is averaging 23.7 ppg over his last three contests, clearing his listed point total each time. One player who’s been hard to critique since Morant took his leave is Jaren Jackson Jr., whose player props appear to be offering some value to optimistic bettors. But oddsmakers have quickly caught on, and there’s little value to be had in his NBA player props on Saturday night. Tyus Jones has done a solid job replacing Morant’s production at point guard, authoring two double-doubles. In the three games without him so far, we’ve seen some inconsistent efforts from the likes of Grizzlies regular starters Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks. Mavericks vs Grizzlies picks and predictionsįilling the shoes of Ja Morant on the court is no small feat. Who will step up for these shorthanded squads on Saturday night? Find out in our free NBA picks and predictions for Mavericks vs Grizzlies on Saturday, March 11. The Grizzlies are 1-2 without him so far, picking up their first win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, 131-110. Ja Morant will once again be missing for Memphis in the aftermath of his gun video scandal. Kyrie Irving is also considered questionable for this one after missing Friday’s practice for undisclosed personal reasons, less than 48 hours after he went on a rant against NBA fans and the media on Twitch. 500 mark against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, and Luka Doncic won’t be there to save their bacon.ĭoncic is out for this evening tilt at FedExForum with a left thigh injury. But let the record show that not only was Tim Duncan better than Kevin Garnett, but is probably the best power forward ever.The Dallas Mavericks are in danger of falling down to the. His legacy as a tremendous player and unbelievably intense competitor will be remembered for decades to come. Nothing about this column is to even imply or insinuate that Kevin Garnett didn’t have an all-time great career, because he did. Duncan’s playoff scoring, rebounding, blocks and PER are all better than his regular season numbers, while Garnett saw an improvement in only scoring and rebounding. Stats like that prove how Duncan was one of the best power forwards to ever live. Only Derek Fisher, of all people, has played in more career playoff games than Duncan and only LeBron James and Michael Jordan have more career postseason win shares. This isn’t a tell-all stat like defensive rating or defensive win shares, but still provides another interesting look at why Duncan was the better defender.Īnd the final chart illustrating the separation between these two greats is their playoff performances. Duncan’s? His 106.34 is second all-time behind Bill Russell, whose career mark (133.64) may never be eclipsed.ĭBPM, or defensive box plus-minus ( explained here) is “a box score-based metric for evaluating basketball players’ quality and contribution to the team.” Not surprisingly, Garnett’s DBPM ranks 18th all-time - an excellent ranking - but not as good as Duncan’s seventh-best 4.02 mark. Garnett’s defensive win share total is elite seventh all-time at 91.5. At some point after it was apparent that Garnett’s Timberwolves career was over and that he was going to retire, ESPN’s Zach Lowe tweeted this about KG’s defense: Speaking of the league’s all-time hierarchy, there was talk over the weekend about where Garnett’s defense stacks up historically. While Garnett had a minuscule 109.97 to 109.7 advantage in offensive rating, according to Basketball-Reference, Duncan’s defensive rating far outpaced Garnett’s. Offensive and defensive ratings are basically determined by the number of points scored or allowed while a player is on the floor per 100 possessions. Garnett’s same WS/48 total is 33rd all time. 2091 career win shares per 48 minutes, a mark that’s 13th in NBA history, per Basketball-Reference. And Duncan quietly averaged more than two blocks per game over his career, outpacing Garnett’s still impressive 1.4.ĭespite playing in 70 fewer regular season games in his career, Duncan had exactly 15 more career win shares to go with a. Though KG averaged more assists, Duncan had a narrow edge in points, rebounds, field goal percentage and player efficiency rating. In this chart, Duncan holds nearly every statistical advantage.
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