a true star to serve as the organization's centripetal force.
Marcus Smart seemed to be the best bet to be Beantown's next hoops hero. The No. 6 pick in the once-vaunted 2014 NBA Draft came out of Oklahoma State with all the tools to be the next in an ever-extending line of physical point guards who dominate the league, from Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook to John Wall and Eric Bledsoe. He couldn't shoot worth a lick, but his imposing figure and ferocious approach allowed him to dominate defensively and attack the paint on offense.
Trouble is, nobody—not even Smart—can do that if he isn't healthy. Smart has rarely been that since coming into the NBA. He missed 15 games as a rookie, sat out some of the Celtics' summer league action after dislocating two of his fingers and has played just nine times during his sophomore season. Smart's latest knee injury could keep him out of action until mid-January, though he's back to using his legs more regularly.
The future of the franchise could be riding on those oft-achy wheels of Smart's. Then again, given his offensive struggles (33.3 percent from the field, 23.8 percent from three) this year and Boston's ownership of Brooklyn's 2016 first-round pick, that burden might not be his to bear for long.
Brooklyn Nets
3 of 30
Speaking of those Brooklyn Nets, their hopes of finding significant upside to brighten their dim future all but hinged on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
That is, until the rookie out of Arizona fractured a bone in his right ankle. Hollis-Jefferson is expected to need eight to 10 weeks to recover.
The Nets lack the energy and athleticism he brings to the table, particularly on the defensive end. He spent his last 14 games in Lionel Hollins' starting five, thanks in no small part to his work as an all-around stopper. According to NBA.com, Brooklyn has been just as bad offensively with or without Hollis-Jefferson, but its defense surrenders seven points more per 100 possessions in his absence:
| Def Eff | Net Rtg | |
| With RHJ | 98.9 | Minus-1.6 |
| Without RHJ | 105.9 | Minus-8.6 |
| Difference | Minus-7.0 | Plus-7.0 |
The Nets will have to hope that Bojan Bogdanovic—without whom the team has been 7.7 points better per 100 possessions—can turn his act around in Hollis-Jefferson's stead.
Charlotte Hornets
4 of 30
This may be the end of the line for Al Jefferson with the Charlotte Hornets—and not just because he's injured now and will serve a five-game suspension later. The 30-year-old center will be a free agent this summer and already finds himself less the fulcrum of a surprising squad than an anachronism impeding its tremendous progress.
According to NBA.com, the Hornets have actually been better overall when Big Al's been watching from the bench:
| Off Eff | Def Eff | |
| With Jefferson | 106.3 | 104.4 |
| Without Jefferson | 103.6 | 94.7 |
| Difference | Plus-2.7 | Plus-9.7 |
Jefferson's low-post skills come in handy, especially now that Charlotte's shooters have afforded him more room to operate. But his slow feet drag down a defense that's been leaps and bounds better without him.
And now that the Hornets are thriving with Cody Zeller (plus-10.9 net rating as a starter, per NBA.com) at center, there may be no need for a player who two years ago was tabbed to turn around Michael Jordan's floundering franchise.
Chicago Bulls
5 of 30
It's been almost eight months since Derrick Rose last hit more than half of his field-goal attempts in a regular-season game. That span has encompassed Rose's last 27 games.
For comparison's sake, Kobe Bryant's gone nearly a year without topping 50 percent shooting in a game, though injuries have limited him to 26 games therein. Not surprisingly, the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers rank as two of the three least efficient offensive outfits in the early going, per NBA.com.
Like Bryant, Rose has an alibi. His right knee was in poor shape last season, and his performance this time around has been hindered by a facial fractured suffered during the first practice of Chicago Bulls training camp.
Fortunately for Rose and the Bulls, there may be an end in sight. He shot 5-of-8 from the field during the second half of a three-point win over the Los Angeles Clippers after neglecting to put his protective mask back on.
"When I went out there, the play started, and I forgot to put it on," Rose said after the game, per Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin. "I said, 'You know what? I'm just going to leave it on the side.' And it worked out for me."
Cleveland Cavaliers
6 of 30
Timofey Mozgov was one of the many heroes of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2014-15 campaign, but you wouldn't know it if you've watched him play at all this season. In the wake of offseason knee surgery, the 7-foot Russian is averaging a mere 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18.9 minutes per game.
