Here's a great analysis on what players had the best output against the top defenses in the NBA for 2010-2011. I decided to post it here as an outlet for starting some basketball related conversation outside of the frivolous posting on the main board from killa kadafi and supreme extremist.
Neil Payne is a GA Tech and regularly blogs on basketball-reference.com. Here it is:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=9816
Who Ruled the Top Defenses in 2011?
Which players excel against the best defenses, and which ones get their numbers by feasting on the weakest Ds?
To answer those questions, here's the latest installment of a series I started in 2009 and continued in 2010... The concept is simple: I rate each team defensively using the BBR Rankings formula (including regular-season and playoff games), then track how well each player performed offensively against opponents of varying defensive quality.
Here were the final defensive rankings for 2011:
Rk Team Poss Def Rk Team Poss Def
1 BOS 8169.1 -6.28 16 ATL 8296.1 0.19
2 CHI 8787.5 -6.17 17 CHA 7335.1 1.08
3 ORL 7990.2 -4.66 18 SAC 7826.2 1.26
4 MIL 7355.0 -4.50 19 LAC 7612.1 1.28
5 MIA 9237.3 -3.05 20 HOU 7754.0 1.64
6 DAL 9268.4 -2.86 21 UTA 7481.6 2.78
7 MEM 8765.0 -2.69 22 PHO 7810.7 2.97
8 LAL 8312.7 -2.62 23 NJN 7427.8 3.13
9 SAS 8115.5 -1.97 24 MIN 7904.3 3.23
10 NOH 7770.3 -1.89 25 GSW 7778.0 3.23
11 PHI 7972.7 -1.52 26 WAS 7734.9 3.26
12 IND 8201.9 -0.82 27 NYK 8182.7 3.50
13 DEN 8274.6 -0.35 28 CLE 7618.2 4.69
14 OKC 9257.5 -0.35 29 DET 7329.6 5.15
15 POR 7696.3 -0.22 30 TOR 7603.2 6.04
First, let's look at the players who played the best -- and worst -- on offense (according to bopOSPM, a.k.a. Offensive Basketball-on-Paper Statistical Plus/Minus) vs. better-than-average defenses (average being 0.00 on the list above):
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
1 Derrick Rose 1809.5 1126.9 1235.8 109.7 33.8 0.505 6.42
2 Dirk Nowitzki 1985.5 1018.2 1194.7 117.3 28.0 0.539 6.24
3 Deron Williams 1283.9 677.3 774.7 114.4 28.1 0.518 5.84
4 LeBron James 2327.1 1271.3 1446.9 113.8 29.9 0.533 5.69
5 Kevin Durant 2195.9 1187.9 1368.7 115.2 28.5 0.521 5.64
6 Kevin Martin 1388.1 757.0 866.6 114.5 28.2 0.498 5.50
7 Chris Paul 1647.3 736.5 873.5 118.6 24.7 0.541 5.04
8 Russell Westbrook 2024.0 1317.3 1410.0 107.0 34.4 0.503 4.74
9 Kevin Love 1425.0 638.1 763.6 119.7 22.6 0.551 4.52
10 Carmelo Anthony 1615.2 957.7 1045.2 109.1 30.6 0.501 4.45
11 Kobe Bryant 1716.8 1054.6 1114.1 105.6 33.4 0.490 4.17
12 Dwyane Wade 2172.1 1251.6 1351.9 108.0 31.5 0.515 4.16
13 LaMarcus Aldridge 1927.2 839.7 963.3 114.7 24.5 0.559 4.06
14 Dwight Howard 1391.6 705.9 802.8 113.7 27.1 0.574 3.95
15 Zach Randolph 1829.0 881.2 991.8 112.6 25.9 0.550 3.90
16 Pau Gasol 1803.9 721.8 858.4 118.9 21.8 0.577 3.76
17 Monta Ellis 1646.2 893.3 954.0 106.8 27.9 0.482 3.62
18 Chauncey Billups 1317.8 586.7 671.0 114.4 23.1 0.488 3.44
19 Manu Ginobili 1370.4 708.9 781.8 110.3 27.3 0.480 3.35
20 Steve Nash 1356.3 652.6 720.4 110.4 24.9 0.497 3.33
...
