Three Pointers from Beyond The RK
Joe Ingles is Utah’s sixth Jazzman of the year, sorry Jordan Clarkson; Khem Birch is a bonafide backup center who WANTS the title for most boring yet effective NBA player; and Giannis Antetokoumnpo’s third-straight MVP-caliber season.
Joe Ingles has been by far one of the most efficient scorers in the NBA this season. He might have the athleticism of an oversized middle school gym teacher, but the 6'8" point-forward is one of the few players in the league who can score efficiently at all three levels, and especially as a jump shooter. Overall in the half court, Ingles is scoring 1.177 PPP on 390 possessions, ranking in the league’s 96th percentile. His 1.171 PPP against Man defense ranks twelfth in the NBA among players with 100 possessions. With 642 Total Possession+Assists, Joe ranks first in the league in PP(P+A), via Synergy.
Jingles’ highest-volume play is running P&R in 449 possessions as the ball-handler, usually running second units. Joe has scored 1.035 PPP in 173 P&R ball-handler possessions, good enough for the league’s 86th percentile. In 307 of those P&R ball-handler possessions, the defense commits, where Ingles would most often pass to the roller, resulting in 1.12 PPP in 276 possessions, or a spot-up shooter, resulting in 1.223 PPP in 127 possessions.
Joe Ingles is simply one of the premier shooters in the association. Ingles holds the NBA’s BEST scoring rate on Jump Shots AND C&S looks. Joe’s 1.588 C&S PPP ranks first among players with over a hundred C&S opportunities, where he’s essentially just as effective when guarded (1.579 PPP) as he is when unguarded (1.593 PPP). Ingles has scored 1.419 PPP on 210 Jump Shots, the best rate in the league among players who have taken at least a hundred jumpers.
Jingles ranks in the 99th percentile (1.714 PPP) in just 21 Off Screen shot opportunities, in the 92nd percentile (1.41 PPP) in 61 Transition possessions, and in the 99th percentile (1.43 PPP) in 116 Spot Up possessions. On off-the-dribble jumpers, Joe’s 1.189 PPP only ranks third in the NBA among players with 50 OTD Jump Shots. Jordan Clarkson started off the season as the clear front-runner for sixth-man-of-the-year; but his Jazz teammate may have taken the torch. Here’s a basic box score comparison for good measure:
Joe Ingles
12p 4r 4a/2to
(53–50–86 on 7 FGA — 5 3PA — 1 FTA)
Jordan Clarkson
17p 4r 2a/2to
(42–35–96 on 15 FGA — 9 3PA — 2 FTA)
Jingles, all the way.
Khem Birch OG Anunoby , The Canadian Press
Montreal’s own Khem Birch, the most boring yet effective player in the NBA, is likely on his way to his home country of Canada — well, kinda. Shams reported today that Khem Birch has been waived by the Orlando Magic and is likely on his way to the Toronto Raptors, to gain a better chance at playing for a competitive team this season. Only the Raptors are stationed in Tampa this year, and Khem becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. So while Birch may not get to suit up in Toronto, he’ll at least get to rock the purple and red dinosaur uniforms.
Even with him tippy-toeing into the corner three waters, Khem offers the opposite of shooting gravity on the offensive end. Birch won’t even look at the rim with the ball in his hands unless he’s within 10ft. He’s not popping after picks, and he’s not creating shots for anyone on his own. The positives are what make him an NBA rotation player, though: Khem Birch knows where to be and plays the right way. He’s in the right spots on both ends, setting screens and doing the dirty work on the boards. He’s best-served offensively when rolling to the rim in P&R and waiting for lobs or tips around the basket. Birch is scoring 1.087 PPP as the P&R Roll Man in 46 possessions, 1.041 PPP on 73 Cuts, and 1.086 PPP on 105 non Post-Up shots around the basket.
Due to his defensive energy and general spark, Birch won over Coach Clifford’s trust as the first big off the bench. His awareness and team-first mindset allows Khem to be in the right position, while his effort forces the action, keeping opposing teams on their heels. Don’t make a mistake against Birch, because he Khem make you pay. Shout-out to Jeff Weltman and John Hammond for giving Khem Birch a chance in the NBA, and Steve Clifford for giving him the opportunity and role to thrive. Khem out-worked a young Mo Bamba for the backup rotation spot in his time here, thought to give Orlando a better chance to win as he helped The Magic secure a playoff spot. Khem Birch should see a market this summer as an unrestricted free agent being a bonafide backup center good enough to make an NBA rotation. Thanks are in order to Khem for bringing some heart and hustle back to Orlando, and for leaving Magic fans the first season of The Birch and Briscoe Show to remember him by.
Many critics, including myself, have pondered if the reigning two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokoumnpo, would be maximized in a role closer to Anthony Davis the play-finisher than Lebron James the scoring creator. However, this season, Giannis has been one of the league’s best shot-creators; maybe all of the critics should shut up and drool. Overall as the ball-handler in pick-and-roll, Giannis’ Bucks score 1.258 PPP in 209 possessions, ranking in the 97th percentile. Giannis himself has scored 1.051 PPP in 99 possessions as the P&R ball-handler. Among players with at least one hundred possessions as the P&R ball-handler when the Defense Commits, Giannis holds the mark as the league’s most efficient creator; the Bucks have scored 1.381 PPP in the 118 possessions where Giannis passes out of P&R after the Defense Commits.
Giannis is leading the 3-seed Bucks to a third-straight postseason with home-court advantage. Milwaukee hosts the 4th-best point differential in the league at +6.2, just 0.1 ahead of Denver, via Cleaning The Glass. The Bucks rank sixth in offense (117.6 O-RTG) and eight in defense (111.5 D-RTG), which puts them in the top-12 on both ends, a known trait of a contender according to Stan Van Gundy’s nuggets.
Giannis has stayed effortlessly aggressive in his run for a third-straight MVP, a feat that only Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, and Bill Russell have accomplished. For his NBA totals on the season, Antetokoumnpo has shot the most free throw attempts in the league, converted the 4th-most free throws, made the 3rd-most field goals, grabbed the 10th-most rebounds, dished out the 19th-most assists, swatted the 11th-most shots, and scored the 5th-most points on the 12th-best field goal percentage, while only playing the 26th most minutes per game.
Giannis’ impact remains as huge as ever; a look at his league rankings:
2nd in BPM behind Jokic (via BBall Ref)
3rd in LeBron behind Jokic and Gobert (via BBall Index)
5th in Raptor WAR behind Jokic, Gobert, Kawhi, and Steph (via 538)
4th in EPM eWins behind Jokic, Luka, and Gobert (via Dunks and Threes)
(Nuggets fans would like to take this moment to point out the other MVP candidate who ranks ahead of Giannis in every one of these impact numbers, The Big Honey himself, Nikola Jokic)
Are Jrue Holiday’s elite skills as a defender, ISO specialist, and half-court shot-creator enough to give Giannis the help he needs to change the narrative of his playoff shortcomings? Does the national media think Antetokoumpo deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Wilt, Russell, and Bird? Lucky for the MVP voters, neither of those answers have anything to do with how well Giannis Antetokoumnpo has performed during the 2020–21 regular season. The Greek is as freaky as ever, and his dominant play deserves to be mentioned among the finalists in the MVP conversation, which seems to oddly be growing as the season goes on.
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Data resources: Synergy Sports, NBA Stats, Basketball Reference, 538, BBall Index, Dunks and Threes