He hasn't looked anything like the missing link he was last season. As the Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd wrote in the wake of Mozgov's scoreless outing against the Washington Wizards:
"No one within the organization is running into the streets panicking over Mozgov, but there is some concern as there should be. He is not the same defensively. He's getting pushed around more than he should. He's not affecting (or blocking) as many shots. He's also one of the most easygoing guys in the locker room, but he's tired of talking about his struggles.
"
Those struggles have put the Cavs in a tough spot. According to NBA.com, they've been far better off without Mozgov on the floor in 2015-16:
| Off Eff | Def Eff | Net Rtg | |
| With Mozgov | 104.3 | 106.6 | Minus-2.3 |
| Without Mozgov | 105.3 | 96.5 | Plus-8.8 |
| Difference | Minus-1.0 | Plus-10.1 | Minus-11.1 |
Cleveland has enough bigs on its roster to compensate for Mozgov's struggles and can go small with Kevin Love at center if need be. But if the Cavaliers are going to march through the East again, they'll need Mozgov to at least hold his own in the middle.
Dallas Mavericks
7 of 30
It's one thing for an NBA offense to spread the wealth, as the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks have done to such great effect in recent years. It's another for an offense to search desperately (and futilely) for someone to shoulder the load.
The Dallas Mavericks find themselves in the latter category, even with an all-timer like Dirk Nowitzki still firing away from deep. As the Elias Sports Bureau noted after the Mavericks' 98-95 loss to the Hawks:
"Deron Williams led the Mavericks with 18 points in their loss to Atlanta. It was [Dallas'] 11th game this season in which none of its players scored as many as 20 points. That ties the Mavericks with the 76ers for the most such games in the NBA this season.
"
These days, it's never a good thing to be mentioned in the same breath as the Sixers. In Dallas' case, the concern is more than justified; the Mavs have gone 3-8 in those 11 games without a 20-point scorer.
Denver Nuggets
8 of 30
Nobody expected Emmanuel Mudiay to be the next Stephen Curry upon his arrival in the NBA. As Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman wrote of the former Chinese Basketball Association stud ahead of the 2015 draft, "Mudiay will need to improve his shooting touch and decision-making over the next few seasons, but over the long term, he has as much upside in the draft as anyone outside the top four."
With a month-and-a-half of live game action in the books, saying Mudiay needs "to improve his shooting touch" is like saying the Cleveland Browns need to be better to their fans.
So far, Mudiay has by some measures been one of the two worst shooters in the league. According to NBA.com, only Joakim Noah sports a lower true shooting percentage (37.3 percent) than Mudiay (38 percent) among those who've averaged 20 minutes or more across at least 10 games.
Even Ricky Rubio (more on him later) would turn his nose up at the abysmal splits (31.1 percent from the field, 24.7 percent from three, 68.2 percent from the free-throw line) Mudiay has posted.
At least the Denver Nuggets' 19-year-old rookie point guard has nowhere to go but up.
Detroit Pistons
9 of 30
The Detroit Pistons' starting five of Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marcus Morris and Ersan Ilyasova has been one of the NBA's best in the early going. It's also been the league's most heavily used lineup by a pretty significant margin, per NBA.com.
That's no accident on Stan Van Gundy's part. Rather, that's how Detroit's head coach and president of basketball operations has adapted to his team's terrible bench. According to Hoops Stats, the Pistons' reserves have averaged a league-low 22.7 points per game.
It's a problem that Van Gundy has been racking his brain to fix.
"I'm always thinking about stuff—thinking about what to run, who to play, everything. You're always looking at things," Van Gundy said in late November, per the Detroit News' Rod Beard. "There's options; we've got good players and they're playing hard. I have to find a way to rotate them better and to maybe help them in some of the stuff we run offensively."
The good news for SVG and the Pistons: Brandon Jennings and Jodie Meeks could be back in action soon—albeit in the D-League, per MLive.com's David Mayo.
Golden State Warriors
10 of 30
There may be only one foe that can defeat the 24-0 Golden State Warriors: themselves. For years, the defending champions have had a habit of beating themselves with on-ball miscues, and that habit hasn't abated with the arrival of the Larry O'Brien Trophy in Oakland.
