NBA character Alexander: The Thunder’s future, offense relies on rhythm, defense is limited by strength

"NBA Characters" Introduction:

Name: Shay Gilness Alexander

Nonkey: New Antetokounmpo

Weapon: Breakthrough with changing rhythms

Personal characteristics: Canadian long-arm point guard, good at changing rhythms, singles and breakthroughs; but weak physical fitness

Main deeds: Helping the Canadian National Youth Team to win the silver medal in the U18 Copa America

Personal Profile:

Shay Gilness Alexander was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His mother is a track and field athlete, who represented Antigua and Barbuda in the 400-meter race at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. As a Canadian player, Alexander has one more task than most American players, that is, representing Canada in youth competitions.通过努力，亚历山大在2016年带领加拿大获得U18美洲杯银牌；此外，亚历山大的全美排名也升至第35位。 With his performance in high school and Canadian national teams, Alexander successfully entered the University of Kentucky; in his freshman semester, Alexander averaged 14.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists, and was selected as the second team of the All-SEC Division. After a brief freshman, Alexander directly chose to participate in the NBA draft and entered the league with the 11th pick in the first round. During the Clippers' period, Alexander played the role of the core of the team's organization; now, Alexander has come to the Thunder and becomes Paul's most capable assistant, with a promising future.

template Holiday, the future successor of the Thunder, Paul helped him grow. As the Suns and the Kings held the No. 1 pick and second pick in 2018, the Suns already had Booker, while the Kings had Fox and Hilde; therefore, Doncic, Trae Young and other defenders failed to get a higher pick. However, it seems that among the 2018 rookies, the defenders have the highest success rate, Doncic and Trae Young have become All-Star players, and Alexander and Sexton have also become the team's core defenders.

Alexander's best template is Ju Holiday, the All-Star Pelicans starting point guard; the worst prospect is Deron Wright, a Mavericks' substitute guard; overall, Alexander's draft prospect is a breakthrough defender.

In the comprehensive evaluation of the draft, Alexander is a Canadian long-arm point guard who is good at changing rhythms and holding the ball singles and breaking through, and has good steals. At the same time, in terms of ability value evaluation, Alexander's athletic ability, rebounding and passing are 7 points, shooting, defense and leadership temperament are 8 points, and body size is 9 points, but his strength is only 6 points. Obviously, Alexander has excellent wingspan, defense and shooting, but has a slightly less powerful force; therefore, Alexander's potential is 8 points.

As the "Thunder Three Young Masters" with explosive potential left one after another, the Thunder continued to rebuild the team. This season, the Thunder traded George and Westbrook for Paul, which was regarded as a garbage season; however, under Paul's leadership, a group of young people from the Thunder achieved a fifth record in the Western Conference. At present, the Thunder's lineup consists of a backcourt combination of "Paul + Alexander", plus "super shooter" Garlinari and "blue-collar center" Adams, plus "super sixth man" Schroeder. In terms of shooting per game, Alexander ranked second in the team with 14.8 shooting per game, and ranked third in the team with usage rate of 23.8%. Obviously, the Thunder have regarded Alexander, who has just arrived at the team, as the team's future successor.

As a draft template for Zhu Holiday's player, Alexander's performance in the first two seasons has surpassed his best draft template.

In the second season, Holiday's assists increased from 3.8 to 6.5, and steals increased from 1.1 to 1.5, with both assists and defense improved; Alexander did not improve in assists and steals, but rebounds and three-pointers improved, and his shooting percentage was higher than Holiday. Overall, Holiday transformed into point guard in his second season, while Alexander temporarily dominated the spot guard. On the offensive end, Paul's good helper was mainly responsible for breaking through

During the Clippers' period, Alexander was the team's main point guard.

However, during the Thunder period, Alexander was surrounded by Paul and the "Sixth Man" Schroeder, and his personal possession decreased a lot, and more of them played breakthroughs and off-ball offenses.

1. Organization

This season, Alexander maintained an average of 3.3 assists per game last season, making him the team's third assist. When it comes to organizational aspects, Alexander didn’t take on much of the task. In the pass, Alexander, Gallinari, Paul and others frequently passed the ball, but the pass did not create a shooting opportunity, but was more about passing the ball. In general, Alexander is positioned as a terminator and a conductor of the offensive system, not an organizer.

