Insider Request: Top 10 most effective floor-spacers

[navy]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12097042/steph-curry-leads-2014-15-respect-rating-ranks-nba

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Top 10 most effective floor-spacers
Steph Curry, Kyle Korver lead 2014-15's respect rating ranks

By Tom Haberstroh (http://search.espn.go.com/tom-haberstroh/) | ESPN Insider

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2014/0427/nba_g_stepcts_576x324.jpg

Steph Curry leads the NBA in advanced metrics this season.

Stephen Curry is sitting on top of the NBA world these days.

The Splash Brother's squad has the best record in the NBA. Curry owns the top real plus-minus in the NBA. And now, in our first 2014-15 update on the respect rating, Curry remains the king of gravity.

Back in October, we took a close look at the concept of gravity and the players who have the most gravitational pull on the basketball court. What do we mean by gravity? Check out Kevin Pelton's helpful FAQ (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11744634/explaining-gravity-basketball) and a ranking of the NBA's top floor-spacers using STATS LLC's SportVU player-tracking data.

Looking at last season's data, Curry topped the list in my respect rating, which quantifies a player's gravitational pull by using SportVU's proprietary gravity score and distraction score -- two fancy STATS LLC metrics provided to ESPN Insider.

To recap, gravity score measures how closely a player's defender sticks to him off the ball. Higher gravity scores generally belong to bigs because their primary defender must stay close and also protect the basket. On the other hand, guards typically have lower gravity scores simply because defenders have more liberty to shade off their guy on the perimeter. But elite shooters typically generate more attention off the ball.

Then there's distraction score, which quantifies how much a player's defender is willing to help off the ball to stop the ball handler. The worse he is as a shooter, the more likely his defender will be distracted by the ball handler. To identify the most effective floor-spacers in the NBA, I created a composite score that combines the two metrics. The result is what I've called "respect rating," which has now been translated to a 1-to-100 scale with 100 being the most magnetic (think sharpshooters) and 1 being least magnetic (think non-scoring bigs).

And now, as we turn the calendar to 2015, we find that teams are still gluing themselves to Curry like no other. Who else has otherworldly floor-spacing ability? Here are the top 10 in respect rating for the 2014-15 season.


1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors | Respect rating: 97.9
Gravity score: 97.3 | Distraction score: 98.4
Last season rank: 1st

Glance at a team's scouting report on Curry and the headline probably reads something like, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT LEAVING THIS GUY OPEN OR YOU'LL GET CUT." His homing-missile jumper and lightning-quick release make defenses glue themselves to Curry when he's playing off the ball, which might explain why he's shooting a career-low 38.5 percent from downtown. Granted, that's still a strong conversion percentage, but the amazing thing is that he's shooting better on 3s off the dribble (40.7 percent) than off the pass (36.8 percent). Judging by how defenses guard him, no one has more respect than this guy.

2. Kyle Korver, Atlanta Hawks | Respect rating: 96.0
Gravity score: 92.3 | Distraction score: 99.7
Last season rank: 2nd

Once again, Korver holds the most gravity in the NBA outside the "Wardell Stephen Curry III" division. Defenses key on Korver with good reason. For the second consecutive season, he leads the NBA in 3-point percentage with a ridiculous conversion rate of 51.5 percent. Standing at 6-foot-7, Korver enjoys a height advantage over his typical defender at the 2, which allows him to shoot a high percentage despite the defender's stickiness. Still, through the litany of off-ball screens, Korver still manages to break free every once in a while, and he's making defenses pay. Korver is shooting 53 percent on 3s when he's given at least five feet of room, according to SportVU data. Curry? Just 41.4 percent. An open Korver 3-pointer is basically a point-blank layup.

3. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors | Respect rating: 94.4
Gravity score: 89.6 | Distraction score: 99.1
Last season rank: 8th

Nothing boosts a player's rep quite like a max contract. Thompson ranked eighth in respect rating last season, but he's jumped all the way to No. 3 in this edition after signing a contract extension worth about $70 million over the summer. Thompson is walking the walk with a scorching 3-point percentage of 43.1 percent. With two sharpshooters in the fold, it's fair to assume that the Warriors cause the most sleepless nights among NBA coaches. The attention paid to Thompson and Curry helps explain why Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Marreese Speights are enjoying career years in 2014-15.

4. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies | Respect rating: 87.5
Gravity score: 79.3 | Distraction score: 95.7
Last season rank: 12th

Conley hasn't been named to an All-Star team yet, but that doesn't mean he lacks the respect of his peers. As one of the few Grizzlies boasting a reliable 3-point shot, defenses have keyed in on Conley off the ball more than they did last season. Nonetheless, Conley is shooting a career-high 41.7 percent from deep and leads the Grizzlies in 3-point makes. Defenses beware: Conley shoots "just" 33.3 percent on 3s off Marc Gasol's passes and 46 percent on passes from all others. For a guy who shot 30 percent from deep in college, Conley has blossomed into one of the NBA's most respected point guards.

