Kawhi Leonard analysis | The scoring (centric) machine (2019)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ค. 2019
- Kawhi Leonard used to be compared to Scottie Pippen for his defense, but his massive scoring ability has made him a closer proxy to Michael Jordan. Is he an MVP-level player? Is he still one of the league's best defenders? Just how good is he in the playoffs? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Toronto Raptors' star while incorporating analytics & stats to assess his overall impact.
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Book: www.amazon.com/Thinking-Baske...
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Website: www.backpicks.com
Twitter: @elgee35
Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.
Stats courtesy:
www.pbpstats.com @bballport
www.basketball-reference.com
stats.nba.com
IMPACT METRICS
-Backpicks BPM is a proprietary model that focuses on player skill instead of situational value. It is box score only.
-PIPM is a hybrid model (box score and plus-minus) that "luck-adjusts" plus-minus data (regresses FT% and 3pt%) to account for noise and is more sensitive to a player's role/fit on a given team. Created by @JacobEGoldstein
-Luck-Adjusted RAPM is a pure plus-minus model adjusted for shooting luck, reducing some of the noise of single-season APM. It is most sensitive to role/fit of these three. Available at: nbashotcharts.com/home
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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.
Music by csus (instrumental) - กีฬา
Thanks to @ Thomas Huynh for catching an error: Kawhi takes 10 free throw attempts per 100 possessions, not per game. Also, many have asked about where he ranks and who I have ahead of him -- I'll be publishing a top-10 list in a few weeks. Thanks for all the feedback!
Plz tell where do find all these analytic
Thinking Basketball, could you please make a 2 part video in depth analysis about the 2016 thunder in the playoffs against the spurs and one about against the warriors
Damian lillard?
You don't consider that he came back from injury,it's also his first season with the raptors and he missed 22 games. Why don't you show stats for playoff then tell me. Instead of making a he's good but.......video
Looking at what your final ratings were for kawhi and you call him a weak mvp caliber player, can you break down giannis and or harden and their ratings? .... if kawhis only hole is his passing, i want to see how you rate giannis with his freethrow shooting and lack of shooting period. ALSO, lets see how you rate harden with his defensive liability.
This is the best analysis on the internet, you never settle for "X is a great isolation scorer" or "best passing big ever" and instead try to explain what those generic statements actually mean. Thank you so much for your hard work and keep it up, you make me a better fan!
Thanks Jackson -- really appreciate that.
@@ThinkingBasketball your analyzing review make me look like a smartass boy, Simple yet sophisticated. Sorry for English not my first language
Yes now with analytics they try make it seem like guys like Robert Covington ... Danny green are more valuable than guys who can create their own shot which is stupidity
i just love the way he plays , like his body movement looks so stiff but still so flexible, which is also why he can play 2ways on such a high level cuz he doesn’t use much energy in his body movement
Hasn't been that impactful on the defensive end this Playoffs tho, for example Giannis is been a better defender first two games.
Enea Buraku Not exactly . Look at his defense on khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe. Giannis and Lopez has been nice against siakim and gasol .
@@followthebrickroad6518 he doesn't guard bledsoe, and Middleton was 5-8 and 2-3 from 3 and 0 turnovers wich is insane when you're guarded by Kawhi.
Enea Buraku
He only took 8 shots . And this is from an all star caliber player who can average 20 at any given night. And did so against the Celtics . He put up 25 points . He might've gotten some shots but with Kawhi on him he was barely able to even get a shot off. And in game one he was 4-12 . Kawhi has been playing some good D on his matchup . And he also had 4 turnovers game one. And while Bledsoe isn't his primary match up he switches up on him at times . So I don't understand how he hasn't been impactful when his matchup is barely shooting and scoring .
@@followthebrickroad6518 bro Milwuakee scored 125 he didn't need to take more shots 😂.
Nice analysis. Thanks. Can only watch so much ESPN screaming and yelling.
Stephen A: NO MAX DIDNT SAY DAT NO NO NO NO I DIDNT SAY THAT KOBE WAS BETTER THAN JORDAN I SAID THAT HE WAS KORE CLUTCH IN DA PLAYOFFS
Max Kellerman: STEVEN A I CANT BELIEVE YOU ARE SAYING THAT MICHAEL IS LESS CLUTCH THAN KOBE COMING FROM YOU I HAVE LOST ALL RESPECT FOR YOU KOBE HAD SHAQ!!! LEBRON STATISTICALLY IS MORE CLUTCH THAN ANYONE
Molly: yeah guys I agree yeah, yeah totally, I think Kobe wuz better
Quiet_as_a_Mouse yo chill with the spoilers tf
ESPN is terrible Robert.
