Why are Anthony Edwards impact metrics so poor relative to his hype?

[MoneyTalks41890]

The second dot is Shai.

Jalen Williams is 20/7/5 with 1.7 steals on 53/42/67 +60 against an actually good perimeter defense these playoffs.

[thinktank]

Playoff games will always be more valued than RS games. It's not a coincidence that the vast, vast majority of players stats drop once the playoffs begin and that the truly elite players actually play better.

The same reason we don't care if a player balled out in NCAA or overseas - is the same reason most of us don't care about RS dominance.

I think Ant is being overrated here but he has definitely proven he can play in the post-season and that's special.

I stand by my Utah Donovan Mitchell comparison, their stats are very similar.

Offensive stats only.

You’re only looking at half the game.

Is Ant an elite defender or is he just good on a team with elite defenders?

Which stats inform your opinion on Ant's defense ? I'm curious because eye-test tells me he's solid man-on-man but not particularly elite anywhere else.

I’m looking at a massive 10.6 BPM in that first round series, for one thing.

But I’ll be honest, I don’t really care about stats.

Just watch him play.

When we talk superstar wings and PGs, who else is a better defender than Ant?

Not Doncic. Not SGA. Not Tatum.

Ant is the best two-way player of these stars, at the minimum.

I’m trusting Ant to shut players down more than any other star, including SGA (who gets a lot of steals but I don’t think is as good a one-on-one shut-down defender as Ant.)

[MoneyTalks41890]

Offensive stats only.

You’re only looking at half the game.

Is Ant an elite defender or is he just good on a team with elite defenders?

Which stats inform your opinion on Ant's defense ? I'm curious because eye-test tells me he's solid man-on-man but not particularly elite anywhere else.

I’m looking at a massive 10.6 BPM in that first round series, for one thing.

But I’ll be honest, I don’t really care about stats.

Just watch him play.

When we talk superstar wings and PGs, who else is a better defender than Ant?

Not Doncic. Not SGA. Not Tatum.

Ant is the best two-way player of these stars, at the minimum.

I’m trusting Ant to shut players down more than any other star, including SGA (who gets a lot of steals but I don’t think is as good a one-on-one shut-down defender as Ant.)

Yeah SGA is definitely a better defender. Stats and eye test. DEPM Shai is 14 in the league, Ant is 59th.

"Just watch him play" is subject to all kinds of subjective calls and fan shading. That's what stats are for.

Ant is bigger, Shai is better.

[Jabroni Lames]

Ant's impact stats have been great in the playoffs.... so far. Probably because the Suns were the best possible matchup for him - zero wing defenders, or any semblence of defense in general.

But I do get what SGASinceOKC is saying. Generally Ant's advanced metrics have been mediocre, at best.... mostly a volume scorer. TWolves winning success is primarily due to them having the #1 rated defense, or else more people would be calling Ant an empty stats guy.

[HumbleRen]

Cause Ant be chilling in the regular season, he's still exploring his game which is the scary part. Clearly he has another gear in the playoffs and is able to tap into that at will.

As for who's the best SG in the league ? I think it's still comfortably SGA. I do expect Ant to be the best SG in the league by the time he's SGA age though.

[Special_Puppy]

Cause Ant be chilling in the regular season, he's still exploring his game which is the scary part. Clearly he has another gear in the playoffs and is able to tap into that at will.

As for who's the best SG in the league ? I think it's still comfortably SGA. I do expect Ant to be the best SG in the league by the time he's SGA age though.

We don't really know if Ant is a playoff riser or dropper. He's only played 14 playoff games his entire career

[Cavsfansince84]

Cause Ant be chilling in the regular season, he's still exploring his game which is the scary part. Clearly he has another gear in the playoffs and is able to tap into that at will.

As for who's the best SG in the league ? I think it's still comfortably SGA. I do expect Ant to be the best SG in the league by the time he's SGA age though.

Including game 2 where he was 3-12 for 15 pts? I mean I am all for saying he has plenty of room to grow and can be a top 3 player some day but one series against the Suns doesn't mean he is now an unstoppable force in the playoffs.

[HumbleRen]

Cause Ant be chilling in the regular season, he's still exploring his game which is the scary part. Clearly he has another gear in the playoffs and is able to tap into that at will.

As for who's the best SG in the league ? I think it's still comfortably SGA. I do expect Ant to be the best SG in the league by the time he's SGA age though.

Including game 2 where he was 3-12 for 15 pts? I mean I am all for saying he has plenty of room to grow and can be a top 3 player some day but one series against the Suns doesn't mean he is now an unstoppable force in the playoffs.

Did I say he was ?

[thinktank]

Is Ant an elite defender or is he just good on a team with elite defenders?

Which stats inform your opinion on Ant's defense ? I'm curious because eye-test tells me he's solid man-on-man but not particularly elite anywhere else.

I’m looking at a massive 10.6 BPM in that first round series, for one thing.

But I’ll be honest, I don’t really care about stats.

Just watch him play.

When we talk superstar wings and PGs, who else is a better defender than Ant?

Not Doncic. Not SGA. Not Tatum.

Ant is the best two-way player of these stars, at the minimum.

I’m trusting Ant to shut players down more than any other star, including SGA (who gets a lot of steals but I don’t think is as good a one-on-one shut-down defender as Ant.)

Yeah SGA is definitely a better defender. Stats and eye test. DEPM Shai is 14 in the league, Ant is 59th.

"Just watch him play" is subject to all kinds of subjective calls and fan shading. That's what stats are for.

Ant is bigger, Shai is better.

I vehemently disagree. Stats never tell the full story. Never. (Because they can never capture context of WHY a stat value is what it is.)

