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Sessions, from Brew Hoop and more


For those of us still trying to get an idea of just what Ramon Sessions brings to the Wolves, here are some quotes I found over at the Bucks' SBNation blog, Brew Hoop.

Star-divide

Post

When I got to looking through the Basketball Prospectus stats for Ramon, I really was amazed at all the things that he brings to the table.

His WARP (Wins Above Replacement Level Player) is 6.4, the best on the Milwaukee Bucks. Basically that means if you took a team full of replacement level players, and put Ramon Sessions at the point, they would win about 6.4 games more than expected based on his talent alone. The next closest is Charlie Villanueva at 5.9, not surprisingly the other guy the Bucks will have trouble retaining. Andrew Bogut is at 3.4, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at 2.4, Luke Ridnour at 2.4, Michael Redd at 2.3, and Richard Jefferson at 1.9.

What makes Sessions so valuable, other than the fact that he's arguably the Bucks most talented point guard? He dishes out the ball well. His assists/40 mins mark is up to 8.4, and he averages 5.6 assists per game. His pass rating (a combination of assists normalized by minutes played, and assist/turnover ratio) is up at 6.06, by far the best on the team. This rating puts him near the top of the league, and he even ranks better than the likes of Tony Parker (5.54), but not quite up to the caliber of Steve Nash, Jason Kidd or Rajon Rondo yet (all in the double digits).

Furthermore, Sessions is a big part of the offense. He hands out an assist on 9.2% of the team's possessions which seems low, but when you think about it, it's a good margin (also puts him among the top in the league). He is responsible for creating 1039 points for the Bucks this year, in some fashion or another - about 13.5 per game.

What sets Sessions apart from Ridnour as the other point guard option on the team, in addition to what has been said, is his defense. Sessions only had 937 points created against him this season so far, which means that he created close to 1.5 points more per game than he allowed. His dMULT is 0.959 which means that he held his counterpart to about 96% of their normal production on a per possession basis. Compare these stats with Ridnour, who allows about 1.2 more points per game than he creates and allows his counterpart to score about 102% of their normal production.

 

Post

Sessions is an intruiging young player who has put up some crazy numbers over his 1.5 seasons.  He's not a great athlete, but has good size for the pros.  His speed is adequate, as is his defense.  Where he's special is when he can get penetration on the defense and use that pressure to distribute the ball or draw fouls.  This is mitigated somewhat by his sub-par dribbling skills (a trait an NBA point guard should not at all have), but it hasn't really shown yet.
In a way, Jennings and Sessions are polar opposites of each other [Ed. observation--this gets crazy interesting if you replace Jennings with Flynn. Discuss].  Jennings is lightning-quick, Sessions is not.  Jennings is almost tiny, Sessions is not.  Jennings will often look for his own shot, Sessions does not.  Jennings takes risks and makes poor decisions, Sessions does not.

 

Here's an interview Sessions did:

Matt Watson: You were filling in for [Michael] Redd for a while. Is that a role that you're comfortable in, or do you have a preference of wanting the ball in your hands?
Ramon Sessions: I've been playing the one my whole career; this is the first time I've ever played the two, this season. But I mean, hey, if I have to go out there and play the two, I'll do it. I'll guard bigger guys and play the shooting guard position, it really don't matter – as long as I'm out there on the floor getting playing time, helping the team.

 

And finally, if you had to choose between Raymond Felton and Ramon Sessions, who would you choose?

Verdict: If I were a team that needed a point guard, I would have to go with Sessions - assuming they came at similar price tags. Especially if I were a run-and-gun team, Sessions would be a better fit.

Poll
How likely is it the signing of Sessions will cost us a first rounder next year (the Clippers pick)?
Very likely.
3 votes
It'll be close either way.
17 votes
Unlikely.
34 votes
Let's march on McHales' cabin with torches and shovels demanding justice for the idiocy of giving the Clippers that pick!
15 votes

69 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 10 comments

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Comments

Display:

The wolves will

experiment too much next year to worry about losing the clippers pick.

by TheEvilProfessor on Sep 4, 2009 1:23 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

How much are they paying Red?

For his 2.3 Warp? I’ve heard the deal was bad, but I didn’t realize how little Red offered. I guess I was blinded by my fondness for 2nd rounders who made it. That and my overall ignorance.

by oblivionspocket on Sep 4, 2009 1:56 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

The post said

That Redd’s WARP was artificially low because he was hurt so much. His career WARP is a little higher than Sessions’ I believe.

"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."

by biggity2bit on Sep 4, 2009 1:57 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

I should have been more clear—the post I was referring to was the Brew Hoops post, not mine. No worries.

"Come on Eddie, let's get serious."

by biggity2bit on Sep 4, 2009 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Kevin Arnovitz of Clipperblog and TrueHoop wrote a good article on him

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-42-95/The-Best-Free-Agent-Nobody-is-Talking-About.html

A headline and article like that, from a writer I really respect, makes me feel even better than I did when I heard we got him (let alone for only 4 million!).

by nja700 on Sep 4, 2009 2:30 PM CDT reply actions   0 recs

I recommend you read the article, but highlights include:

Is actually younger and more productive than Rodney Stuckey – Pistons PG Starter of the future and Chauncey Billups replacement – and brings more youth and efficiency than other 2009 FAs Bibby or Kidd (P.S. Ricky’s a full month younger than John Wall),

-Can’t shoot from distance, but only Devin Harris, Chris Paul, and Chauncey Billups get to the line more often

- Video interview of Dan D’Antoni, Knicks assistant, who speaks about coaching Ramon in AAU and about Ramon’s NBA career and ceiling. D’Antoni says if he can develop (key word for what our team is looking to do with its players) the range on his jump shot, the he could be one of the best guards in the NBA.

by nja700 on Sep 4, 2009 2:51 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

Wow

Don’t remember clicking strikethrough at any point. Woops. Should’ve clicked preview. How do I edit that?

by nja700 on Sep 4, 2009 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

You can't

No mistakes in the tango, darling. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....

by pookeyguru on Sep 4, 2009 4:29 PM CDT up reply actions   0 recs

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