Player Theo John

[rome8180]

I wish he had clotheslined that dumb Jaxson Hayes-looking motherfucker

 

[aiw]

Eh

 

[TS9]

Guess we'll see you in three months, Theo!

 

[childress22]

 

[aiw]

 

[deepdarkblue]

Theo found out AJ was going to get his minutes.

 

[rhfarmer]

Discussion with @Slap the Floor about Henry Coleman and Theo John made me do a deep dive on Theo's advanced stats.

He has by far the best Ortg of his career right now. His defensive rating is also the best of his career, but marginally. Some things that stuck out to me.

His FT shooting is much, much higher than at any point in his career. He also has career best rates of assists and steals, with lowest turnover percent of his career as well. So, on paper, it appears that his "career year" on offense is being driven by making his free throws, making timely passes and not turning the ball over. This is precisely what you'd want a veteran player to do-- take the easy points, clean up your mistakes, and find an open teammate.

On defense, he is blocking fewer shots than at any point in his career, but his steal rate is very high and he grabs a reasonable share of rebounds. He is very foul prone for his career and he has regressed a little this year, which could be a result of not needing to worry about fouling.

Overall, he has been a pretty useful player who doesn't make mistakes and does lots of little things that add value to the team.

 

[rome8180]

I'm thinking the fouling, increased steal rate, and decreased block rate are all tied into the way we play defense and what he's being asked to do. From what I've seen, he typically comes out higher than Mark and is more aggressive at the level of the screen. That means he's farther from the basket, which decreases his block rate but also increases his opportunity for steals. IIRC, a lot of his fouls are coming out on the perimeter in these situations. Inside, he's good at maintaining verticality and being physical while not fouling.

 

[Grit]

I'm thinking the fouling, increased steal rate, and decreased block rate are all tied into the way we play defense and what he's being asked to do. From what I've seen, he typically comes out higher than Mark and is more aggressive at the level of the screen. That means he's farther from the basket, which decreases his block rate but also increases his opportunity for steals. IIRC, a lot of his fouls are coming out on the perimeter in these situations. Inside, he's good at maintaining verticality and being physical while not fouling.

That sounds like a good call because any time he defends on the perimeter I tense-up as I wait for him to get called for a blocking foul. I don't know if it's his fault or the coaching staff, but he plays as if he can move his feet with anyone but he just can't...

 

[rome8180]

Big disappointment. We bled points when he was in. I've gone from thinking we had a really solid top 8 to thinking we have nothing after our top 6.

 

[TS9]

He's become the exact opposite of what I expected. Doesn't seem particularly poised, considering his experience. Playing much smaller and weaker than his body suggests.

 

[deepdarkblue]

I think he and Wendell got the same Covid variant.

 

[torontoduke]

The lack of interior toughness, noted above, is the biggest letdown imo.

 

[rhfarmer]

Yeah, he's baffling RN. Seemed like a beast in the UK game and has steadily disappeared since then.

Feels like this is where the pressure M2M really affects someone's skill set. This guy was a proven paint defender and shot blocker in an A league.

 

[deepdarkblue]

Yeah, by all appearances early on, he had the look of a real badass that was going to be a major defensive presence in the post. Now he just looks like a scrub.

 

[rome8180]

He comes in, immediately fouls, gets blocked on layups, makes bad passes, etc.

 

[Slap the Floor]

At this point he's either going to come back or go undrafted. He's been bad since the UK game.

 

[bdotling]

At this point he's either going to come back or go undrafted. He's been bad since the UK game.

He can still come back?

 

[savedukebball]

At this point he's either going to come back or go undrafted. He's been bad since the UK game.

He can still come back?

No

 

[Pantone287]

I'm starting to believe Nate James really has become a big man whisperer. We had such a good stretch of big guys actually improving while at Duke and looking better here than expected/in the NBA. That trend appears to have reversed this year, sadly.