Casting has been a buzzing topic of discussion in film this past week as David Rubin, a career casting director was elected head of the Academy. Will he add a casting category to the Oscar’s list of awards? This led me to think, which NBA players are misast in their current role, team, or system. The players below are who came immediately to mind.
Domantas Sabonis
Sabonis is enjoying a very successful teenage stage of his career. Similarly, the Pacers led by Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner and Sabonis, have been a surprise success that’s now tasked with approaching a new level. Unlike the other miss-cast players on this list, I’m not 100% sure a roster transaction is the best case here. Indiana’s chances of becoming a championship contender rely on them retaining their upper echelon players, not trading them for more depth. However, for Sabonis’ personal statistics, playing alongside Myles turner is limiting. Both players are modern NBA centers, and while Sabonis is somewhat comfortable on the perimeter, his corner jumper and fluidity aren’t comparable to a Tobias Harris, Jayson Tatum, Aaron Gordon or P.J. Tucker. This is not to say Sabonis isn’t the caliber of player as those names, in-fact I think he is, just at a different position.
For instance, Sabonis Win Shares Per 48 mins is 15th in the NBA – tied with Kyrie Irving and Karl Anthony Townes
Indiana does well to take advantage of the overcrowding and keeps both centers fresh. Myles Turner who is gradually becoming one of the league’s top centers, only played 28 minutes a night last season. Sabonis assumes almost all the remaining minutes at the 5. One way to identify this instance of miscasting is looking at how the team plays when Turner is off the floor.
Indiana’s EFG%, Offensive Rebound % and Offensive Rating are better when Turner is off.
Indiana was part genius, part lucky to acquire Sabonis and Oladipo in the Oklahoma City trade. Though targeting Sabonis had little to do with filling a void in their roster. When they eventually realize there is a ceiling to their success as currently constructed, I do believe one of the frontcourt mates will be moved, and at that point I would guess they both grasp onto larger roles.
Andre Drummond
Look, a lob-catching center who’s inconsistent defensively, and garners max contracts is going to miss-fit in most systems. Though, Drummond is one of the great rebounders of all-time, and that’s still a major factor in how Detroit wins games. The former staff led by Stan Van Gundy emphasized post-ups. As recently as 2016-17 Van Gundy was still force-feeding post attempts to his center, to disastrous results.
Of the top 30 players in Post-ups per game, Drummond was 28th in EFG%.
Van Gundy’s last season in Detroit, and Dwayne Casey’s first, saw a lot more hand-off’s and less post ups. In fact, since the addition of Blake Griffin, Detroit has run the second most hand-off sets in the league. This offense is Blake Griffin’s forte, a keen passer who can back-down switches or shoot jump shots. Unfortunately for Drummond, this eats into his looks as a pick and roll screener and reserves him to floating along the baseline. Even in the new system, Post Ups still account for 18.5% of his shots. It makes me question how attentive Casey and his staff are to the numbers. Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond who account for 42% of the Pistons cap space, both are most competent in the pick and roll.
As a role man, (15% of his shots), Drummond’s EFG% is 59%, well over his overall EFG% of 54%. Casey led teams (Toronto & Detroit) are 22nd in the league in roll man shot frequency. In three of the last four seasons, his teams have been bottom five in roll man shot frequency.
It’s clear the way Drummond and Griffin are used in tandem is less than perfect, but a trade might not be the only solution. Casey insists on using lineups without either star player, limiting the minutes Drummond can be the focus in the half court. If this doesn’t change in 2019-20, then Drummond will continue to be cast in a film not catered to his strengths.
Dennis Schroder
The Clippers got better, the Lakers got better, Westbrook is a Rocket and Chris Paul is in OKC. As the dust settles this summer, the Thunder look a lot more like a lottery team than a playoff team. It was only a year ago that Dennis Schroder was happily traded to Oklahoma to play a vital role on a championship contending team. Now he finds himself in a peculiar place.
You may be reading this and thinking, “if anyone on OKC is miss-cast, its Chris Paul.” And while I do empathize with his situation, at age 33 with likely one year left of great basketball, sitting in a rebuilding locker-room; I can see that changing as the year goes on. It’s somewhat likely Sam Presti finds a trade partner for Chris Paul, a team that can take on his monster contract in hopes of contending. It’s also rather likely Paul shows signs of his age and is either not as effective, or even more injured. In either scenario the narrative will not be that Chris Paul is miss-cast, it will be that aging/unhealthy players with huge contracts fit best on rebuilding teams with no other max players. There is also nobody else you would rather learn the position from if you’re Shai Gilgeous Alexander, than Chris Paul.
That transitions appropriately back to Schroder; who is now the 3rd most notable guard on the roster. He’s a player with this year and next left on his contract at million. He’s a player whose next contract could range anywhere from $15 million per year to almost $30 million per year and I wouldn’t be overly surprised at either. His objective is to revert back to lead guard status and improve upon his years in Atlanta where he averaged over 6 assists and 19 points per game. His team’s focus will be to develop a different point guard.