A (Running) Conversation on Eric Bledsoe
Me: So it's been a pretty fun season so far.
Kevin: Oh for sure, it seems like every team is going through some interesting point in their long-term plans.
Me: Can you say that either of the New York teams have long-term plans though?
Kevin: That's beside the point. Every team has something going on; take the Suns for instance.They just blew out the Clippers at home and are 6th in the West right now. You know who the lead guard for that team is?
Me: Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic of course. At this point in this teams evolution, you can't mention one of these guys without the other. Still not all that convinced Bledsoe is a legit l guard though. I know it sounds crazy but the lineups where he is the sole point on the floor have some funky numbers.
Kevin: Before I tell you how wrong you are I'll let you explain yourself.
Me: Well, with the recent success the Suns have been having and knowing that Bledsoe is a massive part of that I started doing some random digging on the wonderful NBA Statistics site. So I looked at lineups were Bledsoe was the lead guard and compared it to the starters and the Goran Dragic led lineups just for fun. Luckily this worked out because both lineups consisted of Gerald Green, Channing Frye, P.J Tucker, and Miles Plumlee.
Kevin: That works out I guess for comparison sake. But your still wrong.
Me: Let me finish. So I looked at the four factors of these lineups and found out exactly what you would think the numbers would be. The Bledsoe led lineups fell behind the most in the offensive category stats while the Dragic lineups fell behind in the more defensive stats.
Kevin: So what you're telling me is that because there is a fall off in production when the team runs one lead guard you don't buy Bledsoe as a solo point? That is your first major mistake sir because it fails to take into account the system they employ. Mr. Andrew Lynch had a great piece on that very system (Read it here). If you had read that piece you would understand that the Suns use their two-point lineup as the fulcrum of their offense. Which means that as the Suns run a solo point there is more decision making placed upon Gerald Green. That just spells some sort of production fall off.
Me: Whose to say that the Suns run the same types of things when they play one point guard.?
Kevin: We would know if you would buy us League Pass so we could watch more.
Me: One day bro. But I understand that you have to,ideally, take into account system when discussing any player. But this is a somewhat unique system the Suns run. I'm just not sure that Bledsoe would thrive as much as a lead guard in a more traditional system.
Kevin: Good thing he is with the Suns then. I personally love two point guard lineups. Dribble drives are some of the most exciting plays in basketball and with two Points you can really stretch the defense if you get creative.
Me: For sure. Those are some of my favorite lineups and when you get right down to it the line between a 1 and a 2 has been pretty blurry for a while now. But that's a conversation for another day.
Kevin: I'm glad we are starting to agree. One of the most interesting aspects of this team is its immediate future. Do the Suns think that they are one or two pieces away from seriously contending? What do they have in Alex Len? Is t
Me: Well, Hornacek has the team playing well within the system. Right now I would say they could end up being the Starless Era Nuggets; a team no one wants to see in the playoffs.
Kevin: Sounds about right. And I guess at some point you have to take individual production into account and Bledsoe is averaging 18 and 6 right now.
Me: I'm glad I'm starting to get through to you.
Kevin: Oh for sure, it seems like every team is going through some interesting point in their long-term plans.
Me: Can you say that either of the New York teams have long-term plans though?
Kevin: That's beside the point. Every team has something going on; take the Suns for instance.They just blew out the Clippers at home and are 6th in the West right now. You know who the lead guard for that team is?
Me: Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic of course. At this point in this teams evolution, you can't mention one of these guys without the other. Still not all that convinced Bledsoe is a legit l guard though. I know it sounds crazy but the lineups where he is the sole point on the floor have some funky numbers.
Kevin: Before I tell you how wrong you are I'll let you explain yourself.
Me: Well, with the recent success the Suns have been having and knowing that Bledsoe is a massive part of that I started doing some random digging on the wonderful NBA Statistics site. So I looked at lineups were Bledsoe was the lead guard and compared it to the starters and the Goran Dragic led lineups just for fun. Luckily this worked out because both lineups consisted of Gerald Green, Channing Frye, P.J Tucker, and Miles Plumlee.
Kevin: That works out I guess for comparison sake. But your still wrong.
Me: Let me finish. So I looked at the four factors of these lineups and found out exactly what you would think the numbers would be. The Bledsoe led lineups fell behind the most in the offensive category stats while the Dragic lineups fell behind in the more defensive stats.
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Kevin: So what you're telling me is that because there is a fall off in production when the team runs one lead guard you don't buy Bledsoe as a solo point? That is your first major mistake sir because it fails to take into account the system they employ. Mr. Andrew Lynch had a great piece on that very system (Read it here). If you had read that piece you would understand that the Suns use their two-point lineup as the fulcrum of their offense. Which means that as the Suns run a solo point there is more decision making placed upon Gerald Green. That just spells some sort of production fall off.
Me: Whose to say that the Suns run the same types of things when they play one point guard.?
Kevin: We would know if you would buy us League Pass so we could watch more.
Me: One day bro. But I understand that you have to,ideally, take into account system when discussing any player. But this is a somewhat unique system the Suns run. I'm just not sure that Bledsoe would thrive as much as a lead guard in a more traditional system.
Kevin: Good thing he is with the Suns then. I personally love two point guard lineups. Dribble drives are some of the most exciting plays in basketball and with two Points you can really stretch the defense if you get creative.
Me: For sure. Those are some of my favorite lineups and when you get right down to it the line between a 1 and a 2 has been pretty blurry for a while now. But that's a conversation for another day.
Kevin: I'm glad we are starting to agree. One of the most interesting aspects of this team is its immediate future. Do the Suns think that they are one or two pieces away from seriously contending? What do they have in Alex Len? Is t
Me: Well, Hornacek has the team playing well within the system. Right now I would say they could end up being the Starless Era Nuggets; a team no one wants to see in the playoffs.
Kevin: Sounds about right. And I guess at some point you have to take individual production into account and Bledsoe is averaging 18 and 6 right now.
Me: I'm glad I'm starting to get through to you.
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