My position is that PPP -- which is what a lot of offensive stats come down to -- does tell you something. And what it tells you is essential and undeniable, even without context. But looking at blocks, reb, steals for an equivalent on defense doesn't tell you much, since it leaves out what you do on every possession where you don't get one of those things. It's also possible to be an excellent defender, like Lance Thomas, who just consistently pressures the ball but doesn't generate many "measurable" stops like blks, reb, stls.
Is there something that measures PaPP (points allowed per possessions)? Obviously +/- does that to a certain extent, but less meaningfully since it involves whole lineups. I guess you'd need synergy to chart how many PPP opponents are producing against a given defender, and more importantly, how far off that is from their average. Holding Steph Curry to 1.00 ppp is very good defense. Holding Derryck Thornton to the same is not, sadly, so far.