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
245 Jason Maxiell 537.4 138.0 129.6 93.9 13.9 0.473 -3.79
246 Steve Blake 906.7 170.2 167.9 98.7 10.2 0.404 -3.83
247 Taj Gibson 1000.7 294.4 284.1 96.5 15.9 0.474 -3.96
248 Yi Jianlian 546.8 163.2 152.9 93.7 15.3 0.462 -4.06
249 Marcus Camby 941.0 205.2 208.8 101.7 12.3 0.493 -4.20
250 Gilbert Arenas 813.8 406.2 353.3 87.0 26.7 0.381 -4.29
251 Ben Wallace 588.2 101.3 98.7 97.5 9.3 0.477 -4.39
252 Ekpe Udoh 537.9 135.0 129.2 95.7 12.9 0.461 -4.45
253 Paul George 725.2 222.1 199.2 89.7 15.8 0.401 -4.47
254 Donte Greene 638.7 221.9 196.3 88.4 17.8 0.393 -4.48
255 Omer Asik 545.2 128.8 118.4 91.9 12.8 0.462 -4.50
256 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 596.1 174.2 167.9 96.4 16.0 0.471 -4.51
257 Jason Smith 564.2 169.1 152.7 90.3 16.3 0.436 -4.55
258 Darko Milicic 886.7 345.0 298.3 86.5 19.8 0.428 -4.74
259 Mike Miller 657.8 161.6 152.0 94.0 13.4 0.392 -4.86
260 Stephen Graham 528.9 118.3 99.2 83.9 12.2 0.400 -4.93
261 Kendrick Perkins 823.3 189.6 172.5 91.0 12.4 0.443 -5.00
262 Al-Farouq Aminu 750.3 247.4 213.6 86.4 17.2 0.389 -5.31
263 Eric Bledsoe 947.9 362.7 304.1 83.8 20.0 0.389 -5.39
264 Jonny Flynn 552.0 205.6 163.7 79.6 19.0 0.360 -6.25
Next, let's look at the best and worst players vs. below-average defenses:
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
1 Steve Nash 1140.6 576.2 736.5 127.8 25.8 0.570 8.71
2 Dwyane Wade 1479.7 870.9 1060.9 121.8 30.9 0.580 8.13
3 Kobe Bryant 1416.2 933.1 1069.6 114.6 34.5 0.530 7.74
4 LeBron James 1657.5 1032.7 1210.3 117.2 32.9 0.555 7.54
5 Derrick Rose 1865.9 1134.4 1288.9 113.6 32.7 0.519 7.25
6 Kevin Love 1185.6 569.7 724.6 127.2 23.8 0.577 6.65
7 Kevin Martin 1214.5 659.3 780.2 118.4 27.5 0.516 6.23
8 Chris Paul 1483.2 627.9 799.3 127.3 22.8 0.587 6.13
9 Kevin Durant 1563.9 865.7 1008.1 116.4 28.6 0.525 6.11
10 Chauncey Billups 1026.9 481.0 595.1 123.7 23.3 0.521 5.74
11 Amare Stoudemire 1367.2 824.5 937.3 113.7 30.4 0.545 5.58
12 Tony Parker 1296.1 664.1 776.9 117.0 26.5 0.556 5.52
13 Rodney Stuckey 1083.7 529.2 620.5 117.2 26.3 0.549 5.49
14 Eric Gordon 1066.6 537.1 621.6 115.7 26.4 0.517 5.42
15 Manu Ginobili 1229.5 598.9 722.0 120.5 25.2 0.527 5.30
16 Pau Gasol 1591.2 674.1 839.1 124.5 22.1 0.598 5.27
17 Russell Westbrook 1461.7 929.5 1028.3 110.6 33.0 0.525 5.27
18 Dirk Nowitzki 1344.4 670.2 781.4 116.6 26.0 0.538 5.17
19 Deron Williams 1181.0 625.9 706.5 112.9 28.1 0.511 5.08
20 Blake Griffin 1477.8 800.1 913.1 114.1 28.1 0.562 5.04
...
