I don't know if anyone paid attention to too Many Mantas Sabonis' performance in the Oklahoma Thunder rookie season, and how many people paid attention to his performance in the first year of the Indiana Pacers. Even if it doesn't matter, the wonderful performances of many of Sabonis's games this season will definitely leave an impression on your mind.
When the rookie season was with the Thunder, Russell Westbrook's ball usage was at an all-time high that year, and the 20-year-old rookie Sabonis looked a little cramped on the court. Because if you received a pass from Westbrook at the time, it meant that he wanted you to shoot immediately and finish scoring, and if you couldn't do it, then the next time Westbrook would probably choose to end the attack himself. Sabonis in his rookie season messed up, often afraid to shoot from the middle and long distances when on the court, resulting in Sabonis after receiving the ball like a hot potato to pass to his teammates, and Sabonis rarely shot in his own comfortable position throughout the season.
At the end of the season, Sabonis, a college-performing interior scorer, used only 15.4 percent of the ball in his rookie season and scored unusually inefficiently. In the end, the lack of scoring ability became the most prominent problem for Sabonis, which also caused him to lose the starting position. The team believes that Sabonis still lacks the ability to compete for rebounds, the passing choice is also hesitant, the mistakes are continuous, the ability to protect the frame is insufficient, and the change of defense to the outside line can not be prevented. After the team made the playoffs, Sabonis essentially lost playing time.
The Oklahoma Thunder then traded Sabonis for Paul George from the Indiana Pacers, and Sabonis has since been transformed. Sabonis was one of the most improved players in the NBA last season, but because the improvement of the second-year rookie will not attract attention, which is taken for granted in people's eyes. And the rise from below average to average is not as amazing as the starter to star, Sabonis teammate Victor Oladipo completed the all-star transformation, so last season's progress in Sabonis did not attract too much attention.
Sabonis' outstanding performances this season have a good chance of getting the fastest improving player, and the best sixth man also has a chance. Looking back at Sabonis' progress, you'll realize how incredible this progress is, with the red data in the chart below representing Sabonis's worst performance in his career and green representing his best performance.
The first column is from top to bottom: playing time, scoring per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, average free throws per game, shooting percentage, scoring per 36 minutes, rebounding per 36 minutes, assisting every 36 minutes, free throws per 36 minutes, ball usage, true hit rate, free throw rate, offensive rebounding rate, defensive rebounding rate, total rebounding rate, assist rate, efficiency value, and 48-minute victory contribution.
The 22-year-old Sabonis averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, the 37th time a player aged 22 and under has done so. At the same time, he has 21 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists per 36 minutes, which is the only efficiency for players aged 22 and under. If the age limit of 22 is removed, this kind of efficiency has historically only been achieved by Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Elgin Baylor.
Not only the data, you can see sabonis's efficiency in the game. Nowadays, no matter where he receives the ball on the court, he is no longer cowardly, and can easily rush into the opponent's interior line, resulting in Sabonis now shooting more than half of the shots within 3 feet of the basket, shooting 78% of the shots. Sabonis, who rushed into the inside line, even if he didn't score, had a high probability of causing an opponent to foul, and his free throw shooting rate reached 77.4%.
So far this season, Sabonis's back-to-back play has also been effective, and statistics show that Sabonis's low-post back-play shooting rate is 53.3%, which is comparable to Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Sabonis is the offensive core of the Pacers' second-team lineup and plays easily against opposing bench centers. If played with Oladipo, Sabonis could find another way to help the team.
Sabonis' rebounding performance this season is also unusually brutal, and he is expected to become the 40th player in NBA history to grab 12% offensive rebounds and 30% defensive rebounds. Sabonis excelled at the card slot, grabbing 44 percent of the rebounds he grabbed from behind his opponent. Sabonis' defensive rebounding rate has doubled compared to his rookie season, and the main reason for this change is the improvement in card awareness.
Sabonis' passing ability has also improved surprisingly, with his hand-to-hand passing and down-and-down tactics crucial in the Pacers' offensive system. Statistics show that among all the league's interior players who enter the normal rotation, Sabonis can rank in the top ten with 4.2 assists per 36 minutes and 9.6 assists per game, which is comparable to Al Horford and Anthony Davis. The Indiana Pacers' strong offensive system today is inseparable from the tacit understanding of Sabonis and Oladipo on the court, and Pacers coach Nate McMillan is also increasingly confident in Sabonis's ability to read the game and believe that he can accurately grasp the timing of the game. Sabonis' cover is also very important for the Pacers, which is why Oladipo, Darren Collison, Corey Joseph, Aaron Holliday, Terek Evans and Bojan Bogdanovic are playing more and more comfortably.
Defensively, Sabonis is getting better, and while the weakness of his arm span makes it difficult for Sabonis to be a good defender, he's doing well defensively in his low post, he knows his position on the court, he knows what to do and where he should be, which is a lot better than last season. Sabonis was significantly more defensively efficient on the floor than he was when he was off the court this season, as was last season. Although Sabonis was often caught in foul trouble due to his poor movement speed and arm span, he was able to help the Pacers' defense overall.
The Pacers have had Miles Turner and Sabonis share playing time in the center position this season, and the two of them play together for about 6 minutes per game. Even if there are problems with the Pacers offense during this time, because of the excellent defense, the Pacers can often score more points than the opponent. The data shows the Pacers perform better when Sabonis and Turner stagger playing time.
The Pacers had six players who played more than 250 minutes at the same time as Sabonis and Turner, and four of the six players were more efficient when paired with Sabonis, including Oladipo and Thaddeus Young. So if one day Sabonis has more time to play than Turner, you shouldn't be too surprised.
Although Sabonis may not necessarily grow into a superstar in the future, the value of a player who is so efficient and fast-moving at the same time cannot be underestimated. Even the league that now embraces fast-paced and outside projection still needs a center, a center who scores efficiently, has good rebounding protection, and can pass the ball on the offensive end. Sabonis has proven himself to be able to do that and help the team win, and the Pacers should love the fast-paced future star.
Jared dubin
Compilation: Sunny