Hope to see OKC in the playoffs.

[Lunartic]

Offensive stats only.

You’re only looking at half the game.

Is Ant an elite defender or is he just good on a team with elite defenders?

Which stats inform your opinion on Ant's defense ? I'm curious because eye-test tells me he's solid man-on-man but not particularly elite anywhere else.

I’m looking at a massive 10.6 BPM in that first round series, for one thing.

But I’ll be honest, I don’t really care about stats.

Just watch him play.

When we talk superstar wings and PGs, who else is a better defender than Ant?

Not Doncic. Not SGA. Not Tatum.

Ant is the best two-way player of these stars, at the minimum.

I’m trusting Ant to shut players down more than any other star, including SGA (who gets a lot of steals but I don’t think is as good a one-on-one shut-down defender as Ant.)

I'm not arguing that Ant isn't better than Donovan, I think he is.

I disagree with the argument that Ant is much better than other players because he's a better defender. Defense is no longer 50% of the game. Majority of teams would draft an offensive superstar over a defensive superstar.

Find me a player that is average offensively and elite defensively that's worthy of a max contract. Gobert? He's considered to be overpaid by many.

SGA is a better player than Ant as is Doncic despite being a lesser defender.

[thinktank]

Is Ant an elite defender or is he just good on a team with elite defenders?

Which stats inform your opinion on Ant's defense ? I'm curious because eye-test tells me he's solid man-on-man but not particularly elite anywhere else.

I’m looking at a massive 10.6 BPM in that first round series, for one thing.

But I’ll be honest, I don’t really care about stats.

Just watch him play.

When we talk superstar wings and PGs, who else is a better defender than Ant?

Not Doncic. Not SGA. Not Tatum.

Ant is the best two-way player of these stars, at the minimum.

I’m trusting Ant to shut players down more than any other star, including SGA (who gets a lot of steals but I don’t think is as good a one-on-one shut-down defender as Ant.)

I'm not arguing that Ant isn't better than Donovan, I think he is.

I disagree with the argument that Ant is much better than other players because he's a better defender. Defense is no longer 50% of the game. Majority of teams would draft an offensive superstar over a defensive superstar.

Find me a player that is average offensively and elite defensively that's worthy of a max contract. Gobert? He's considered to be overpaid by many.

SGA is a better player than Ant as is Doncic despite being a lesser defender.

Normally, I would agree.

However, the game isn’t played in a contextual-less vacuum.

Edwards may get the chance to literally guard SGA, and vice versa, in this, and future, playoffs.

That’s what matters—playoffs.

I love that matchup for Ant.

Hopefully these guys matchup for years to come and we find out some things.

[zimpy27]

The second dot is Shai.

Jalen Williams is 20/7/5 with 1.7 steals on 53/42/67 +60 against an actually good perimeter defense these playoffs.

To be clear, I think Jalen Williams has top 5 in MVP voting potential. I think a lot of people underrate the guy and that might be why they are unhappy with the comp to Edwards.

[Baseline81]

To be clear, I think Jalen Williams has top 5 in MVP voting potential. I think a lot of people underrate the guy and that might be why they are unhappy with the comp to Edwards.

Just think about what you've posted. Are you assuming Williams surpasses SGA? If not, will he be traded?

[OkcSinceSGA]

To be clear, I think Jalen Williams has top 5 in MVP voting potential. I think a lot of people underrate the guy and that might be why they are unhappy with the comp to Edwards.

Just think about what you've posted. Are you assuming Williams surpasses SGA? If not, will he be traded?

How is that possibly what you’re interpreting? SGA is #2 in the most stacked MVP pool in history arguably. Why would Jalen Williams having a top 5 finish in the future mean he has to surpass SGA? Is a team not allowed to have multiple top 10 players?

[zimpy27]

To be clear, I think Jalen Williams has top 5 in MVP voting potential. I think a lot of people underrate the guy and that might be why they are unhappy with the comp to Edwards.

Just think about what you've posted. Are you assuming Williams surpasses SGA? If not, will he be traded?

SGA has MVP potential. SGA probably wins MVP this year if Jokic didn't exist or if Jokic didn't just win a championship and lose out in MVP last season.

[Baseline81]

How is that possibly what you’re interpreting? SGA is #2 in the most stacked MVP pool in history arguably. Why would Jalen Williams having a top 5 finish in the future mean he has to surpass SGA? Is a team not allowed to have multiple top 10 players?

You think Williams can finish top-5 MVP voting while playing second fiddle to SGA?

[zimpy27]

How is that possibly what you’re interpreting? SGA is #2 in the most stacked MVP pool in history arguably. Why would Jalen Williams having a top 5 finish in the future mean he has to surpass SGA? Is a team not allowed to have multiple top 10 players?

You think Williams can finish top-5 MVP voting while playing second fiddle to SGA?

Of course. SGA may not make a 65 game minimum and Jalen wouldn't get bumped down because of those votes.

But I'm using this as a guide for level of player. Not as literal as you suggest because of media interpretation

[Baseline81]

Of course. SGA may not make a 65 game minimum and Jalen wouldn't get bumped down because of those votes.

Davis and LeBron were 1st All NBA in 19-20.

Yeah, I don't buy that for one second. This year, OKC was 2-5 without SGA, according to StatMuse. Williams would have to seriously pick up his game in order for what you're "thinking" to happen.

And I can only laugh when you use Davis and James as example.

[Wolveswin]

Better check his playoff numbers.

And he’s 22!

The guys you mentioned are 5 years older.

This.

What were SGA’s stats at 22?

[bluemj32]

Because basketball is played on the court and not on an Excel spreadsheet.

This

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