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
229 Zaza Pachulia 527.5 148.5 155.8 104.9 15.3 0.505 -2.61
230 Ronnie Brewer 1047.1 270.8 289.0 106.7 13.9 0.515 -2.71
231 Omer Asik 592.3 148.3 156.5 105.5 13.5 0.532 -2.74
232 Mickael Pietrus 607.6 177.4 176.2 99.3 15.5 0.391 -2.81
233 Carlos Arroyo 696.9 180.4 182.5 101.2 13.6 0.452 -3.04
234 Spencer Hawes 916.7 342.4 333.0 97.3 19.6 0.476 -3.14
235 Travis Outlaw 1201.6 363.8 341.6 93.9 16.2 0.419 -3.15
236 Thabo Sefolosha 1108.0 218.9 235.8 107.7 10.2 0.503 -3.20
237 Darko Milicic 799.6 326.2 307.3 94.2 20.2 0.461 -3.23
238 Al-Farouq Aminu 701.5 224.5 217.3 96.8 16.7 0.431 -3.30
239 Dante Cunningham 824.0 228.0 229.1 100.5 15.0 0.494 -3.30
240 Corey Brewer 751.6 267.2 256.7 96.0 17.7 0.451 -3.38
241 Vladimir Radmanovic 553.8 163.1 167.8 102.9 14.8 0.425 -3.45
242 Andris Biedrins 726.9 168.6 181.7 107.8 11.8 0.525 -3.46
243 Steve Blake 820.0 204.2 199.3 97.6 13.0 0.395 -3.52
244 Marcus Camby 766.3 198.3 208.0 104.9 14.0 0.501 -3.55
245 Ben Wallace 650.0 129.5 140.3 108.3 10.8 0.522 -3.59
246 Kurt Thomas 721.8 134.4 141.5 105.3 10.0 0.510 -3.60
247 Yi Jianlian 565.1 202.8 190.7 94.0 18.4 0.459 -3.64
248 C.J. Watson 639.9 264.6 251.0 94.8 22.3 0.422 -3.89
Finally, here are the players (minimum 520 minutes vs. both types of defense) who had the biggest disparities between their OSPM against above- and below-average Ds:
Vs. Above-Average Defenses Vs. Below-Average Defenses
Rk Player MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM Diff
1 Jared Dudley 1164.1 120.4 16.8 1.80 975.6 111.0 16.1 -0.33 2.14
2 Tony Allen 1131.5 107.8 20.2 -0.55 712.7 102.6 18.5 -2.51 1.96
3 Ryan Anderson 674.4 122.6 18.9 2.69 897.4 117.0 18.1 0.96 1.73
4 Vladimir Radmanovic 615.4 110.2 14.5 -1.74 553.8 102.9 14.8 -3.45 1.71
5 Jose Calderon 1047.0 114.5 19.3 1.82 1055.1 107.0 19.9 0.32 1.51
6 C.J. Watson 587.2 98.9 22.5 -2.46 639.9 94.8 22.3 -3.89 1.43
7 Zaza Pachulia 911.1 112.0 15.1 -1.24 527.5 104.9 15.3 -2.61 1.37
8 Ron Artest 1443.0 108.6 15.2 -1.25 1253.5 99.3 15.5 -2.58 1.33
9 Matt Bonner 896.3 128.4 11.5 0.24 657.9 112.7 13.8 -1.03 1.28
10 Tyson Chandler 1707.6 139.3 12.3 1.85 1030.7 120.5 16.0 0.67 1.18
11 Beno Udrih 1410.4 121.7 16.6 2.60 1323.2 114.5 18.0 1.46 1.14
12 Randy Foye 786.5 102.9 19.9 -0.15 764.8 100.8 19.6 -1.28 1.13
13 J.J. Redick 771.2 115.8 15.7 0.74 861.8 108.7 16.8 -0.35 1.09
14 Dirk Nowitzki 1985.5 117.3 28.0 6.24 1344.4 116.6 26.0 5.17 1.07
15 Kenyon Martin 766.5 107.8 17.5 -1.02 614.8 102.7 16.8 -2.02 1.00
16 Ronnie Brewer 994.8 113.9 13.1 -1.73 1047.1 106.7 13.9 -2.71 0.98
17 Emeka Okafor 1345.0 112.2 15.5 -0.62 1129.4 105.7 16.6 -1.59 0.97
18 Corey Brewer 781.8 98.9 18.5 -2.46 751.6 96.0 17.7 -3.38 0.92
19 Monta Ellis 1646.2 106.8 27.9 3.62 1580.5 106.5 27.8 2.77 0.85
20 Tayshaun Prince 1307.5 109.7 20.2 1.65 1254.1 105.9 20.8 0.86 0.78
...