1. Offensive method selection

By comparing the proportion of offensive methods, Alexander's role changes can be clearly seen. In the 2018-2019 season, Alexander's ball-holding offense accounted for 17.2%, 38.3%, and 44.4% of offenses less than 10 feet; in the 2019-2020 season, Alexander's ball-holding offense accounted for 9.1%, and the ball-holding offense accounted for about 38%, and the offense accounted for less than 10 feet increased to 51.7%. Overall, Alexander reduced catch and added personal breakthroughs.

2018-2019 season offensive methods

2019-2020 season offensive methods

Alexander has reduced the number of catches and shots in the overall proportion; in terms of the number of shots, Alexander has maintained an average of 1.4 times in the two seasons. Alexander has increased significantly less than 10 feet of offensive attempts. In the Thunder, Paul is the core of the entire team, but his age problem has caused his ability to hit rebounds to be poor; therefore, he needs an excellent breakthrough player around him, and Alexander is the most suitable role.

In terms of the number of shot dribblings, Alexander mainly focused on 0 and more than 3 times, of which 0 dribblings accounted for 20%, 2-6 dribblings accounted for 37%, and 7 dribblings accounted for 20.4%. In terms of 0 dribbling, Alexander mainly made three-pointers from the outside;

This season, Alexander's three-pointer shooting percentage from the outside has increased to 40.7%, making him a very outstanding shooter.

In terms of multiple dribbling, Alexander mainly made breakthroughs, with a shooting percentage of about 50%, which is at the upper and middle level of the league.

2. Shooting hot map

This season, Alexander's shooting has improved to a certain extent. In the mid-range shooting area, Alexander's shooting percentage on the left is 48.6%, the right is 46.7%, and the shooting percentage at the top of the arc can also remain above 46%. He is a very outstanding player in mid-range shooting. Within the back line, DeRozan's central shot is the only one who can match Alexander.

In terms of shooting selection, Alexander prefers to face the basket, and the main offensive shooting areas are the elbow area, the arc top area or the two wings. However, Alexander's shooting percentage at the basket was only 52.6%, which was at the upper and middle level, but it was slightly inferior to Harden and others.

3. Defence faced by offensive end

When facing defense, Alexander faces urgent defense; among them, defense within 0-2 feet only accounts for 8.1%, defense within 2-4 feet accounts for 47.4%, defense within 4-6 feet accounts for 25.7%, and defense within 6 feet + accounts for 18.9%. Due to the breakthrough, Alexander's defense is mainly concentrated in the 2-4-foot area, but the shooting percentage reaches 48%, and he has a certain ability to shoot and attack with top defense. Meanwhile, Alexander shot only 43.8% from the field at 6-foot-+ defense, and was not good at shooting without a defender.

Resistant to Adams, he has an active defense, and his efficiency is generally

On the defensive end, Alexander has a good defensive enthusiasm; however, due to the limitation of physical strength, Alexander's defensive effect is average. However, Alexander relied on Adams to have good rebounds.

1. Relying on Adams, he gained good rebounds

As we all know, the Thunder have the "ultimate rebound protector" Adams, and Westbrook has an average of 10+ rebounds per game under the protection of Adams' rebounds.

Alexander's average rebounds per game increased to 6.1 this season, becoming the second rebounder in the team, mainly relying on Adams' rebound protection.

2. The defensive efficiency is average, due to physical strength, Alexander is a very hard-working player; therefore, Paul likes this little brother very much and trains with Alexander many times at 6 o'clock in the morning. Under the guidance of the best defensive team, Alexander's defensive efficiency increased from 113 last season to 109 this season. Although Alexander's defensive efficiency has improved, his actual defensive ability is still poor.

This season, Alexander averaged 8.0 shots, 4.7 shots per game with two-point shooting, and 3.3 shots per game with three-point shooting, making him a very active player with defensive interference. At the same time, Alexander averaged 1.2 saves, ranking 19th in the league.

However, due to insufficient physical strength, Alexander's confrontation in defense is always at a disadvantage; therefore, his actual defensive efficiency is not high.

When Alexander was present, the Thunder's offensive efficiency was 113 and the defensive efficiency was 109.4; when Alexander was present, the Thunder's offensive efficiency was 101.9 and the defensive efficiency was 100.5.

Obviously, Alexander is a double-edged sword. The defensive end is easy to become the opponent's breakthrough point, and the offensive end is the Thunder's breakthrough.

Conclusion

For Alexander, his greatest wealth is his age and Paul around him. At the age of 22, Alexander has enough time to grow and has achieved enough honors; Paul, who is the best team and the best defensive team, has given Alexander sufficient guidance and help, and has the opportunity to become a team leader with both defense, assists and scoring in the future.