FanPost

The Wolves are Getting Competent Wing Play

Well, maybe. I thought that would get your attention. I looked at stats since the All-Star break for Wes, Beasley, Martell, and Wayne. Together they've accounted for about 83 of the 96 minutes per game at the wing over those 15 games. Their combined stats might surprise you.

I calculated each player's per-game statistics for games before and after the All-Star break. Then I added them up across the four players, adjusted them to per-48 minutes, and compared them to average per-48 statistics for SGs and SFs from The NBA Geek.

The tables below show the results, where the values represent the productivity that occurs per-96 minutes of play at SG and SF. The first show the shooting statistics. Wes, Beasley, Martell, and Wayne have improved dramatically in terms of scoring efficiency, so their scoring is up despite taking fewer shots. Over the last 15 games, they've been significantly more efficient than the NBA-average wing, but still scored less because they don't shoot as much.

Wingtablec_medium

via i1082.photobucket.com


The next table shows the non-shooting stats. This one doesn't look quite so good. Rebounding is down, assists, A/TO, and steals are low by average NBA standards, and PF are a little high. On the plus side, turnovers are lower than average (which may just reflect not trying to do much with the ball) and blocks are well above average.

Wingtablea-1_medium

via i1082.photobucket.com

These stats don't capture overall defensive effectiveness, which certainly factors into how effective the Wolves' wing play has been.

So what do you think? Given these stats, have we entered into a new golden age of average wing play, is it a 15-game fluke, or do you think the stats still don't look that good?