Rk Player MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM Diff
220 Taj Gibson 1000.7 96.5 15.9 -3.96 1025.3 113.0 17.2 -0.57 -3.39
221 Eric Bledsoe 947.9 83.8 20.0 -5.39 892.7 101.4 19.0 -1.98 -3.40
222 Andre Iguodala 1315.9 100.4 20.6 -0.71 1334.7 116.1 20.2 2.74 -3.45
223 Amare Stoudemire 1636.4 103.3 29.7 2.10 1367.2 113.7 30.4 5.58 -3.47
224 Carlos Delfino 616.6 89.1 17.3 -3.66 973.9 110.7 16.9 -0.18 -3.48
225 Paul George 725.2 89.7 15.8 -4.47 672.5 109.6 17.8 -0.97 -3.50
226 Kobe Bryant 1716.8 105.6 33.4 4.17 1416.2 114.6 34.5 7.74 -3.57
227 Chase Budinger 879.2 98.9 18.2 -2.36 858.3 115.4 19.4 1.36 -3.72
228 Hakim Warrick 806.3 107.0 18.5 -0.58 609.2 118.3 22.7 3.17 -3.74
229 Shannon Brown 894.3 94.3 20.6 -3.66 840.0 110.0 20.5 0.21 -3.86
230 Brandon Jennings 1014.2 92.0 25.3 -1.69 1154.5 107.4 25.7 2.22 -3.90
231 Dwyane Wade 2172.1 108.0 31.5 4.16 1479.7 121.8 30.9 8.13 -3.97
232 D.J. Augustin 1393.6 103.6 21.8 0.86 1363.5 120.6 22.3 4.83 -3.97
233 Joe Johnson 1731.2 98.4 25.2 0.08 1319.8 111.9 26.5 4.18 -4.10
234 Jerryd Bayless 843.1 96.9 23.3 -1.60 651.4 115.9 22.7 2.92 -4.52
235 Josh Smith 1659.1 93.3 25.9 -2.65 1423.7 111.3 24.0 1.93 -4.58
236 Jameer Nelson 1152.3 98.0 23.5 -0.95 1383.0 117.8 23.0 3.95 -4.90
237 Steve Nash 1356.3 110.4 24.9 3.33 1140.6 127.8 25.8 8.71 -5.38
238 Antawn Jamison 1037.7 94.5 24.6 -1.72 804.6 114.3 23.9 3.69 -5.42
239 Charlie Villanueva 843.2 93.7 21.8 -3.00 822.5 120.0 20.1 2.52 -5.51
For obvious reasons, most players will naturally play at a lower efficiency/SPM against above-average defenses than below-average ones. When I started this series in 2009, though, I found that Kobe Bryant was more resistant to these effects than most players, including LeBron James (and recall that James' 2009 was one of the greatest statistical seasons in NBA history).
That was then... and this is now. 2011 marks the second straight season that Kobe has done far more statistical damage against bad defensive teams than good ones. Just like last year, Kobe was nearly the league's best offensive performer vs. sub-par defenses but ranked outside the top 10 vs. good Ds. (By comparison, James ranked 1st vs. each type of defense last year, and 4th vs. both types this season.) Steve Nash and Dwyane Wade showed even bigger splits than Kobe in 2011, although for Wade it's at least not part of a larger trend -- in 2009 he was more resilient vs. top defenses than both Bryant and James, and he ranked 2nd vs. each type in 2010.
On the other hand, kudos go out to James, Derrick Rose, who ranked in the top 5 vs. each type of defense (including #1 vs. above-average Ds), and Dirk Nowitzki, who actually ranked higher vs. above-average defenses (#2) than below-average ones (#18). And last but not least, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Devin Harris, & Ramon Sessions deserve a mention for playing at an equally high level vs. each type of defense.
