Theories on Dragic's low assist totals?

by jburning on Feb 25, 2010 10:59 AM MST

Does anyone have any theories on why Goran Dragic doesn't generate a lot of assists? It's not like he's a ball-hog always looking for his shot. Personally, I find it somewhat disappointing that he rarely gathers more than 2 assists in a game, but I think there are a couple of factors that could be at play:

1. He's mostly playing with the second unit, which is less offensively adept, converting fewer of his passes into actual made baskets. This could explain why, as a starter, he got 10 assists.

2. He's usually playing with another playmaker, such as Grant Hill or Jared Dudley, and as a result, Goran ends up getting more "hockey assists" (aka, "the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the bucket"), because of increased ball movement and less dribble-drive penetration with kick-outs to shooters.

Anyone have any thoughts? While I don't expect Dragic to get 10 assists a night, it would be nice if he accrued 3 or 4 assists regularly in his 20 minutes of play.

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I think you'd be surprised how few assist most starting nba point guards yet

remember that Nash is the exception, not the rule.

Derek Rose averages about 6assists, Jameer Nelson 5, Derek Fisher 2.5, Chauncey Billups only gets 6.1.

As a comparison Ramon Sessions, a guy who like Dragic plays about 20mpg but doesn’t start only gets 3.4, and Dragic has also been playing a lot of minutes at the 2, where he doesn’t need to get assists because Nash is handling the ball.

I wouldn’t worry about Dragic getting assists, the 2nd unit offense runs a lot smoother with Goran at point than when LB used to be the PG, and as he showed against OKC he manages perfectly well ib a starting role.

by DaveJD on Feb 25, 2010 12:29 PM MST reply actions

Oh man i should have read that through

its typo-rific.

by DaveJD on Feb 25, 2010 12:31 PM MST up reply actions

Good points

by jburning on Feb 25, 2010 12:49 PM MST up reply actions

Again, players aren't good because they get great stats...

they often, but not always, get great stats because they are good.

Y’all need to understand the difference. I can’t count the number of times Steve has had a statistically poor game (10 &7), but completely dominated the action on the floor in a blow-out win.

The win.. that’s all that matters, and the only question should be whether a given player gives us a better chance to win while he’s on the floor. So far, this season, both Frosty and Sideshow have shown that they do.

"True glory consists of doing what deserves to be written, and writing what deserves to be read".

by Pliny the Elder on Feb 25, 2010 6:38 PM MST up reply actions

+1

by Fritzy on Feb 26, 2010 1:02 PM MST up reply actions

should look at assist per 40 minutes or assist rate as a better indicator of a point guards passing prowess...

i think the fact he doesn’t have a ton of assists is because he plays off the ball alot and is a backup plus turns the ball over a smidge too much

by Superelkman on Feb 26, 2010 8:14 AM MST up reply actions

Derek Fisher is like on the court only for leadership and an occasional three...

Everytime someone beats down Nash aboud his D, I think of how much worse it could be…

"I especially liked the part where I dunked on the McDonalds All-American dude..."

Anonymous high-school player after a Virginia basketball state championship game...

by Daryl Ray on Feb 26, 2010 2:41 PM MST up reply actions

Fisher has Kobe and Artest to help guard the perimeter and he's not the face of the franchise

by magenta on Feb 27, 2010 10:15 AM MST up reply actions

I think...

That Dragic thinks that he has to prove himself, he’s gonna shoot not pass.

"What I've achieved now is something that I always figured I would as a kid. I've had that type of determination since I was a youngster playing around the playgrounds, getting dirty after school." - Amare Stoudemire

by Suns R Us on Feb 25, 2010 1:18 PM MST reply actions

I think...

That as long as we keep winning, it doesn’t matter how many assists Dragic has.

He showed us that, in a big game, against a young, fairly good defensive (and offensive) PG, he can put up the assists numbers.

For now, I want him to continue being the bench player he is. I don’t think it matters if he gets 3-4 assists per 20 minutes right now. Eventually (if he is to become the heir to Nash), I would like to see his assists go up to around 7-8 per game, but for now…he is what he is, and we’re winning.

