Hustle Stats

Scouting reports backed by data. Underrated players, inventive plays, and the little things that win basketball games.

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@PabloTorre @pablofindsout

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Some of the most disruptive defenders of the past 3 seasons. Measuring deflections per 100 possessions and forced turnovers relative to league average, or rFTOV (Databallr).

Thybulle stands out as one of the most disruptive defenders in the NBA. Several others appear here each of their last 3 seasons (Scottie Pippen Jr., Alex Caruso, Dru Smith, Paul Reed).

What else stands out here?

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

@The_BBall_Index Offensive Lab tool does a good job visualizing the complications that come with building "Super Teams."

Of the 76ers' potential top 6 in minutes played next year, all 6 provide the most impact as Shot Creators. Most will have to take on new roles next year, which potentially diminishes their overall impact.

At the very least, it will take some creativity and trial and error early on by Nick Nurse and his staff to design lineup and role fits.

Who would you put in what role?

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

@ihatecgi_ @Universe2Andy @DaddyDoenz You might want to check Sengun and Bam’s shooting numbers before you call them stretch 5s. My point is you can’t hone in on one weakness and call a player unplayable in today’s NBA. Jokic, Luka, Brunson are all pretty bad defenders and some of the most impactful to winning

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

@ihatecgi_ @Universe2Andy @DaddyDoenz There are like 5 starting Centers who could reasonably be considered stretch bigs and if the Hawks want to start Jock Landale to “cook” Shaq on pick and pops I promise you Shaq isn’t the one getting played off the court in that matchup.

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@ptcspraptor @ShamsCharania Good catch. I missed that. I still like it for Charlotte overall but, yea it doesn’t have the same weight financially as I believed initially

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

Make that 10 .. Buddy Hield numbers from 3-pt using the same stats:
3PA / 100 Poss: 13.2
3PT Rate: .68
3P%: 37.3%
3PT Value Added: +2.4

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

Charlotte Hornets coach Charles Lee was an assistant for the Boston Celtics when they set the 3rd-highest mark in NBA history for 3-point makes in a season.

With the additions the Hornets made this off-season, they now have 9 real 3-point threats that could be in the rotation (the graphic below is based on NBA stats only and doesn't include rookie Christian Anderson who averaged 40% from 3 on 11.4 3PA/100 in his two college seasons).

They could be a real contender for the NBA record in team 3-point makes this season.

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

@Purpl3andGold @Justinpinnix https://t.co/u7R0t3lYh9 and https://t.co/Y5XwZ4eDI3 also do this. Lot of great stuff for basketball analysis has been made available to the public the past few years, it’s cool to see!

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

@Universe2Andy @DaddyDoenz It’s called drop coverage and a LOT of NBA teams run it today. Very few teams in today’s NBA have a Center who is switching pick and rolls or helping high on a screen.

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@JakeLFischer Hornets sure do have a type don’t they? Haha they could likely set the NBA record for 3PAs this year

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@BullsShowYo @Ballislife It’s because they read and wrote for 30 minutes each day.

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@Ballislife Seattle legend

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Fan of Possession Maxxing? Then you already know of Moussa Diabaté. He led the NBA in PVAL (a combined metric of Turnover and Rebounding value on both ends) at a +4.1 per @databallr. +3.0 of that came from oREB alone.

Offensive rebounding is so much about positioning and effort both of which are evident when you watch Diabaté work.

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

@databallr 1. Jamal Murray
2. Pascal Siakam
3. Jaylen Brown

I have to agree with Caruso at 4! From this class he has all of the top 4 RAPM seasons (2022, 2023, 2025, 2026).

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

I was doing some research on elite rim defenders who also had low foul rates, 11 players matched my critera. Each posted 2+ Rim Pits Saved per 100 possessions AND a foul rate below 10% (@databallr)

10 of the 11 were Centers... expected.

The 11th? 5'7" Yuki Kawamura. 😂

Still can't figure out why. Anyone have a theory?

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

The Lakers had two of the most efficient shooters in the "spacer" archetype (40%+ of shot volume from spot-ups, off-screens, or hand-offs) on the roster last season. Neither got the shot attempts to match, even when compared to others in the same archetype.

Luke Kennard led all qualified spacers in the NBA in Spacing rTS at +17.7% above average — but ranked just in the 40th percentile in Spacing TSA, the volume side of the equation (@databallr ).

Rui Hachimura wasn't far off, posting the 2nd highest Spacing rTS marks in the sample while also sitting below the league-average TSA line.

I found this especially odd since the Lakers are coached by a guy who had a 15-year career as an elite spacer.

Zoom out to the full league plot and volume barely tracks efficiency at all (r = 0.147, Databallr). Elite spacing efficiency at low usage isn't rare — it's just underused.

Both are gone from LA this offseason. Kennard signed with Phoenix, Hachimura crossed town to the Clippers.

Was that low usage a fit issue, or does role size actually cap how sustainable that efficiency is?

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

It makes sense why the Knicks pivoted to Andre Drummond after losing Robinson, as he replaces some of that O-Rebounding value, but in nearly every other impact metric he is worse than Robinson:

[Hustle Stats @HustleStatsBall]

Mitchell Robinson's departure isn't getting enough attention for the impact it could have on the Knicks next season.

He posted +3.5 net pts/100 possessions last season, with +2.1 of that coming from O-Rebounding alone — 2nd among rotation players (ESPN Analytics).

The Knicks ranked 6th in team Net Points added from O-Rebounding last season, and they'll now have to find other ways to generate those extra possessions.