5. Gordon Hayward, Utah Jazz | Respect rating: 84.0
Gravity score: 72.1 | Distraction score: 95.9
Last season rank: 24th

Here is another example of the max contract bump. Hayward barely shot 30 percent from beyond the arc last season, but defenses aren't sleeping on him. Since re-upping with Utah for big bucks, Hayward has responded by shooting a solid 37.9 percent from deep and frequenting the free throw line more than ever. It's safe to say that Hayward's gravity is boosted by the fact that he often shares the court with two non-shooting bigs who occupy the paint (Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter) and two ball handlers who struggle to score in the paint (Alec Burks and Trey Burke). Defenders aren't being convinced they need to shade off of Hayward to stop the ball handler.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

6. James Harden, Houston Rockets | Respect rating: 83.3
Gravity score: 67.2 | Distraction score: 99.3
Last season rank: 5th

Harden got off to a rough start to the season. He shot just 27.4 percent from downtown over the first 11 games, but the Beard still carried a ton of magnetic pull off the ball, especially on his (lesser) teammate drives as evidenced by his 99.3 distraction score. Like Curry, Harden has been more deadly on pull-ups (35.4 percent shooting from deep) than as a spot-up weapon on catch-and-shoots (32.8 percent). After a slow start, Harden's 3-point shooting has picked up recently now that Patrick Beverley and Dwight Howard have returned to the lineup. But to the surprise of no one, Josh Smith has registered a below-average respect rating this season (48.2), so don't expect defenses to suddenly forget about Harden with the addition.

7. J.R. Smith, New York Knicks | Respect rating: 83.0
Gravity score: 89.0 | Distraction score: 76.9
Last season rank: 118th

Small-sample-size theater? Might be. Smith barely made the 500-minute cut, having played just 528 minutes this season thanks to a nasty case of plantar fasciitis. Smith hasn't caught fire from deep this season, shooting just 32.4 percent from there, which may be a product of defenses paying more attention to him. Smith is the only perimeter player on the roster other than Carmelo Anthony who has a track record of creating his own shot, so this ranking may be a reflection of the Knicks' roster rather than Smith. Let's see if this holds as Smith labors through his worst season yet.

8. Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles Clippers | Respect rating: 81.6
Gravity score: 67.9 | Distraction score: 95.2
Last season rank: 14th

Crawford has uncharacteristically missed 16 of his 17 heaves beyond 28 feet, which means the fantasy 4-pointer crown is rightfully Damian Lillard's this season. Crawford has cracked the top 10 after finishing just outside that elite circle last season. Interestingly enough, Crawford is the only Clipper guard to rank in the top 50; Chris Paul (65.0 respect rating) and J.J. Redick (58.4) have both struggled to create space this season. Paul and Redick finished in the top 20 with Crawford last season, but neither has maintained that kind of gravity thus far. Perhaps Blake Griffin's emphasis on the perimeter has mucked up the Clippers' spacing.

9. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs | Respect rating: 81.4
Gravity score: 65.4 | Distraction score: 97.3
Last season: 7th

With Patty Mills and Tony Parker missing time this season, Ginobili has been the Spurs' gravity anchor. The 37-year-old has still got it. Now that Ray Allen is working on his golf swing, Ginobili represents the most senior member of the top 10. Ginobili has really struggled to finish at the rim this season, but his perimeter game remains strong. Even though Parker has shot lights-out from downtown (62.1 percent), defenses aren't fazed; Parker ranks 110th in respect rating. After getting drafted in 1999, Ginobili still keeps the defense on its toes.

10. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat | Respect rating: 79.7
Gravity score: 82.2 | Distraction score: 77.1
Last season rank: 21st

The most fascinating name of all. I took a deep dive into Wade's curious gravitational (http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11743150/nba-examining-why-defenders-play-close-dwyane-wade-3-point-line) before the season, noting that he was the only non-3-point shooter anywhere near the top of the list. And despite Wade playing without LeBron James' passing abilities, defenses have paid more attention to him off the ball than they did last season, which is a bit of a surprise. Playing without James and (often) Chris Bosh has made Wade even more important for opposing defenses, which makes his 51.2 percent shooting percentage that much more impressive. Wade has already eclipsed last season's made 3-pointer total (nine), but he's nowhere near as good of a 3-point shooter as the other names on this list. Defenses aren't sleeping on Wade and neither should you.

Dropped out of the top 10: Kevin Martin -- minutes (4th); Ray Allen -- inactive; Kevin Durant -- minutes (22nd); Jodie Meeks -- minutes (15th); Damian Lillard (11th).

Notables: Kobe Bryant (13th); Derrick Rose (14th); Carmelo Anthony (31st); Russell Westbrook (39th); Chris Paul (45th); Dirk Nowitzki (47th); LaMarcus Aldridge (72nd); LeBron James (73rd); Tony Parker (77th); Chris Bosh (86th); Kyrie Irving (97th); Lance Stephenson (99th); Anthony Davis (114th); Monta Ellis (168th); Kevin Love (177th); Rajon Rondo (182nd); Tony Allen (188th); Chandler Parsons (211st); Elfrid Payton (223rd).

[ImKobe]

bran 73rd

http://imageshack.us/a/img856/5246/brontyra2.gif

[oarabbus]

Surprised to see Conley on that list. Really did not expect him to be up there, especially over guys like Westbrook.

[navy]

Surprised to see Conley on that list. Really did not expect him to be up there, especially over guys like Westbrook.
:biggums:

Do you know what this list is?

[Heavincent]

Am I the only one who thinks the Insider thing is a giant ripoff? Do people really pay for this shit?

Steph Curry and Kyle Korver being great floor spacers isn't insider info. Shit, I could have told you that for free.

[oarabbus]

:biggums:

Do you know what this list is?


Yes, it's a gravity/respect list, and Westbrook is nearly as dangerous as Wade if you let him run around freely.

[navy]

Yes, it's a gravity/respect list, and Westbrook is nearly as dangerous as Wade if you let him run around freely.
He's not. Outside of Wade, these are knockdown shooters.

[aj1987]

Wade! :applause: :bowdown: