re: General NBA Links

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Enter Asik. Even sulking through much of the season following the well-chronicled failure of the Asik-Dwight Howard twin towers experiment, Asik was one of the very best paint defenders in the league in 2013-14, “saving” the 8th most points per minute of the 80 big men playing 20+ MPG. Asik was only slightly more effective at forcing misses when he contested shots (47.7% shooting allowed as compared to the 48.9% allowed by Davis), but he was much more studious at being in position to challenge shots, with a contest%7 of 51.3%8 against Davis’ 29.9%9.

With the rim area better covered, Davis will now be free to use his mobility and length to get hands in passing lanes and block shots from impossible distances, while New Orleans’s guards might improve their own defense a bit knowing that if they do get beat, there will be an effective second line of defense. Of course, there will be a trade off. Asik is an very limited offensive player: a poor (though improved) free throw shooter, with zero range and poor hands. However, the Pelicans had no trouble scoring last season, they just couldn’t stop anyone. If points ever do become an issue, they can always revert back to the Holiday/Evans/Davis/Anderson “bomb squad” lineups which scored a silly 127 pts./100 possessions in limited time last season10. The ability to deploy a credible defensive lineup (as well as the health of key players after the blight of injuries last year) will be an important part of New Orleans attempt to reach the Western Conference playoffs.

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