RE: Walker at PF?

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@worldnet.att.net>]

Two quick points:

1) Sorry to have to repeat this, but please Anonymous, learn to read what
other people write, not what you want to read. As most people on this list
will vouch, I am not against statistics per se (not that you seem to care
about the opinion of others other than as props in your staged strawman
arguments). If you care to actually read my earlier post what I WROTE was
that "the simple-minded USE of stats" (emphasis added) was "flawed." (Please
feel free to cut and paste the actual quote.)

Stats - like any tool - can be used either intelligently or poorly.
Comparing two players without even attempting to control for obvious
variations such as playing time is foolish and simple-minded. Even with such
correction there remains more difficult points such as the quality of
teammates, the opposition, rule changes etc. Nor can stats always indicate
clearly who is considered a force down low. Now keeping that in mind these
caveats lets look at some stats:

FG% 3pt% FT% R/48 A/48  P/48
39.7   27.3  55     9.5    4.7   22.9
46.3   31.6  65.3  8.7    3.6   23.7
46.6   9.1    66.4  9.5    3.2   23
47.3   24.7  69     10.1  3.4   29.2
45.7   24.5  75.5   9.2   2.6   27.7
-----------------------------------
42.5   32.7  63.1  11.9  4.2  23.2
42.3   31.2  64.5  12.3  4     26.9
41.2   36.9  55.9  11.1  4     24.3
4.3     25.6  69.9  10.5  4.9  26.9
41.3   36.9  70.4  10.8  6     27

Now there are obvious differences between the two but the differences are
not vast. The case against certain similarities is not as clear-cut as you
would like to pretend. Take into account the higher quality of teammates
surrounding Robinson and the differences between them seems even smaller.
One would expect that if Twon were surrounded by better mates that his stats
would fall in virtually every category while his FG% would rise. (Again,
check out Donyell Marshall's stats if you are truly interested in the effect
of teammates on stats.) Also Uncle Cliffy did not fall in love with the 3pt
shot until his sixth year (going from 53 attempts in year five to 383
attempts at 37.1% in year six), a further factor to consider when
considering his shooting %s.

2) It is not bashing Walker to compare him to Cliff Robinson. That's quite a
stretch even for you Anonymous. Uncle Cliffy has had a long and very
productive career as a valued member of winning teams. He's won the 6th man
of the year award ('92-93), been an All-Star (93-94), scored 50 points in a
game and was even named to the 2nd team all-defense team last year. I think
most fans would be ecstatic if you were to tell them that Twon would
eventually make an all-defense team. In fact, if you factor in stats like
turn-overs and blocked shots the case *could* be made that when judged on a
per minute basis Cliff was a *better* player than Walker through the first
five years of their respective careers.

That's not my argument, however. Mine has been that both players tend to
play 'smaller' than their height/weight would lead one to suspect. (Please
note that it was someone else who used the term "softer.") I don't think
many would consider either player to be a force in the paint - despite
Twon's rebounding #s or Cliff's blocked shot #s (he recorded nearly 2/game
in '92-'93). Both also launch the three quite a bit for players of their
size. (I would guess that this is in compensation for their lack of inside
presence - call this the "Brad Lohaus factor.") One has already had a long
productive career contributing to winning teams, the other has yet to do so
but the indications are there that such hopes are not entirely misplaced.

This comparison was not intended to be exhaustive. It is in part a
subjective opinion that does not lend itself particularly well to
statistical analysis. If that upsets you - too bad. Other people are more
than welcome to differing opinions if they feel that Coleman, Webber or
whoever make for a better comparison. I've already explained why I feel
those opinions are in error but I'm hardly about to get upset about such
(inevitable) differences of opinion.

These are your last free lessons, Anonymous - no more after this without
tuition ;)