Latest news with #BBall-Index
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Spurs Urged to Avoid Worst-Case Scenario With Victor Wembanyama
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a season in which they failed to meet expectations a bit. More NBA news: Knicks Staff Reportedly Losing Patience With Karl-Anthony Towns The Spurs were ravaged by injuries, including their superstar center, Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama was spectacular all season long, that is, until after the All-Star break when he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder. The deep vein thrombosis was diagnosed after the All-Star break and required surgery. While the injury was serious, the expectation is that the Frenchman will make a full recovery and be ready by the start of the 2025-26 season. While that's the good news, the bad news is that the Spurs have a lot to do in order to take the next step and become contenders, especially in the loaded Western Conference. The Spurs have a long way to go, but at least they have a superstar in their corner. As for the rest of their roster, they require significant retooling, including adding shooting around Wembanyama and star guard De'Aaron Fox. Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates after a 131-121 victory against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and... Victor Wembanyama #1 of the San Antonio Spurs celebrates after a 131-121 victory against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. More Photo byIn a recent column by Dan Favale of Bleacher Report, he urged the Spurs to avoid this nightmare scenario with Wembanyama. "You don't want to be in a situation where Wemby has to be living from beyond the arc. You want to create an environment that opens up more paint touches for him while also leveraging his spacing. San Antonio currently tilts too much toward the former. It should be using the non-taxpayer mid-level ($14.1 million) and the trade market to change that," wrote Favale. Standing at 7-foot-4, Wembanyama brings undeniable size and presence, but his impact away from the ball has room to grow. According to BBall-Index, he ranked in just the 41st percentile in both off-ball gravity and catch-and-shoot three-point accuracy — marks that leave something to be desired. That's especially concerning if the Spurs end up losing Chris Paul and his reliable 37.7 percent shooting from deep to a larger role elsewhere. Surrounding Wembanyama with dependable shooters is essential if the Spurs hope to maximize his impact. Proper spacing not only opens up the floor but also creates cleaner opportunities for the "Alien" to operate near the basket — where he remains most dominant. While Wembanyama can score from all over, his efficiency skyrockets around the rim. He's already showcased his star-level talent; now, heading into his third season, the focus shifts to elevating his game to an even higher tier. More NBA news: Lakers Reportedly Set on Bronny James Being Part of Rotation For more San Antonio Spurs and general NBA news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Who guards Luka Doncic on the Timberwolves? The best options, including Jaden McDaniels
Los Angeles (3) will face Minnesota (6) in the opening round of the Western Conference postseason with Game 1 beginning April 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET. One of the most fascinating elements to watch during the NBA postseason is how each team attempts to defend the superstars on the opposing teams. This is a particularly interesting question because while the Timberwolves faced off against the Mavericks in the postseason last year, Doncic was still on the Mavericks. Now in Los Angeles, however, Minnesota will need to account for the fact that they also have to guard LeBron James. Last season, they only needed their length to match up against Doncic because the other star on the Mavericks was a smaller guard in Kyrie Irving. Last playoffs, per McDaniels was the primary option that Minnesota used on Doncic. He "should be the assumption" as the primary guy again this year, per Dane Moore. The secondary defenders were Kyle Anderson (no longer with the team) and Anthony Edwards. Obviously, we all know Luka did a fantastic job at using his hostage dribble against Jaden McDaniels in the WCF last season, but I thought I would share the clips since I am researching for my piece dropping defensive fit is going to be paramount. — Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) April 16, 2025 Only five players (Luguentz Dort, Mikal Bridges, Andrew Wiggins, Jrue Holiday, and Paul George) have had more experience guarding Doncic than McDaniels. He has done a relatively serviceable job, too. Doncic has averaged 40.1 points per 100 possessions since the start of his NBA career while recording an effective field goal percentage of 54.2 percent. Per our research, though, McDaniels has held him to 30.7 points per 100 with an effective field goal percentage of 48.1 percent. McDaniels is no stranger to guarding the opposing star, either. Among those with at least 1,500 minutes played this season, per BBall-Index, he ranked No. 10 overall in matchup difficulty. For what it is worth, though: Edwards will probably get plenty of possessions against Doncic as well. Doncic has had more success against Edwards than he has had against McDaniels, but the former No. 1 overall pick has enough athleticism to at least hold on for occasional bursts and switches. Minnesota will also use another defender off their bench to slow Doncic like they did with Anderson last season. That player is likely rookie wing Jaylen Clark. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Who guards Luka Doncic on the Timberwolves? Breaking down the options
USA Today
17-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who guards Luka Doncic on the Timberwolves? The best options, including Jaden McDaniels
Who guards Luka Doncic on the Timberwolves? The best options, including Jaden McDaniels Obviously, we all know Luka did a fantastic job at using his hostage dribble against Jaden McDaniels in the WCF last season, but I thought I would share the clips since I am researching for my piece dropping tmrw. Jaden's defensive fit is going to be paramount. — Jonah (@Huncho_Jman) April 16, 2025 Los Angeles (3) will face Minnesota (6) in the opening round of the Western Conference postseason with Game 1 beginning April 19 at 8:30 p.m. ET. One of the most fascinating elements to watch during the NBA postseason is how each team attempts to defend the superstars on the opposing teams. For this series, we used all of the NBA Advanced Stats Player Tracking data available on dating back to 2017-18. This allowed us to get a sense of how often each player was defended by another player in the league and how well they have done during those opportunities. This project looks at past data to predict the primary defenders each team will use. It does not account for switches, rotations, doubles, and other more advanced schemes that defenses can utilize. Who guards Luka Doncic? This is a particularly interesting question because while the Timberwolves faced off against the Mavericks in the postseason last year, Doncic was still on the Mavericks. Now in Los Angeles, however, Minnesota will need to account for the fact that they also have to guard LeBron James. Last season, they only needed their length to match up against Doncic because the other star on the Mavericks was a smaller guard in Kyrie Irving. Last playoffs, per McDaniels was the primary option that Minnesota used on Doncic. He "should be the assumption" as the primary guy again this year, per Dane Moore. The secondary defenders were Kyle Anderson (no longer with the team) and Anthony Edwards. Only five players (Luguentz Dort, Mikal Bridges, Andrew Wiggins, Jrue Holiday, and Paul George) have had more experience guarding Doncic than McDaniels. He has done a relatively serviceable job, too. Doncic has averaged 40.1 points per 100 possessions since the start of his NBA career while recording an effective field goal percentage of 54.2 percent. Per our research, though, McDaniels has held him to 30.7 points per 100 with an effective field goal percentage of 48.1 percent. McDaniels is no stranger to guarding the opposing star, either. Among those with at least 1,500 minutes played this season, per BBall-Index, he ranked No. 10 overall in matchup difficulty. For what it is worth, though: Edwards will probably get plenty of possessions against Doncic as well. Doncic has had more success against Edwards than he has had against McDaniels, but the former No. 1 overall pick has enough athleticism to at least hold on for occasional bursts and switches. Minnesota will also use another defender off their bench to slow Doncic like they did with Anderson last season. That player is likely rookie wing Jaylen Clark.