Neil Payne is a GA Tech and regularly blogs on basketball-reference.com. Here it is:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=9816
Who Ruled the Top Defenses in 2011?
Which players excel against the best defenses, and which ones get their numbers by feasting on the weakest Ds?
To answer those questions, here's the latest installment of a series I started in 2009 and continued in 2010... The concept is simple: I rate each team defensively using the BBR Rankings formula (including regular-season and playoff games), then track how well each player performed offensively against opponents of varying defensive quality.
Here were the final defensive rankings for 2011:
Rk Team Poss Def Rk Team Poss Def
1 BOS 8169.1 -6.28 16 ATL 8296.1 0.19
2 CHI 8787.5 -6.17 17 CHA 7335.1 1.08
3 ORL 7990.2 -4.66 18 SAC 7826.2 1.26
4 MIL 7355.0 -4.50 19 LAC 7612.1 1.28
5 MIA 9237.3 -3.05 20 HOU 7754.0 1.64
6 DAL 9268.4 -2.86 21 UTA 7481.6 2.78
7 MEM 8765.0 -2.69 22 PHO 7810.7 2.97
8 LAL 8312.7 -2.62 23 NJN 7427.8 3.13
9 SAS 8115.5 -1.97 24 MIN 7904.3 3.23
10 NOH 7770.3 -1.89 25 GSW 7778.0 3.23
11 PHI 7972.7 -1.52 26 WAS 7734.9 3.26
12 IND 8201.9 -0.82 27 NYK 8182.7 3.50
13 DEN 8274.6 -0.35 28 CLE 7618.2 4.69
14 OKC 9257.5 -0.35 29 DET 7329.6 5.15
15 POR 7696.3 -0.22 30 TOR 7603.2 6.04
First, let's look at the players who played the best -- and worst -- on offense (according to bopOSPM, a.k.a. Offensive Basketball-on-Paper Statistical Plus/Minus) vs. better-than-average defenses (average being 0.00 on the list above):
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
1 Derrick Rose 1809.5 1126.9 1235.8 109.7 33.8 0.505 6.42
2 Dirk Nowitzki 1985.5 1018.2 1194.7 117.3 28.0 0.539 6.24
3 Deron Williams 1283.9 677.3 774.7 114.4 28.1 0.518 5.84
4 LeBron James 2327.1 1271.3 1446.9 113.8 29.9 0.533 5.69
5 Kevin Durant 2195.9 1187.9 1368.7 115.2 28.5 0.521 5.64
6 Kevin Martin 1388.1 757.0 866.6 114.5 28.2 0.498 5.50
7 Chris Paul 1647.3 736.5 873.5 118.6 24.7 0.541 5.04
8 Russell Westbrook 2024.0 1317.3 1410.0 107.0 34.4 0.503 4.74
9 Kevin Love 1425.0 638.1 763.6 119.7 22.6 0.551 4.52
10 Carmelo Anthony 1615.2 957.7 1045.2 109.1 30.6 0.501 4.45
11 Kobe Bryant 1716.8 1054.6 1114.1 105.6 33.4 0.490 4.17
12 Dwyane Wade 2172.1 1251.6 1351.9 108.0 31.5 0.515 4.16
13 LaMarcus Aldridge 1927.2 839.7 963.3 114.7 24.5 0.559 4.06
14 Dwight Howard 1391.6 705.9 802.8 113.7 27.1 0.574 3.95
15 Zach Randolph 1829.0 881.2 991.8 112.6 25.9 0.550 3.90
16 Pau Gasol 1803.9 721.8 858.4 118.9 21.8 0.577 3.76
17 Monta Ellis 1646.2 893.3 954.0 106.8 27.9 0.482 3.62
18 Chauncey Billups 1317.8 586.7 671.0 114.4 23.1 0.488 3.44
19 Manu Ginobili 1370.4 708.9 781.8 110.3 27.3 0.480 3.35
20 Steve Nash 1356.3 652.6 720.4 110.4 24.9 0.497 3.33
...