According to NBA.com, Golden State has turned the ball over on 15.7 percent of its possessions—the 10th-worst mark in the league. That may not seem so bad, but it's enough to concern a certain reigning MVP. Per Stephen Curry's interview with ESPN's Sam Alipour:
"Alipour: On Nov. 19, the Clippers overplayed the pass, especially that midlevel entry, and forced 19 turnovers, seven by you. Is that the ticket?
Curry: Yeah, if we turn the ball over, especially against certain athletic teams, that's our nemesis. When we have games like we did against the Lakers for win 16, where we had only eight or nine turnovers, we're unstoppable.
"
And sometimes, they're unstoppable even when the turnover bug is running rampant. They gave the ball away 20 times or more in six of their initial 24 victories in 2015-16.
Houston Rockets
11 of 30
The Houston Rockets' success last season was predicated as much on strong team defense—including James Harden's contribution to it—as it was on Harden's offensive brilliance.
For whatever reason, the discipline and execution that allowed Houston to suffocate its opponents hasn't carried over to 2015-16. It's not just that the Rockets are bad defensively—they rank 27th in defensive efficiency after finishing sixth in 2014-15, per NBA.com—but how and where they've been bad.
According to NBA.com, only the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers have allowed opponents to convert shots at the rim at a higher rate than the Rockets (54 percent). No team has given up more points in the paint (47.4) or second-chance points (15.5) and only one (the Milwaukee Bucks) has yielded more offensive rebounds by percentage than Houston (27 percent).
With numbers like those, you might need a reminder that Dwight Howard—a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, two-time block leader and five-time rebounding champion—plays center in Space City.
Indiana Pacers
12 of 30
Something has gone horribly wrong with the Indiana Pacers defense. Over six days in early December, it allowed 120 points or more in three straight games for the first time since January 2009, about two years before Frank Vogel took over for Jim O'Brien.
The most recent of those white-washings came at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, who lead the league in offensive efficiency by about a mile-and-a-half.
"We slipped with our discipline," Vogel said after the game, per the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner. "We haven't had a lot of practice time and that's what happens when you don't have a lot of practice time."
Perhaps two days off gave the Pacers the time they needed to set their defense straight again. That and a visit from the road-poor Miami Heat (more on them later). Indiana beat the Heat 96-83 on Friday.
Los Angeles Clippers
13 of 30
Once upon a time, Chris Paul was one of the NBA's most notorious crunch-time killers. Nowadays, it's his own team that he's killing in crunch time.
On Thursday, Paul missed what would've been a game-tying three in the waning moments of the Los Angeles Clippers' 83-80 loss in Chicago. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, his misfire was more the rule than the exception:
"Paul has struggled in these situations over the last few seasons, having missed nine of his last 10 potential game-tying or go-ahead field goals attempts with 10 or fewer seconds remaining in the fourth quarter or overtime (dating back to March 29, 2013). His one make over that span was on Feb. 2, 2015 against the Nets, sinking a late game-tying field goal with just under nine seconds remaining in the fourth.
"
As it happens, the Clippers lost that game, too.
Los Angeles Lakers
14 of 30
No player has come as close to replicating Michael Jordan's historic career than Kobe Bryant. But even the Black Mamba will have a hard time going out the way Jordan did—Washington Wizards Jordan, that is.
As ESPN's Tom Haberstroh noted Wednesday, Bryant would have had to hit 71 consecutive shots to reach MJ's field-goal percentage (43.1 percent) as a Wizard.
The Mamba may have the edge over Twilight Jordan in his willingness to "let the kids play," though, as he insisted to Lakers head coach Byron Scott in Minneapolis, per the Associated Press.
Memphis Grizzlies
15 of 30
In the salad days of Grit and Grind, the Memphis Grizzlies could afford to scrap for points with a cramped, shooting-deprived offense because they were so good defensively. Those days have since been tossed aside and replaced by a squad that now can't score and can't seem to stop anyone from doing the same.
According to NBA.com, the Grizzlies have given up 104.5 points per 100 possessions—the sixth-worst mark in the league. And as ESPN's Zach Lowe pointed out, they've been even worse than that when Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Jeff Green and Tony Allen have shared the floor:
"It might be time for a change in Memphis. Opponents have outscored the Grizz starting five by 20 points per 100 possessions, effectively turning them into the Sixers until Dave Joerger yanks someone.