Max doesn't know shit. Steven doesn't know shit.
I, on the other hand, know my shit.
Go to my channel and view my videos where I back my picks with 10k minimum bets.
LET ME TELL YOU WHY YOU'RE WRONG
Who still watches ESPN? Lmao
He hasn’t figured out how much attention he draws so his passing has developed as such.
exactly right
It actually makes sense as most other star players have been offsenive power house all their basketball career so they have that instinct of where space around him
Kawhi practically built his offensive game from scratch so he hasnt got that feel around him
He could get better but court vision is not something u can really teach
Michael Eli lol and guys like harden and Lebron just have a gift to make ridiculous pass
@@vinniechan Good thing Kawhi has deep learning artificial intelligence. He'll figure it out.
Kawhi seems to be one of the only Raptors who keeps the pressure from getting to him. The others are generally so much worse at shooting in the playoffs. I've seen Kawhi use moves like spins to give him time to regain control of the ball when someone tries to steal.
Practice is the key
it helps that his first team was the spurs.
Man as a Raps fan you hit the nail on the head, so many of the guys like Lowry (sometimes), Norm, FVV, and Anunoby (last year) just fall apart in the post season and it's baffling. I get that some of these guys are young but it's insane how different they are in the playoffs.
He has a ring, the same one he got from being the MVP of the championship team. I think him learned to cope with the pressure after his missed free throws in the 2013 NBA Finals.
kyle lowry is also shooting better in the playoffs than the regular season.
Spurs fans been saying for years he plays Just Like Jordan everyone laughed at us now people won't shut up about the Jordan comparison...lol
Sweet James Jones II this is true
Great analysis. Kawhi over the season has become one of my favorite players. I’ve also noticed he has the best body control in the whole league. I may just be biased towards kawhi, but I think the amazing control over his body and just his overall basketball IQ helps him be such a great player.
And his ice vein playoff mode, he just can't play bad he is a consistent force he drops 30+ no matter how many double or triple teams they send, no matter what team or court he is doing damage and showing the gap between a NBA player and a superstar, he has the second highest playoff win rate of current players only behind draymond green
The part about his lack of vision is why he was so incredible with the Spurs. In Pops System everyone know where everyone else will be 5s in advance so it is easier to locate every player.
"In game that's defined by verticality, Kawhi excels by staying locked to the floor." Brilliant point.
I was at a game and he found an open man purely from knowing the defensive scheme the defense were playing. Showed how much he studies the game
You can't be perfect offensively and defensively you got to conserve your energy.
Yet if it's LeBron, the world goes crazy
AHEM LEBRON JAMES
Silent KILLER!!! He always lets his GAME speak for ITSELF...Gotta Love It!!!!!
I don't know why i couldn't find this video, this is great
You're the Binging with Babish of the NBA
Wow! He's awesome. My next video is actually going to be on my 4-cheese macaroni recipe.
Love the fresh content man bought your book loving it so far!!
That strength you talk about is the most visually striking thing about his game to me. Sometimes, based on defenders' positioning, it looks like the play is dead and they're going to have to kick out. And he somehow manages to get to his spots anyway, without having to back the guy down for 3-4 dribbles.
Amazing content. One of the best channels on TH-cam! Love it!
This is by far the best Hoops analysis on TH-cam, heck, I'd say it's the best Hoops channel on TH-cam period. Can't wait for the deep dive on the finals!
Spot on. I find myself murmuring to myself when Kawhi has the ball... "don't turn it over, don't turn it over". His late passing kills me, because he is otherwise a super player. Something he can improve.. I hope he sees this.
Just rewatched this video and its great. Still
Your videos are really awesome. I like hearing actual numeric evidence for your assertions!
This awesome, you’re the man! Absolutely love Kawhi’s game. There’s something about his personality and mentality that just makes him feel like a legend even if his skills might seems like they lag a bit behind that status. His game just screams extreme competence and confidence.