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
245 Jason Maxiell 537.4 138.0 129.6 93.9 13.9 0.473 -3.79
246 Steve Blake 906.7 170.2 167.9 98.7 10.2 0.404 -3.83
247 Taj Gibson 1000.7 294.4 284.1 96.5 15.9 0.474 -3.96
248 Yi Jianlian 546.8 163.2 152.9 93.7 15.3 0.462 -4.06
249 Marcus Camby 941.0 205.2 208.8 101.7 12.3 0.493 -4.20
250 Gilbert Arenas 813.8 406.2 353.3 87.0 26.7 0.381 -4.29
251 Ben Wallace 588.2 101.3 98.7 97.5 9.3 0.477 -4.39
252 Ekpe Udoh 537.9 135.0 129.2 95.7 12.9 0.461 -4.45
253 Paul George 725.2 222.1 199.2 89.7 15.8 0.401 -4.47
254 Donte Greene 638.7 221.9 196.3 88.4 17.8 0.393 -4.48
255 Omer Asik 545.2 128.8 118.4 91.9 12.8 0.462 -4.50
256 Zydrunas Ilgauskas 596.1 174.2 167.9 96.4 16.0 0.471 -4.51
257 Jason Smith 564.2 169.1 152.7 90.3 16.3 0.436 -4.55
258 Darko Milicic 886.7 345.0 298.3 86.5 19.8 0.428 -4.74
259 Mike Miller 657.8 161.6 152.0 94.0 13.4 0.392 -4.86
260 Stephen Graham 528.9 118.3 99.2 83.9 12.2 0.400 -4.93
261 Kendrick Perkins 823.3 189.6 172.5 91.0 12.4 0.443 -5.00
262 Al-Farouq Aminu 750.3 247.4 213.6 86.4 17.2 0.389 -5.31
263 Eric Bledsoe 947.9 362.7 304.1 83.8 20.0 0.389 -5.39
264 Jonny Flynn 552.0 205.6 163.7 79.6 19.0 0.360 -6.25
Next, let's look at the best and worst players vs. below-average defenses:
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
1 Steve Nash 1140.6 576.2 736.5 127.8 25.8 0.570 8.71
2 Dwyane Wade 1479.7 870.9 1060.9 121.8 30.9 0.580 8.13
3 Kobe Bryant 1416.2 933.1 1069.6 114.6 34.5 0.530 7.74
4 LeBron James 1657.5 1032.7 1210.3 117.2 32.9 0.555 7.54
5 Derrick Rose 1865.9 1134.4 1288.9 113.6 32.7 0.519 7.25
6 Kevin Love 1185.6 569.7 724.6 127.2 23.8 0.577 6.65
7 Kevin Martin 1214.5 659.3 780.2 118.4 27.5 0.516 6.23
8 Chris Paul 1483.2 627.9 799.3 127.3 22.8 0.587 6.13
9 Kevin Durant 1563.9 865.7 1008.1 116.4 28.6 0.525 6.11
10 Chauncey Billups 1026.9 481.0 595.1 123.7 23.3 0.521 5.74
11 Amare Stoudemire 1367.2 824.5 937.3 113.7 30.4 0.545 5.58
12 Tony Parker 1296.1 664.1 776.9 117.0 26.5 0.556 5.52
13 Rodney Stuckey 1083.7 529.2 620.5 117.2 26.3 0.549 5.49
14 Eric Gordon 1066.6 537.1 621.6 115.7 26.4 0.517 5.42
15 Manu Ginobili 1229.5 598.9 722.0 120.5 25.2 0.527 5.30
16 Pau Gasol 1591.2 674.1 839.1 124.5 22.1 0.598 5.27
17 Russell Westbrook 1461.7 929.5 1028.3 110.6 33.0 0.525 5.27
18 Dirk Nowitzki 1344.4 670.2 781.4 116.6 26.0 0.538 5.17
19 Deron Williams 1181.0 625.9 706.5 112.9 28.1 0.511 5.08
20 Blake Griffin 1477.8 800.1 913.1 114.1 28.1 0.562 5.04
...
