Wrapping Up the Season: Drives, Individual Defense, and Crunch Time
What decisions did the Spurs make while driving? An analysis of some individual defensive statistics and the Spurs' performance in crunch time this season.
Continuing with the " Wrapping up the Season " series, let’s examine individual player databases to evaluate what San Antonio Spurs players did while driving the ball, various defensive metrics, and their performance in crunch time.
Here are previous pieces reflecting on the Spurs’ season coming to a close:
On Drives
Here’s what Spurs rotation players did when driving the ball this season. The players are listed by total drives from left to right.
Now, here are the specific numbers on those drives.
The Spurs’ four key drivers were De’Aaron Fox (13.4 drives per game), Stephon Castle (9.4 DPG), Devin Vassell (7.3 DPG), and Keldon Johnson (6.2 DPG).
While Fox’s data presented is only for his time with the Spurs (17 games), it’s interesting that he and Castle almost made similar decisions when they drove the ball:
Fox: 42.5% field goal attempt rate, 10.5% free throw attempt rate, 36.8% pass rate, 7.9% turnover rate
Castle: 42.9% field goal attempt rate, 10.4% free throw attempt rate, 36.7% pass rate, 7.4% turnover rate
This will be interesting going into next season. Whether Fox and Castle start together in the backcourt or Castle comes off the bench, the Spurs will constantly have two attack-first guards who can get to the free throw line at a high rate while also being able to set up teammates.
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