"
As Lowe surmised, it might be wise for Memphis to consider swapping in Courtney Lee and Matt Barnes on the wings to space the floor more. Those two can only do so much to get the Grizzlies in gear when Gasol and Randolph are showing their age on both ends of the floor.
Miami Heat
16 of 30
Typically, teams with veteran talent tend to hold their own on the road. If that's the case, the new-look Miami Heat are anything but typical.
According to NBA.com, the Heat sport the league's second-worst offense on the road with a paltry 93.8 points per 100 possessions.
This, despite boasting three proven 20-point scorers (Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic) in their starting five.
The good news for Miami: its road defense is the fourth-stingiest and its sample of such games is small (an NBA-low seven so far). The bad news: The Heat have lost four of those seven by an average of 13.4 points and 19 of their next 30 outings are away from the comforts of South Beach.
Milwaukee Bucks
17 of 30
So what if Larry Sanders retired and Zaza Pachulia, Brandon Knight, Jared Dudley and Ersan Ilyasova were all traded away? The Milwaukee Bucks defense, anchored by young legs and long arms, shouldn't skip a beat...right?
Maybe not. According to NBA.com, the Bucks have plummeted from No. 2 in defensive efficiency last season to No. 26 through the first month-and-a-half of 2015-16.
That dramatic decline may have less to do with Milwaukee's own personnel than it does with the rest of the league catching up to Jason Kidd's dictates. As ESPN's Zach Lowe explained:
"Kidd's frenzied scheme caught opponents off-guard last season, but teams are prepared for it now with specific counters that are turning the Bucks into venison. Teams know Milwaukee is going to trap every pick-and-roll, so they are baiting the trap, stationing a passing target nearby as a release valve, and pinballing the ball around to open shooters as the Bucks find their bearings.
"
Milwaukee will adjust as the season creeps along, but it may not have much time to do so. A 9-15 start left the Bucks, last season's surprise squad, with the third-worst record in an improving Eastern Conference.
Minnesota Timberwolves
18 of 30
Now five years into his NBA career, Ricky Rubio has yet to hit even 40 percent of his shots in a given season.
And it's not as though he's gotten any closer to reaching that not-so-hallowed mark. Through his first 16 games in 2015-16, Rubio posted career-low percentages from the field (34.8 percent) and from three (20.7 percent).
But Rubio is not a lost cause in this regard. While his shooting percentages from the field have plummeted, his free-throw stroke has sharpened to a personal-best 85.7 percent.
The Minnesota Timberwolves can't afford to keep Rubio off the court. For all his shooting struggles, Rubio remains the best barometer of Minnesota's defense. The Timberwolves defend at an elite level with him (97.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, per NBA.com), but they sink to the bottom of the barrel when he sits (106.8 points allowed per 100 possessions).
New Orleans Pelicans
19 of 30
The New Orleans Pelicans defense has gone from bad to worse under head coach Alvin Gentry and defensive guru Darren Erman. A bottom-10 defense last season has become the worst in the league this season, allowing 108.9 points per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.
How does a team with a shot-blocking force like Anthony Davis sink so low? Injuries don't help—and the Pelicans have had plenty of those—but the bigger problem may be New Orleans' frontcourt pairings. According to NBA.com, the Pelicans have struggled defensively whenever Davis has shared the floor with his most popular partners: Ryan Anderson, Dante Cunningham and Omer Asik.
| Mins | Def Rtg | |
| With Anderson | 365 | 109.1 |
| With Cunningham | 251 | 111.2 |
| With Asik | 149 | 105.8 |
| With Ajinca | 85 | 90.0 |
The simple solution? Put Davis next to Alexis Ajinca more often.
New York Knicks
20 of 30
The frenzy over Kristaps Porzingis' rise to prominence has obscured Carmelo Anthony's recent shooting woes for the New York Knicks. His current field-goal percentage (40.1 percent) would be the worst of his decorated career.
And he's been even worse than that of late. Over his last seven games, Anthony has hit just 36 percent of his shots while logging as many assists as turnovers (3.3).
"I'm just zoned out trying to figure out how we get in this predicament," Anthony said after shooting 3-of-11 in a loss to the Utah Jazz, per the New York Post's Marc Berman.