Rk Player (min 520 MP) MP Poss PProd ORtg %Pos Floor% bopOSPM
229 Zaza Pachulia 527.5 148.5 155.8 104.9 15.3 0.505 -2.61
230 Ronnie Brewer 1047.1 270.8 289.0 106.7 13.9 0.515 -2.71
231 Omer Asik 592.3 148.3 156.5 105.5 13.5 0.532 -2.74
232 Mickael Pietrus 607.6 177.4 176.2 99.3 15.5 0.391 -2.81
233 Carlos Arroyo 696.9 180.4 182.5 101.2 13.6 0.452 -3.04
234 Spencer Hawes 916.7 342.4 333.0 97.3 19.6 0.476 -3.14
235 Travis Outlaw 1201.6 363.8 341.6 93.9 16.2 0.419 -3.15
236 Thabo Sefolosha 1108.0 218.9 235.8 107.7 10.2 0.503 -3.20
237 Darko Milicic 799.6 326.2 307.3 94.2 20.2 0.461 -3.23
238 Al-Farouq Aminu 701.5 224.5 217.3 96.8 16.7 0.431 -3.30
239 Dante Cunningham 824.0 228.0 229.1 100.5 15.0 0.494 -3.30
240 Corey Brewer 751.6 267.2 256.7 96.0 17.7 0.451 -3.38
241 Vladimir Radmanovic 553.8 163.1 167.8 102.9 14.8 0.425 -3.45
242 Andris Biedrins 726.9 168.6 181.7 107.8 11.8 0.525 -3.46
243 Steve Blake 820.0 204.2 199.3 97.6 13.0 0.395 -3.52
244 Marcus Camby 766.3 198.3 208.0 104.9 14.0 0.501 -3.55
245 Ben Wallace 650.0 129.5 140.3 108.3 10.8 0.522 -3.59
246 Kurt Thomas 721.8 134.4 141.5 105.3 10.0 0.510 -3.60
247 Yi Jianlian 565.1 202.8 190.7 94.0 18.4 0.459 -3.64
248 C.J. Watson 639.9 264.6 251.0 94.8 22.3 0.422 -3.89
Finally, here are the players (minimum 520 minutes vs. both types of defense) who had the biggest disparities between their OSPM against above- and below-average Ds:
Vs. Above-Average Defenses Vs. Below-Average Defenses
Rk Player MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM Diff
1 Jared Dudley 1164.1 120.4 16.8 1.80 975.6 111.0 16.1 -0.33 2.14
2 Tony Allen 1131.5 107.8 20.2 -0.55 712.7 102.6 18.5 -2.51 1.96
3 Ryan Anderson 674.4 122.6 18.9 2.69 897.4 117.0 18.1 0.96 1.73
4 Vladimir Radmanovic 615.4 110.2 14.5 -1.74 553.8 102.9 14.8 -3.45 1.71
5 Jose Calderon 1047.0 114.5 19.3 1.82 1055.1 107.0 19.9 0.32 1.51
6 C.J. Watson 587.2 98.9 22.5 -2.46 639.9 94.8 22.3 -3.89 1.43
7 Zaza Pachulia 911.1 112.0 15.1 -1.24 527.5 104.9 15.3 -2.61 1.37
8 Ron Artest 1443.0 108.6 15.2 -1.25 1253.5 99.3 15.5 -2.58 1.33
9 Matt Bonner 896.3 128.4 11.5 0.24 657.9 112.7 13.8 -1.03 1.28
10 Tyson Chandler 1707.6 139.3 12.3 1.85 1030.7 120.5 16.0 0.67 1.18
11 Beno Udrih 1410.4 121.7 16.6 2.60 1323.2 114.5 18.0 1.46 1.14
12 Randy Foye 786.5 102.9 19.9 -0.15 764.8 100.8 19.6 -1.28 1.13
13 J.J. Redick 771.2 115.8 15.7 0.74 861.8 108.7 16.8 -0.35 1.09
14 Dirk Nowitzki 1985.5 117.3 28.0 6.24 1344.4 116.6 26.0 5.17 1.07
15 Kenyon Martin 766.5 107.8 17.5 -1.02 614.8 102.7 16.8 -2.02 1.00
16 Ronnie Brewer 994.8 113.9 13.1 -1.73 1047.1 106.7 13.9 -2.71 0.98
17 Emeka Okafor 1345.0 112.2 15.5 -0.62 1129.4 105.7 16.6 -1.59 0.97
18 Corey Brewer 781.8 98.9 18.5 -2.46 751.6 96.0 17.7 -3.38 0.92
19 Monta Ellis 1646.2 106.8 27.9 3.62 1580.5 106.5 27.8 2.77 0.85
20 Tayshaun Prince 1307.5 109.7 20.2 1.65 1254.1 105.9 20.8 0.86 0.78
...
