Statistically Speaking
When comparing NBA players, fans always show bias. We all have players we hold above all others and will argue why they are better than another player or deserve an All Star bid more until we are blue in the face. We are often blinded by the player himself and use his past accomplishments as evidence for why he is so great today or his past failures of why he isn’t deserving.
What if we removed the player from the equation? What if we looked at the stats blindly. In Statistically Speaking I will present two player’s season stats and pose the question, statically speaking, who is better. The post will be updated later today and I will reveal the two players in question and see when the veil of bias is removed who the average fan thinks is better. As Jay-Z said…..nevermind I won’t go there. Statistics can be misleading so I look for players who not only play the same position but who’s roles are similar. For instance statistically Brook Lopez is having a season comparable to Dwight Howard’s but Brook’s unique situation in New Jersey gives him more opportunities to collect stats.
Deron Williams: Williams is a guard who is averaging 18.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 9.9 apg, 1.1 spg and 3.6 turnovers per game. He is shooting 48% from the field, 35% from beyond the arc and 72% from the charity stripe. He’s averaging 39.3 minutes per game and his NBA efficiency rating is +22.06.
Steve Nash: Nash is a guard who is averaging 17.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 11.0 apg, 0.3 spg and 3.9 turnovers per game. He is shooting 52% from the field, 47% from beyond the arc and 96% from the charity stripe. He is averaging 32.8 minutes per game and has an NBA efficiency rating of +21.77.
Both players run point for their team and are the face of their franchise. Steve Nash takes 12.1 shots per game on a team that takes 82.3 shots per game. Deron Williams takes 15.3 shots per game on a team that takes 79.1 shots per game. Both players are gunning for an All Star spot and have their teams on pace for a playoff spot. Deron Williams is younger than Nash, but statistically speaking who would you want running the show for your team this year?
Based on the stats it seems that the readers would prefer Steve Nash because he is more of a pure point guard.
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December 9th, 2009 at 11:48 am
hahns says:
player Y. better FT, better pts/attempts ratio and attempts/team attempts ratio
more assists from the pg spot
December 9th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Nigel says:
It’s obviously Deron Williams and Steve Nash. Didn’t even have to look it up.
Undecided who I’d rather have.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:55 am
renegade says:
@Nigel
Did you really have to say who it was? The point is to look at the stats not their names even if you know who it is.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Shaw32 says:
player y because even though the numbers a close he does it in less minutes. and the shooting % are great 96 at the strip 47 from deep.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:55 am
DLG says:
I’d go with Y, the percentages are making the difference…
Otherwise, X has +1ppg, +2rpg, -1ast, and is younger…so he may be the better option in a year or two
BTW…my guesses:
X – Deron
Y – Nash
December 9th, 2009 at 11:55 am
BiG ShoT BoB says:
Just stop it these columns are stupid. When judging a player his stats are the last thing I look at. Like someone said before it could be the difference between KG and fat Zack Randolph. I think the essence of what makes a player good are the things that can’t be measured like heart, hustle, basketball IQ etc. Just like players that put up good stats all day but never do anything to help there team win.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:57 am
scotsman says:
only took to the 2nd post to ruin the fun, good job.
id take take player Y. id rather have a point who makes more from behind the arc, more dimes and shoots better FT.
December 9th, 2009 at 11:58 am
LakeShow84 says:
Ill take X for ANY other team outside the Lakers.. Lakers could use players Y dead on shooting accuracy..
But for a random team ill take X, less turnovers and more steals.. shooting #’s are good enough for both of em..
But the main question..
Whos plays better D??
Who can lock down his position in the crunch time??
Who is more feared with 24 seconds left??
Thats just as important isnt it?? ESPECIALLY for a PG i’d think.. but ill still play lol
December 9th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Gunner J. Matthews says:
Im taking player Y. His shot seems more reliable and his leadership is valuable with him being a vet
December 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Kingfob says:
I’d rather have pg Z who averages 21.7 points, 8.1 assists, 3 boards, 1.5 steals, and 2.8 turnovers… oh wait, that was Stephon Marbury on the Knicks.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
Perfect example if #2 is correct. Nash puts up better stats but but has his ass handed to him everytime he plays Deron. Why because stats don’t tell you that Deron is bigger and stronger than Nash.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
SWAT says:
@ dime was the qoute from jay gonna be “men lie, women lie, numbers dont”- Just curious…?
as far as the ques at hand i wld say player Y. a banger from beyond the arc and damn near perfect from the line (tht gave it away tht it was nash-i think only chauncey shoots as good frm the stripe but his assts #’s dnt match)
December 9th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Diego says:
Player Y: Better assists and much higher 3-pt% and ft%. (Scores a little less, but takes less shots. Only comparative deficiency is in steals. I don’t care about point guards who rebound (I’m talking about you too Jason Kidd); the big men can/should do that.)