Love how you point out things that even MVP level players can improve on 👍
Ever since Kawhi was with the Spurs I’ve been saying this man plays like Jordan. With how the Spurs organization stray away from media attention no one listened. As a huge fan, I’m glad everyone finally recognizes how great he is.
dhsilv2 I’m talking since 2013.
can't beat this analysis. Thank you for your great explanation.
Great video. Kawhi's defense of Lebron in 2014 is one of the best I've ever seen in my lifetime.
Love the in-depth analysis, gained a subscriber!
Hey Ben the content is really amazing. A number of channels on youtube, will list and read off the names of their patrons at the end of their videos. Entirely anecdotally, these channels seem to maintain a really strong presence on patreon relative to the size of their channels. Just something to consider as I really enjoy the content and hope that you keep producing such high quality analysis.
Do a video on the Warriors without KD vs with KD and the differences in the offense
That'll be a boring and repetitive video.....no offens3
Warriors with KD = KD being the first scoring option, ISO ball. Warriors without KD = Curry being the first scoring option, Ball movement, Rotation, steph running around looking for space to catch and shoot.
I'm a huge Raptors fan and a witness to what Kawhi has done for them this season, but you have made an amazing analysis of him and his offensive and defensive tendencies. I do agree that even with the astounding numbers he is putting up in the playoffs (as proof that he is capitalizing on his offensive capabilities), he does often stay in his own island and be a little slow at times in help D. As with Giannis being surrounded with shooters in the Bucks, I do think the Raptors have done a good job covering Kawhi's defensive weakness by having him be a primary on-ball defender while the team handles most of the help defense.
Very nice analysis video!
Wow, that was a very scientific approach to analyzing basketball. I had never thought about the advantage u mentioned about having a low trajectory shot. I had always thought that Jordan's shot was great despite the low angle. That tidbit blew my mind, makes me wanna lower my own shooting trajectory. thx
idk why but i thought this vid was taken down!
It was copyrighted but not anymore.
This content is really great. Thanks for breaking down the players.
Subscribed! Really enjoyed your analysis. Thanks a lot!
Very nice analysis, i never thought as kawhi having flaws on playmaking as i always look for his scoring ability like jumpshot and defense. Nice one
Kahwi got tripled team by sixers alot this playoffs, court of vision gets too low, but yea i guess that what he lacks, but to see him defending alot of centers, like jokic that have the ability to play point guard on the paint, kawhi def is still effective.
These videos are a fascinating insight into each player you cover. Would you ever consider doing retro profiles for former players?
We're gonna need that AD analysis
detailed analysis. good work. I subscribed your channel.
Shout out to Dom2k for sending me here. Great analysis. Subbed 👍
YEAH NEW VIDDDDDD
Thanks as always for insightful analysis!!
Man I love your videos!
Great video on such a unique player
This may be the best video I've seem on leonard, if not the best analysis.
Easily the most informative basketball TH-camr available.
it's back
Finally someone with the matrix that substantiate the talking. Subbed
U killed this🙌🏼🙌🏼
Do profiles about: Lebron, Durant, Steph Curry, James Harden
Love your channel man, keep making these👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻‼️
you’re videos are 🔥🔥🔥. especially withy he dramatic instrumental lol.
Great stuff. I’d love to see a comparison between Kawhi and Draymond Green, or just a Draymond breakdown, because my sense is that he plays defense in almost the opposite way. Especially in the playoffs, I see Dray’s motor running super high, his timing, verticality on defense and anticipation as other worldly, while I’d guess his steal rate is much lower than Kawhi’s. Additionally, Draymond feels like the literal antithesis of Kawhi on offense, as his playmaking is some of the best I’ve ever seen but he has 0 isolation game.
Thank you for detailing why kawhi's passing needs to improve; your in-depth video is probably the only one that details his passing flaws; all others tend to just concentrate on his midrange scoring and defense. He's still a fantastic player, but his passing definitely needs work.
Great analysis! subscribed
Hey Ben I'm a massive fan of Bill Russell and I'm always looking for more reasons to help convey my argument (for him over Wilt mainly and your article comes in quite handy), is there any way you could tell me who's got a higher backpicks BPM, Bill or Wilt? I not a patreon so it's understandable if you don't want to share (I did buy your book tho so maybe you can tell me for that) but again it's fine
Subscribed, great analysis.
