Brandon Bass By the Numbers
by Ben Q Rock on Jul 11, 2009 1:59 PM EDT
in Diversions
47 comments
The Orlando Magic only signed Brandon Bass yesterday, but given how frequently Magic fans have discussed his game in recent weeks, it seems like he joined the team a long time ago. You'll understand my reluctance, I'm sure, to parrot the arguments for and against his signing in this space. We know he's listed at 6'08", we know (as does coach Stan Van Gundy) he can hit the 17-foot jumper, we know he gets rejected on nearly 30% of his shots within 6 feet of the basket that aren't dunks or tip-ins, and we know he can defend power forwards or centers despite his small stature.
So, rather than regurgitating what's already been said, I propose looking at some numbers--statistics, sure, but other things as well--to give us a better idea about Bass and his game.
0: number of times Bass has shot better than 50% over the course of a whole season in his career. He shot 246-of-493 two seasons ago, just one made basket short of reaching the 50% plateau.
3: number of Chicago Bulls whom Bass victimizes with a dunk in this clip.
5: number of career starts, in 210 games over 4 seasons. Only 1 of those came with Dallas, with which he distinguished himself.
7: career double-doubles for Bass. Each one came during his time with the Mavericks.
13.4: percentage of available total rebounds Bass snagged while he was on the floor last season. That'd rank third among Orlando's rotation players last year, behind Dwight Howard (21.8) and Marcin Gortat (20.3). It's just more than Tony Battie's figure of 13.0.
15: Bass' rank last season, among all qualified NBA players, in two-point jumper accuracy, according to 82games. Bass connected on 45.4% of his two-point jumpers. The only big-men to exceed Bass in this category were Dirk Nowitzki (47.4%), Antonio McDyess (47.3%), Darius Songaila (46.2%), and Pau Gasol (46.0%).
16.6: Bass' foul-drawing rate last season, per 82games.com. Dwight Howard (27.6%) was the only Magic big man to exceed that number in 2008/2009.
18: reported dollar value, in millions, of Bass' deal with the Magic. It runs for four seasons, with an opt-out after the third.
30: Bass' uniform number with Orlando, per the Magic's press release about his signing. He previously wore #33 with New Orleans and #32 with Dallas.
39: number of YouTube hits for the search, "Brandon Bass Dunk."
79.25: Bass' height in shoes, in inches, according to DraftExpress. That'd translate to 6'07.25".
83.3: Bass' career free-throw percentage. Ryan Anderson (84.5%) and J.J. Redick (86.6%) are the only Magic players with a higher career mark from the charity stripe.
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A nice look at the good and bad of Bass.
There’s a lot of talk about his poor rebounding stats.
I’m more interested in his defensive stats, however. For rebounds, we have Dwight, and to a lesser extent, Ryan. If he’s good at guarding his man, we have others who can clean up the boards.
His defensive numbers are average-to-above-average.
What stands out to me is his opponent PER numbers vs. PF’s & C’s – 13.2 .. which is excellent, and that’s with most of his time playing the back-up center position for the Dallas Mavericks last season.
I think his adj. plus/minus and net plus/minus numbers can improve being on the Orlando Magic. Brandon Bass is certainly undersized, but boy .. the kid can defend and with Stan Van Gundy being able to teach him, I don’t see why he can’t continue to improve, given his age and desire to get better as a player.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
yes
We have seen the difference from year to year in Dwights game.. Ewing and SVG will have this kid ready.
You forgot arm length in your stats… Lol
good stuff, I personally think it is a great move. Never can enough hustle players..
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Mos def.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
You need to get Mountain on here!
Isn’t he like the composite stat guru around the internetz? Not to mention a wiz when it comes to interpreting team/player fit according to style (four factors) and so on. Anyway, an interview with Mountain would be pretty amazing stuff I think (you already find great interviews, I’m just a Mountain fanboy for some reason).
'Coach, Dwight is a nice guy. Dwight don't hit anybody. But Superman will knock the crap out of you.' - D12
by Eyriq the Red on Jul 11, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I've chatted with him on the APBR boards here and there.
Nice person, more than willing to answer my questions whenever I have ’em.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
lol, I thought this was your write up.
'Coach, Dwight is a nice guy. Dwight don't hit anybody. But Superman will knock the crap out of you.' - D12
by Eyriq the Red on Jul 11, 2009 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
No, not at all.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
erivera7, you said it yourself
“What stands out to me is his opponent PER numbers vs. PF’s & C’s – 13.2 .. which is excellent, and that’s with most of his time playing the back-up center position for the Dallas Mavericks last season.”
If he played the backup position with Dallas, i wonder who he was playing against? Was he playing against other starters or was he playing against other backups/bench scrubs? I know at the lakers the big men who come off the bench are DJ MBenga and Josh Powell. That’s different than taking on Pau and Bynum.
I wonder how much of that stat is due to him playing against simply weaker players as a backup vs starters as a starter, and how much of that stat is him just doing a great job on defense. From what I have heard, Bass is a legitimate 6’6" or at most 6’7". I just cannot see him guarding elite big men in the league or rebounding against them. He is not Dennis Rodman or Charles Barkley, who are the only short guys i’ve seen be able to rebound/defend with the big boys.
Right, well he'll most likely back up Dwight Howard in Orlando, facing off such elite East reserve big men as....
… who, exactly?
perhaps
You may be correct. My only point was that the against PER number may not be reflective of his defensive abilities. IE that stats may not always reveal everything. But then again, that may be stating the obvious.
I think it is reflective of his abilities.
.. people make the same excuse for Gortat, which isn’t fair.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Bass done who is next?
