Who is creating offense for the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers?
By Ian Levy
Offense has been a struggle for both the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers. Toronto took Game 5 with a huge run in the fourth quarter but Kyle Lowry continued to struggle shooting the ball and a breakout game from DeMar DeRozan still doesn’t balance out his frustrating performances in the first four games. Indiana, on the other hand, hasn’t been able to count on much of anything besides what Paul George can give them.
Given the challenges each team is working through, I thought it might be interesting to look at where they, and the rest of the league, have been getting their offensive production.
The graph below is tree map that shows the quantity and quality of offensive production for each player in the playoffs. The size of the player’s box represents how many total points they’ve created in the playoffs thus far, both through scoring and assists (accounting for points on assisted three-pointers and potential assists that lead to free throw attempts). The color of each box represents the player’s efficiency — total points created divided by total offensive plays involved[1. This is the base unit for True Usage: shot attempts, trips to the free throw line, turnovers, assists, and potential assists.]
The two leading point creators in the playoffs this season — Russell Westbrook and Paul George — have also been quite efficient with their opportunities. There is a bit double counting going on since we’re including both assists and shot attempts, but the entire league has scored about one point per play involved this postseason, a mark both George and Westbrook are well above.
If we focus in on just the Indiana Pacers, the load George is carrying becomes even more striking.
George has created more points in the playoffs than the next two Pacers, Monta Ellis and George Hill, combined. Again there is double-counting because each player’s assists also contribute as made baskets for someone else, but it is still startling. Hill and his not-relative Solomon Hill are the only other players producing points at an above average rate. Ellis, Rodney Stuckey, Ty Lawson are Indiana’s other primary ball-handlers and all have been horrible inefficient.
As bad as that spread looks for Indiana, their first round opponents, the Toronto Raptors, look even worse.
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have been responsible for the vast majority of Toronto’s offense and each has been horribly inefficient in cobbling together those points. Jonas Valanciunas has cooled off some since his strong performances in the first two games of the series. Bismack Biyombo has been effective as a finisher and Cory Joseph has really been the only reliably efficient offensive engine.
The Raptors appear poised to deliver the knock-out blow in Game 6, having thoroughly robbed the Pacers of any momentum. Still, if they’re looking to build on a first round victory, the Raptors still have some tinkering to do on offense.