Good video. Subbed
keep up the dope work man
midrange is still king in the playoffs
Uh, no
@matt hirschhorn well players like kawhi and kd can always force a midrange at decent volume,paint/3 are more efficient but in the playoffs you cant always create them that easily,the midrange is like a cruch for your offense.
he said, one day after watching the raps get smoked for the second time on dunks and threes
@matt hirschhorn In the playoffs yes it is. As much as I love analytics, the Rockets (team is designed around analytics) lost to the Warriors. The Warriors don't take as much 3's as people think. You need players that can effectively score in the mid range, most superstars have a dominant mid range game.
matt hirschhorn r/woosh
Great insights on Kawhi's passing ability as an area of improvement
Appreciate the insight!
One thing when you're analysing Shooting techniques - It's becoming increasingly apparent that being "square to the basket" is actually NOT good 3pt shooting technique. Turning your body (feet, hips and shoulders) away from the ring, towards the non-shooting hand, aligns your shooting-side shoulder, hip and shooting arm/hand to the basket, reducing the strain, and increasing accuracy consistency.
I have heard others refer to this turned alignment as "squaring yourself to the basket", which I think is unhelpful, and can be confusing.
Would you consider doing some videos on past legends over the off season. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Wilt and Russell (although, I know a lack of statistics could make that more difficult for you), Bird and Magic, Pippen, Olajuwon, and Duncan especially.
Great video. I have a concern. I feel you have to stay consistent with what you’re saying about his defense. Similar to what you stated about Lebron’s defense in your analysis about people’s criticism on his defensive effort. Kawhi will let certain players by similar to what Lebron does because they can afford to let it go
John Wick of Basketball..
Subscribed... well done
Really good analysis.
Another great video! I'm interested in a follow-up comparing Kawhi with James Worthy. Their build, strength, hand/glove size, movement and style--of-play, statue-of-liberty dunks, seem so similar to me, even though Worthy didn't shoot 3s (nor was it emphasized at his time). I don't know if see enough connections that you'd be interested in producing a video on it? Thank you.
Great in depth analysis! Who would you consider to be the game's best player at the moment?
this channel is amazing
Guy is a beast, is offensive repertory is getting better and better
Beautiful breakdown
This channel is going to be great! Keep up the good work!
4:25 this play...
Is when the bucks regretted playing his laugh
You should do Paul George next
Hi C hell yeah
Hey thinking basketball, I really like your logical analysis’s based on data. However, in some cases such as these, advanced stats do not take into account a player’s effort level or mentality. Although I do agree with a majority of your video on Kawhi, I have a feel he’s holding back or not giving it his all because he’s not not committed to the raptors long term and this is just a test run for him.
Check my comment about Kawhi explains everything my man
yep not everything can be measured by metrics or the so called "analytics", but it does give a bit of an overall outlook. about holding back, nah i don't think so, he does give his all when he plays even in this raptors squad, this team wouldn't have gone to ecf if not for him mostly carrying raptors choking players :s. would love to see him more on a team that will give him more help, hopefully next season.
@@metalsadman that was what he said for the regular season not the playoffs my friend check the date in the playoffs he's going 100% I know.
Great video! I think people who only watched kawhi play at some games during the playoffs are missing some things, I don’t agree with most of you in terms of his playmaking ability, he definitely is better than you think, during regular season he created a lot more, penetrating and kicking out, he has playmaking ability, not at the same level as lebron etc, but he is better that you think. At this playoffs it was a whole different story, all his teammates struggled a lot,missing a lot of open shots, and lost confidence, this got to a point were him started playing more iso, I think a lot of you who didn’t watch him during regular season are missing this part of the story
He never averaged more than 3.5 apg, his career high in assists is 8 despite playing with good teammates his entire career
and even watching him, you can see that he's not a good passer at all
He miss a lot of open 3 points shooters, cut, is bad finding the roller in pick n roll
Kawhi adds something to his game every season. 2015 was the 3 point, 2016 was the post offense and this season he add the dribbling. i'm sure he will work on his playmaking skills.
The old thumbnails were better. Very good channel, love use of analyticals
Fantastic video..
your channel is excellent
That Danny Green pass as 5:45 tho! 👌
That music never gets old.
Can you compare Michael jordan vs kawhi leonard analysis? Media kept mentioning he is closest to MJ.
"The Art of the Steal" 😂
You should make a video on who you think is the most improved player
Best basketball channel
Good video! Big fan of kawhi hoping he comes back stronger and primed for another finals run. He's the closest thing to jordan since kobe. Just doesn't have the endurance to do it for 82. Which is a shame
Who is in your opinion the best player in the league and who has been the best in the playoffs
Thank you!