Bright Side of the Sun, for all things Phoenix Suns. Twitter: @iamtrevorpaxton

by Trevor Paxton on Feb 25, 2010 2:46 PM MST reply actions

Floor Time

is probably the main factor off the top of my head. Dragic isn’t playing a whole lot (17.8 mpg). It’s difficult to expect Dragic to play 15-20 mts and bring in 8-10 assists. Dragic shows 6.5 assists per 48 minutes which isn’t bad for a non starter.

Another thought is he’s usually playing with second unit guys who are known more for their defense than offense. If you put Dragic in the starting lineup, there’s no doubt he’d pick up more assists with guys like Stat to dish to.

Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx

by Wil Cantrell on Feb 26, 2010 8:01 AM MST up reply actions

his 6.5 assists per 48 minutes ranks 38th among qualified players according to ESPN. i dont watch a whole lot of other teams play, but when you look at the players above him, only eric maynor stands out to me as someone who doesn’t consistently play with starting caliber players.

Banzai!

by Suns' Sensei on Feb 26, 2010 9:20 AM MST up reply actions

he is a little more of a scoring PG in general but that would definitely come up once he is playing with the starters and in the PG spot all game

by Superelkman on Feb 26, 2010 10:16 AM MST up reply actions

That's what I was going to say

He’s not Nash. He’s a bit more orient towards attacking the rim and his mid and long range shooting have improved FAST..

He clearly has the vision and ability to deliver the ball but right now he’s more of a play making guard versus a floor general distributor.

Mostly though, I think playing with Lou a lot is always going to hurt your assist numbers. He’ll be fine but he will never be Nash. DaveJD’s point above is great as well….guys getting over 10 assists per game is rare.

Hell, there are only 6 guys averaging over 8 assists per game (one of them is LeBron btw…)

There’s no reason to think that as a starting PG Goran wouldn’t be at least average. I don’t know that he has the potential to be an above average starter in the league. We’ll see. Ask me next year.

Blogging Suns Basketball . twitter: @sethpo

by Seth Pollack on Feb 26, 2010 2:35 PM MST up reply actions

Lou's hands aren't terrible (Always think in terms of Kwame Brown)...

But I think that some of the guys that are on the court with him, Clark,. Lou & Robin are not polished offensive players…Give him Amare, JRich, Frye and Hill consistently and his numbers do go up quite a bit…He is capable of averaging 10 a game, especially in an uptempo system like ours…

"I especially liked the part where I dunked on the McDonalds All-American dude..."

Anonymous high-school player after a Virginia basketball state championship game...

by Daryl Ray on Feb 26, 2010 2:43 PM MST up reply actions

Amare's

Hands have been downright awful at times this season…Not so much now but at the start of the season…

He is capable of averaging 10 a game, especially in an uptempo system like ours…

And that’s exactly what he did against OKC as a starter.

Blogging Suns Basketball. Twitter: @willcantrellphx

by Wil Cantrell on Feb 26, 2010 3:38 PM MST up reply actions

Well Dragic read this article apparently.

10 assists in 20 minutes as the backup PG … pretty stellar. Only 2 turnovers this time, too!

by jburning on Feb 26, 2010 9:56 PM MST reply actions

Dragic

What I see:

1. I think Dragic looks for his own shot more often then does Nash. He has a lot of surprising athletic ability (speed, hops) which he can and does use to his advantage.

2. Dragic does not see the floor as well as Nash. This does not suggest that he cannot pass, because he most certainly can. In fact, of every backup point guard the Suns have had these last few years, I believe Goran Dragic is the only one to have truly learned how to pass and run an offense the Steve Nash way. What Dragic needs to develop now is that superior court vision. On several occasions he’ll miss those fastbreak passes and let various scoring opportunities get by him. It’s not because he can’t make the pass, it’s just because he is not seeing them while they’re open.

I think with a couple more years playing behind Nash, he can definitely develop the court vision and offensive awareness he needs to run this team in the future.

They're trying to take my tortillas!

by N-Temp on Mar 1, 2010 8:17 PM MST reply actions