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=freeagents-09-10
Wally S? 41% 3 point, but not that great of defender
Outside of the guys already mentioned-Ratliff, kleiza, barnes, and Wafer. Not much out there..
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
No way I want Wally
No basketball IQ, no skills whatsoever outside of shooting when he’s completely open. And even then he’ll sometimes make a bad decision. I wouldn’t want him for the vet minimum, or even the league minimum.
definitely
didn’t impress in the playoffs.. AIR BALL!!
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Yeah, he wouldn't be a good fit.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Barnes should be next.
An athletic wing who can guard the 2/3 spots, rebound, pass and shoot the 3.
It’s been mentioned that he has been Otis’ priority after getting Bass. Good choice.
by thermodynamic on Jul 11, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Personally
He is my #1 choice.. I just like his athleticism.
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
I would suspect that Barnes gets inked to a deal relatively soon.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Yeah, I liked it too.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
one thing I noticed
When watching him on Youtube.com once he gets the ball over his head you can forget it… His arms are so long..
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
One thing that gave me a chuckle was Ben's "Hubie Brown" beginning to his post.
“We know that …”, for example. Well done.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Is it just me or has Otis Smith gone after the athletic freaks in free agency
Last year Michael Pietrus. This year Brandon Bass. I’m thinking he may be looking at getting Rodney Carney next.
What do you all think?
I don't think he's doing that on purpose.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
by erivera7 on Jul 12, 2009 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
It's smart if he is
guys like David Lee have no chance to make our team bwahaha
by Souwantmyname on Jul 12, 2009 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions
I guess.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Not really.
He’s a defensive liability .. first and foremost.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Pretty much.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
You will like him
I’m sure Marie can tell you (or already has) all about Bass. Here are some things I had written up for BE.
The good: Still only 23 despite in his fourth year. The just guy cares for winning games and will play physical under the basket, he rarely takes a night off. Used to playing 15 to 20 minutes and doesn’t expect a big role, but can do more if need be e.g. due to injury. Has stabilized/repeated his FG% and TS% from last year at about 50 and 57 helped by a solid midrange jumpshot (good form, somewhat inconsistent). Can dribble and finish well with either hand, allowing him to drive to the rim in isolation plays often over the left baseline side, sometimes with impressive reverse dunks. Very quick and high second jump to secure a tipped rebound. Had four double-doubles this season. Very solid from the free throw line when fouled, consistently well over 80%. Not very foul prone for an undersized guy at somewhat around 1.5PFs per game due to his lateral quickness. He is very quick, better lane agility time than e.g. Mike Conley. Very strong especially in the upper body, you can’t easily push him out of the way on offense or defense in post ups.
The bad: At 6’8’’ he is a bit undersized for the PF spot. Unable to block or contest some shots taller athletes could. Doesn’t really have a go-to move that he can always rely on. Should never take a three point shot again (has missed every single one so far), but fortunately rarely tries (11). While he can find the open man when he gets stuck in traffic is just a mediocre passer. Good understanding of team defense, but makes the occasional dumb play.
Financials: You paid a good price for him. In terms of PER, he is a little better than the average player, and you paid less than the full MLE for him.
If you want to trade our spare parts for Devin Harris, I have three quarters I would like to trade for your dollar
by Norsktroll on Jul 12, 2009 5:53 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Good thoughts.
Thanks for posting ’em.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Great Info..
Good thing for him is he will be playing next to the Defensive MVP and being coached by SVG .
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
norsktroll... good stuff
a question: did many of bass’s buckets come from playing with a top-notch setup man like j-kidd? i don’t get the sense that they did, but it’s a question i’ve had. jameer is a very good pg, but he is certainly no j-kidd in terms of getting easy buckets for his teammates. i love that everyone who has watched him closely rates him as a very strong character guy (in addition to the talent and athleticism).
It’s helpful, but I think Jameer is certainly good enough to make aggressive entry plays and find his open man around the bucket like Bass or on the perimeter with a kickout (better not Bass, his shot only stretches to mid-range unlike that of e.g. Lewis). Bass is very good converting junk plays around the basket either flying in for the tip-in or securing the board and then going up again sometimes faking his defender in the air, so you don’t have to set up that many plays for him. He posts up decently, and creates some baskets facing up with catch-and-shoots or from isolations with his speed.
If you want to trade our spare parts for Devin Harris, I have three quarters I would like to trade for your dollar
Yeah, Brandon's character is high.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
Some thoughts based on the data at 82games:
Bass played about 40% of the minutes available last season. It looks to have been split almost evenly between playing with Kidd and playing with Barea.
He played at center more than power forward, usually with the larger Nowitzki at PF, occasionally with Singleton at PF. His only significant time at PF was with Diop at C.
His offense is better at C than PF – PER of 18.9 to 17.2, although part of that may be teammate effect (playing with Nowitzki gives you a lot more room to operate than playing with Diop).
His defense looked to be about the same – both opposing PFs and Cs had a PER of 13.2 against him.
He doesn’t foul a lot. Even against centers, he only averaged 4.5 fouls per 48 minutes. Against PFs, it was just 3.7/48.
Bass rebounded 8.9% of OR opportunities, and 15.8% of DR opportunities. The closest parallel I can find is “Big Baby” Davis, at 8.0% OR and 12.2% DR.
He’s a better blocker than our other two PFs. Bass blocked 2.1% of shots. Lewis blocked 1.1%, and Anderson blocked 1.0%. That’s still not great shot blocking, though. Howard blocks 4.8% of shots, and Foyle an utterly ridiculous 7.5%.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
When you have Dwight, that's all you need for shot blocking.
I'm the other guy at Third Quarter Collapse, with a Twitter account.
"Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement." - Michael Corleone
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