This stuff is very interesting... I really wonder if kawhi things about working on his passing game
I am trying to find a site that breaks down a defenders effectiveness vs certain players. The advanced nba stats has a players Defended Field Goal %, but is there anywhere that would show me Hardens’s percentage when guarded by Loony?
Solid analysis but with Kawhi defence your better off comparing how it is in the playoffs and how it was during the 2015-16 season where he won DPOY or even the 2014-2015 season , and the 2016-2017 season. For the 2018-2019 season he stated himself that the regular season is practice for him so you know first hand he's not going 100% on the offence end and the defence end if you watch him in the playoffs there's a significantly difference. stated here th-cam.com/video/-HDqZo2frQ0/w-d-xo.html 2:40 just encase no one wants to check the video this is Kawhi exact words '' That's what happens in the NBA there's 82 games and for me these are just practice and playoffs is when it's time to lace em up.'' With Coach Popovich I don't think he had the luxury of not trying as hard as he is t on the defence end compared to the spurs which makes it seem like Kawhi is a better defender on the Spurs which is clearly not the case he just hasn't tried hard enough . Defense metrics are not accurate in measures individual and team defence for example defence metrics tell us In the playoffs, Charlie Ward is top 15 in Defence rating over Kevin Garnett, Greg Ostertag and Anderson Varejao are top 25 in it ahead of Dwight Howard, Kawhi Leonard, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem, Tony Allen, Mutombo, and more. DPBM is another irrelevant stat. In the playoffs, according to DBPM, Marcus Camby and Greg Ostertag are top 3 defenders of all time over Hakeem, David Robinson, Mutombo, Dwight Howard, Garrett, Duncan and many more players that they are not close to defensively. We know that's not true as Hakeem is arguably the greatest defender of all time
As more proof of how useless these stats are for evaluating defense, Ron Artest never was top 10 in DBPM or Drtg in any of his seasons in the league, and only once was he top 10 in Dwin shares at 7th in 2003/04 during his DPOY season. Ron artest is considered a really good defender in his era but according to metrics he isn't except during his 2003/04 season so metrics isn't to be trusted at all.
ThatBlackSamurai Uchiha oof big facts mannnm
ThatBlackSamurai Uchiha he didn’t use DBPM or DRtg as examples, and in the stats he did use he clearly said he didn’t feel as if those graded Kawhi fairly because there are things they don’t account for.
DBPM and Def Rating are not great stats for evaluating defense. You'd be better using on/off court numbers, ESPN D-RPM, or D-PIPM
@@airgordo4 I'm talking about in general my friend people use this to rate someone defence when it's not accurate at all Kawhi defence rating wasn't even in top 10 this year and there was a poll on which NBA players voted on who's the hardest defender and it was Kawhi by an signficant margin clutchpoints.com/raptors-news-nba-players-see-kawhi-leonard-best-defender/. To make matters worse he wasn't even going 100% yet NBA Players still find him the hardest defender although this could be from throughout the years he has faced them.
I would not use DBPM or "individual" DRTG for deep analysis, especially on a perimeter player.
Superb Analysis.. However, numbers doesnt always define how valuable player in the team.. Energy and being inspiration to other team mates cant be put in any stats.. He's weak MVP level, but they are going to NBA Finals.. He got this thing that's contageous.
amazing channel
Can you please do all time greats like Kobe and LeBron? I'm curious what unobvious analysis you have about them
Kawhi should watch this. Awesome analysis.
Seconded .... Kawhi should absolutely watch this , we all can develop and get better at whatever we do in life and an honest analysis can take someone from being great at what they do to being legendary , if Kawhi is the perfectionist type he'd watch this over and over and over again and tried to develop every "weakness" of his game .... I'm a Raptors fan and Kawhi has been absolutely amazing for us, he's even started assisting a lot as of late but the minute you believe that you've finished developing is the minute you should hang your jersey (or whatever symbolizes your retirement from whatever it is you do) .... maybe it's just me but I think we all can learn a thing or two from other people honestly analyzing our actions.
well his playmaking was elite against the bucks
Great eye my guy
2;34 "...like a rag doll."
*I'm not sure WHY that line is so fuqn hilarious to me.* 🤣😂🤣