December 9th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Brown says:
Men lie, women lie, and numbers don’t tell you the whole story.
Fuck Jay-Z and his stupid-ass line.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
JA says:
Wasn’t the first one Boozer vs Amare? Jazz vs Suns again? Next up – Okur vs Frye (who’s stats are similar as well)
Okur: 46%FG, 89%FT, 48%3pt – 1.3 3s/gm, 13.5ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.9apg, 0.8spg, 0.7bpg
Frye: 45%FG, 78%FT, 44%3pt – 2.6 3s/gm, 12.1ppg, 6.0rpg, 1.6apg, 0.8spg, 1.0bpg
December 9th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Roko says:
“but statistically speaking who would you want running the show for your team this year?”
Obviously some of you are missing the point here. Everyone is aware that other factors go into these decisions, but I think Kellan is making the point that if ALL ELSE IS EQUAL, who would you choose based on their numbers.
If you think it’s so stupid, get don’t read the post, furthermore don’t spend your time commenting.
And I liked the omission of the Jay quote that inspired such beef last time, haha
By the way, BASED ON THE STATS, Im taking Y. Hes more of a facilitator and is better across the board percentage wise. He is also putting up almost the same points and more assists in less minutes. Looking at his STATS he is what Im looking for in my PG.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
bfears says:
player Y all day!
December 9th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Caderade says:
You should probably mention that Player X throws down huge dunks on Tim Duncan and Player Y is to scrawny to keep anyone out of the paint.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Chicagorilla says:
Player Y, FG% and 3pt % seperates them.
but yes, i will say it again, NUMBERS ALWAYS LIE! That’s for the writer of the article, lol
December 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Just on the numbers alone I would go for Y!
I would say a lie is based on those who decide to go with if what is told or presented is true or not.
So could numbers lie…well depends on what you think is true of what numbers are presented.
I like the idea and concept of what the writer was doing here. If we had to pick things on numbers alone and had no idea of who the player was or anything else about them, we might end up picking or rooting for a player we totally dislike.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
realtalk says:
This is called ridiculous Steve Nash Love, ladies and gentleman. Try mentioning that Player Y epitomizes defense liability then maybe we’ll have a more accurate picture?
December 9th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
control says:
Player Y, better shooting, more assists in less minutes…
December 9th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Taj says:
I wouldn’t have thought Nash avg that many turnovers per… He’s gotta do a better job of protecting the orange.,.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Chicagorilla says:
@Taj, that’s still a better than 2 to 1 asst/To ratio. nearly 3 to 1.
Stockton and Magic were like 4/5/ to 1 in their best years.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
BCap says:
I would love to see a Who’s better between Stockon and Magic, that would be interesting, Magic was great and more popular in LA, but Stock’s numbers were absurd some of those yrs in Utah
December 9th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Chicagorilla says:
@DIME
Would love to see a “Statistically speaking” between some past nba players numbers from their best seasons. Guys like Michael Adams vs Chris Paul, Benard King vs Carmel Anthony, Brad Daugherty vs Brook Lopez vs Tim Duncan. That would be much harder to figure out. All you have to do is list their age.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
karizmatic says:
I would take Player Y. I like the higher assist numbers and the higher shooting percentages. That’s what I look for in a guard. I am a little disappointed about the steals per game, but I’ll gamble on that so Player Y.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
runngun22 says:
I’d take Player Y just barely. More of a pure point guard with great shooting percentages.
Also, I’m pretty sure I know who both are…
December 9th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
RonNation says:
derons numbers are low cuz he had a rough shooting stretch for 2 or 3 games.. before those games i bet his %s were better
December 9th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
just saying says:
you should include their +/- rating
December 9th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Colton says:
player y would be who id chose statistically.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
ab_40 says:
D Will. as much as I like nash and have learned to respect his game more and more I’d still like D Will he’s bigger, stronger a better defender. I’m not gonna give oyu the steve nahs doens’t play D argument but he isn’t a lockdown defender and get’s posted up a lot faster then D Will.
for me it’s D Will over Nash. but for highlight reasons in an all star game I’d take nash. because the ASG is as good as it’s (passing) point guards
December 9th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
HBooyah says:
Phoenix: 15 Wins, 7 Losses.
Utah: 12 Wins, 8 Losses.
I take Nash.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Didnt Nash lead the league in TO’s the 2 years he won MVP??
December 9th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Mack Brownee says:
Nashty is having a monster year; if he keeps it up, it would be ludicrous to keep him outta the all-star game
December 9th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
dagwaller says:
I’d take Nash, for sure. Deron Williams is great, though! Def take him over Chris Paul this year.