Anthony's struggles may have something to do with the tempo at which the Knicks have played. Per ESPN's Ian Begley:
"Anthony hasn't offered many specifics, publicly, for why he thinks the Knicks ... have struggled lately. But, privately, sources say Anthony has expressed frustration to teammates with the Knicks' slow pace of play.
After a recent home loss, Anthony told teammates that the Knicks needed to play faster in an effort to get easier baskets in transition, sources say.
"
Of course, pushing the pace is easier said than done when you rank among the bottom 10 in the league in forcing turnovers and grabbing defensive rebounds, as New York does. The Knicks can only hope Anthony's gripes are the result of his struggles, rather than anything going on with his surgically repaired knee.
Oklahoma City Thunder
21 of 30
You'd think a team with brilliant individual talents like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would dominate during the game's most important moments. In the case of the Oklahoma City Thunder, you'd be wrong.
According to NBA.com, the Thunder have been outscored by 7.1 points per 100 possessions in clutch time, which is the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime with a score margin of five points or fewer. That's the ninth-worst such mark in the Association.
"It's not like we've been getting blown out every game, but it's small things in games that we can correct and get better at," Durant told the Oklahoman's Erik Horne. "As a leader, I've got to put that on my shoulders and try to do a better job."
If it's any comfort to the Thunder, they're not the only supposed title contender that's struggled in crunch time. Sitting just below OKC in clutch performance are the San Antonio Spurs.
Orlando Magic
22 of 30
On its face, the frontcourt combination of Nikola Vucevic and Channing Frye has worked out like gangbusters for the Orlando Magic. According to NBA.com, the Magic have outscored the opposition by 8.9 points per 100 possessions with those two skilled bigs on the court.
But ESPN's Zach Lowe dug deeper on that duo. What he found could be problematic for Orlando:
"But the Frye-Vucevic combination has a long track record of awful defense, and the Magic in this stretch have faced mostly below-average offensive teams. Those teams have hit an icy 33 percent of wide-open 3-pointers, and they're getting a ton of those looks—especially from the corners, where Orlando has allowed a league-high 9.3 attempts since the flip. What happens against better offenses?
"
Philadelphia 76ers
23 of 30
Pick a number, any number, and it's bound to be a bad one for the one-win Philadelphia 76ers. Despite the team's historic struggles and the arrival of Jerry Colangelo as team owner Josh Harris' newest consigliere, the core of "The Process" remains the same: find star-quality talent capable of leading a title contender down the road.
"The most challenging part is to go from zero stars to one," Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie told ESPN's Zach Lowe.
Doing so through the draft is no easy feat, even for a team as bad as Philly. It could finish 1-81 and still have no better than a 25 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick.
In reality, its chances are worse than that. Since the NBA went to a weighted lottery in 1990, the top pick has gone to the worst team just four times in 26 tries—a 15.4 percent success rate.
The Sixers can't count on using the Los Angeles Lakers' 2016 first-round pick to find another star, either. If L.A. finishes with the NBA's second-worst record—which is a distinct possibility at this point—it'll have a 55.8 percent chance of landing in the top three in the lottery and, in turn, keeping its selection.
Phoenix Suns
24 of 30
Putting two point guards on the floor and telling them to run at every opportunity has its price. Just ask the Phoenix Suns.
With Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight at the helm of Jeff Hornacek's attack, the Suns are second in the league in pace with 101.9 possessions per game, per NBA.com. They've also turned it over a ton—16.3 percent of the time, fourth-worst in the Association.
Phoenix's miscues have yielded a ton of easy points for its foes. According to NBA.com, the Suns rank 24th in opponent points off turnovers (18 per game) and 28th in fastbreak points allowed (15.6 per game).
Portland Trail Blazers
25 of 30
The Portland Trail Blazers lean as heavily on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum as any other team does on its top duo. Those two combined to score 43.4 percent of Portland's points through the team's first 24 games.
That kind of scoring output requires a ton of work, which Lillard and McCollum have put in so far. According to NBA.com—and as noted by Blazers writer Casey Holdahl—Lillard and McCollum both rank among the league's five most traveled players so far. McCollum checks in at fourth with 2.58 on-court miles per game, and Lillard is fifth with 2.57 miles.