Rk Player MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM MP ORtg %Pos bopOSPM Diff
220 Taj Gibson 1000.7 96.5 15.9 -3.96 1025.3 113.0 17.2 -0.57 -3.39
221 Eric Bledsoe 947.9 83.8 20.0 -5.39 892.7 101.4 19.0 -1.98 -3.40
222 Andre Iguodala 1315.9 100.4 20.6 -0.71 1334.7 116.1 20.2 2.74 -3.45
223 Amare Stoudemire 1636.4 103.3 29.7 2.10 1367.2 113.7 30.4 5.58 -3.47
224 Carlos Delfino 616.6 89.1 17.3 -3.66 973.9 110.7 16.9 -0.18 -3.48
225 Paul George 725.2 89.7 15.8 -4.47 672.5 109.6 17.8 -0.97 -3.50
226 Kobe Bryant 1716.8 105.6 33.4 4.17 1416.2 114.6 34.5 7.74 -3.57
227 Chase Budinger 879.2 98.9 18.2 -2.36 858.3 115.4 19.4 1.36 -3.72
228 Hakim Warrick 806.3 107.0 18.5 -0.58 609.2 118.3 22.7 3.17 -3.74
229 Shannon Brown 894.3 94.3 20.6 -3.66 840.0 110.0 20.5 0.21 -3.86
230 Brandon Jennings 1014.2 92.0 25.3 -1.69 1154.5 107.4 25.7 2.22 -3.90
231 Dwyane Wade 2172.1 108.0 31.5 4.16 1479.7 121.8 30.9 8.13 -3.97
232 D.J. Augustin 1393.6 103.6 21.8 0.86 1363.5 120.6 22.3 4.83 -3.97
233 Joe Johnson 1731.2 98.4 25.2 0.08 1319.8 111.9 26.5 4.18 -4.10
234 Jerryd Bayless 843.1 96.9 23.3 -1.60 651.4 115.9 22.7 2.92 -4.52
235 Josh Smith 1659.1 93.3 25.9 -2.65 1423.7 111.3 24.0 1.93 -4.58
236 Jameer Nelson 1152.3 98.0 23.5 -0.95 1383.0 117.8 23.0 3.95 -4.90
237 Steve Nash 1356.3 110.4 24.9 3.33 1140.6 127.8 25.8 8.71 -5.38
238 Antawn Jamison 1037.7 94.5 24.6 -1.72 804.6 114.3 23.9 3.69 -5.42
239 Charlie Villanueva 843.2 93.7 21.8 -3.00 822.5 120.0 20.1 2.52 -5.51
For obvious reasons, most players will naturally play at a lower efficiency/SPM against above-average defenses than below-average ones. When I started this series in 2009, though, I found that Kobe Bryant was more resistant to these effects than most players, including LeBron James (and recall that James' 2009 was one of the greatest statistical seasons in NBA history).
That was then... and this is now. 2011 marks the second straight season that Kobe has done far more statistical damage against bad defensive teams than good ones. Just like last year, Kobe was nearly the league's best offensive performer vs. sub-par defenses but ranked outside the top 10 vs. good Ds. (By comparison, James ranked 1st vs. each type of defense last year, and 4th vs. both types this season.) Steve Nash and Dwyane Wade showed even bigger splits than Kobe in 2011, although for Wade it's at least not part of a larger trend -- in 2009 he was more resilient vs. top defenses than both Bryant and James, and he ranked 2nd vs. each type in 2010.
On the other hand, kudos go out to James, Derrick Rose, who ranked in the top 5 vs. each type of defense (including #1 vs. above-average Ds), and Dirk Nowitzki, who actually ranked higher vs. above-average defenses (#2) than below-average ones (#18). And last but not least, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, Devin Harris, & Ramon Sessions deserve a mention for playing at an equally high level vs. each type of defense.