Tacking that kind of mileage onto the legs of Lillard and McCollum this early could have serious repercussions down the line. The Blazers have done well to challenge most of their opponents through the first month-and-a-half of the season, but they'll be destined for the bottom of the West if—or when—either of their starting guards hits a snag.
Sacramento Kings
26 of 30
For all of his size and skill, DeMarcus Cousins has never been known as the most efficient big man in the NBA. In six seasons with the Sacramento Kings, Boogie has yet to hit more than 50 percent of his shots.
That doesn't figure to change in 2015-16, and not just because Cousins has been launching more than four threes per game and hitting just over 30 percent of them. He's converted less than 40 percent of his tries—twos and threes alike—six times in 16 games (37.5 percent) to start the season.
Compare that to what he did in 2014-15—13 such games in 59 outings (22 percent)—and it's easy to see why the Kings are still well shy of relevancy in the Western Conference.
San Antonio Spurs
27 of 30
Gregg Popovich is always surly about something. In his latest diatribe, the legendary San Antonio Spurs coach essentially told the three-point line to get off his lawn, per CBS Sports' James Herbert:
"I still hate it. I'll never embrace it. I don't think it's basketball. I think it's kind of like a circus sort of thing. Why don't we have a 5-point shot? A 7-point shot? You know, where does it stop, that sort of thing. But that's just me, that's just old-school. To a certain degree, you better embrace it or you're going to lose. And every time we've won a championship, the 3-point shot was a big part of it. Because it is so powerful and you've gotta be able to do it. And nobody does it better than Golden State, and you know where they're at. So it's important. You can't ignore it.
"
Maybe Pop was upset about the four-year, $40 million deal the Spurs gave to "3-and-D" specialist Danny Green this summer. The North Carolina product has scuffled from all over the floor, shooting a career-low 32.1 percent, but particularly from beyond the arc, where he's shooting 29.5 percent.
If Green were knocking down looks like he did during the 2013 NBA Finals, would Pop be such a curmudgeon about long-range shooting?
Toronto Raptors
28 of 30
Jonas Valanciunas is out of commission for the Toronto Raptors. So is Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira. That leaves Bismack Biyombo to hold down the middle in T-Dot...or not.
According to NBA.com, no Raptor who has played in at least 20 of the team's 24 games has a bigger swing between his on- and off-court performance than Biyombo:
| Off Eff | Def Eff | |
| With Biyombo | 99.5 | 101.8 |
| Without Biyombo | 107.6 | 99.0 |
| Difference | Minus-8.1 | Plus-2.8 |
In other words, Raptors fans had better be flooding Valanciunas and Nogueira with get-well-soon cards.
Utah Jazz
29 of 30
Rudy Gobert is pretty much the anti-Bismack Biyombo for the Utah Jazz. With him, the Jazz are a top-four team out West as far as net rating is concerned. Without him, they might as well book their flights to the draft lottery in May. Per NBA.com:
| Off Eff | Net Rtg | |
| With Gobert | 105.9 | Plus-4.8 |
| Without Gobert | 99.3 | Minus-2.2 |
| Difference | Plus-6.6 | Plus-7.0 |
Those numbers are particularly problematic in light of Gobert's current predicament. The Stifle Tower sprained his left knee in early December and remains without a clear timetable for return.
"It's going to be 100 percent," Gobert told the Salt Lake Tribune's Aaron Falk. "I'm not going to be back if it's not 100 percent. This type of injury, it's not like a sprained ankle when you can come back with a little bit of pain. It's a ligament. So if I'm not 100 percent, I won't come back."
Washington Wizards
30 of 30
Playing small and fast isn't for everybody, including (it seems) the Washington Wizards. The Wizards' decision to surround Marcin Gortat with four perimeter players has yielded 5.2 more possessions per game than last season but has also turned a once-stout defense into mush.
According to NBA.com, Washington's slipped from top five to bottom eight in defensive efficiency and from fourth-best to sixth-worst in rebound percentage:
| Def Eff | Reb % | |
| 2014-15 | 100.0 | 51.7% |
| 2015-16 | 103.8 | 48.0% |
It's no wonder, then, that the Wizards have taken a step back from last season's successes. Still, Washington would do well to give this small-ball squad time to work out the kinks before scrapping its new approach entirely.
Stats accurate as of games played on Dec. 11, 2015.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
