Role Models: The Impact of Adding Effective Role Players
The continual dominance of the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, representatives of the NBA Finals for the past three years, has had a profound impact on the NBA. Franchises with championship aspirations have been forced to make splashy acquisitions to form ‘super teams’ in the hopes of competing. Others have looked to gut the core of their roster with an eye on finding the next transcendent player in the draft.
Acquiring talent is a necessity in order to be successful in this league, however lost in this boom-or-bust equation is the role player. The glue guy whose impact is not reflected in the box score numbers yet contributes to each victory. The player who you can count on to make their open shots in crunch time, to consistently guard their opposite number with intensity, and make the correct decisions on the court. When looking at the surprisingly impressive starts to the season for Orlando and Detroit, it is clear that these newly acquired role players are the engines that are driving their success.
Jonathon Simmons — Orlando Magic
Jonathon Simmons’ winding journey towards the NBA has been well documented. The Houston native bounced around junior colleges and with one last attempt to make a career out of basketball paid $150 to try out for the San Antonio Spurs’ D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros. Well, consider that quite the investment.
Simmons made himself a household name with an emphatic performance to open the 2016/17 campaign against the Warriors. Humiliating the two-time reigning MVP was only a sign of things to come — Simmons quickly added himself to the endless list of incredible Spurs rotation players that have emerged from thin air.
After capping off his season with impressive performances in the playoffs, which included becoming a living nightmare to MVP runner-up James Harden, it seemed that Simmons would command a hefty price tag in free agency. However, despite showing freakish athleticism and a knack for winning plays, the Houston native couldn’t shake the lingering notion that he was yet another cog in the San Antonio machine. Many surmised that he was a product of his environment, following in the footsteps of his predecessors Gary Neal and Boban ‘BFG’ Marjanovic.
Ten games into the 2017/18 season and Simmons has proven everyone wrong. Yet again.
The Orlando Magic have surprised everyone outside of Florida this season, sitting third in the Eastern Conference with a 6–4 record. The Magic acquired Simmons to bring defensive intensity to a young team, yet it has been his leap on the other end of the floor that has thrust Orlando into the playoff picture.
As a team Orlando have improved their outside shooting. They currently sit second in the league in three-point percentage, hovering around the 40% mark. Similarly, Simmons has jumped from a career 29% three-point shooter to 37.5% this season while also launching one extra shot from deep per game.
However, Simmons newfound range hasn’t veered him away from what made him successful. He still has an aggressive downhill approach, taking 75% of his shots from inside the arc, a majority of which have been in the paint. By turning into a viable shooting option, the rest of the court has opened up offensively for Simmons.
Simmons had already shown a quick first step and a gift for slicing into the lane during his time in San Antonio. He has taken this to another level in Orlando and accompanied it with a deft touch around the rim. Simmons has developed a beautiful floater, seen in the clips above.
Comparing Simmons’ shooting numbers highlights just how effective his newly acquired floater has been. Last season, Simmons shot 58% at the rim and only 35% between three to ten feet. This year he has been utterly ridiculous, making 74% of his shots at the rim and 52% between three to ten feet.
Simmons’ size and strength also allows him to finish through contact. Add this to the fact that he is getting almost four more free-throw attempts per game and it becomes a scary thought how deadly Simmons could become as a driving threat. If Simmons continues to improve his passing (the man suited up as the starting point guard last night versus the Celtics… which is absurd) then he will become virtually unguardable in slash and kick situations with the Magic’s vastly improved outside shooting stacked across the court.
Acquiring Simmons is not going to move the needle for the Magic towards championship aspirations. However, it has provided a shot in the arm for a franchise who were trapped in the vicious cycle of 20–30 wins per season that was beginning to stunt the development of their young talent.
Replacing the uninspiring Jeff Green with a player like Simmons, whose versatility has only improved the usage of franchise cornerstone Aaron Gordon is a much needed change that encapsulates the newfound positivity surrounding the Orlando Magic. No longer do they have GM Rob Hennigan accidentally tweeting out their master plan (which was to bring on Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green to annual salaries of $18 and $15 million respectively). Instead, they have locked up a two-way player who has continually improved to an incredibly cheap contract.
There is now a cautious optimism that Simmons and youngster Jonathan Isaac are pieces to a puzzle that Orlando have hopelessly tried to put together since the departure of Dwight Howard. Having Jonathon Simmons alone doesn’t bring you a championship. But his presence sure is a step in the right direction.
Avery Bradley — Detroit Pistons
Avery Bradley has been a criminally underrated player for the entirety of his NBA career. For all the magic Isaiah Thomas brought to the Boston Celtics last season, Bradley was the linchpin on both ends of the floor and played an integral part to their Eastern Conference finals appearance. For the Detroit Pistons, replacing a young player who put up hollow stats in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for someone of Avery Bradley’s caliber has immediately paid dividends.
Since being traded to Detroit, Bradley has brought a defensive tenacity and overlooked offensive game that the Pistons sorely needed. His infectious style of play has resonated among a team that has already racked up a handful of impressive victories and marched to a 7–3 record.
During the Pistons stunning victory over the Warriors on the road, Bradley put forth a vintage defensive performance that we have become accustomed to witnessing. Nike have become infamous for the design flaws of their new NBA jerseys, however I don’t believe they accounted for two players sharing the same jersey at the same time. If you look closely at the clips above, you can see that Bradley did in fact live inside Steph Curry’s shirt for 48 minutes.
Bradley’s presence has improved the perimeter for a team that was already stout on the defensive end last season. The Pistons are now third in the league in opponent turnover percentage, a massive jump from 23rd last season. His rugged play has permeated throughout the team, especially with young wing Stanley Johnson. Johnson has certainly learnt a thing or two during his apprenticeship role at the ‘Avery Bradley School of Annoying the Fuck out of your Opposition’. Even Reggie Jackson, who seemed on his way out of Detroit, has resurrected his career and put in an improved defensive effort.
Most importantly, Avery Bradley is a tone setter. Above, Bradley immediately hampers Kemba Walker on the opening possession of the game and forces him into a tough fading jumper. This kind of energy is the spark-plug you need to successfully grind out an 82 game season. The fact that Bradley has only once been awarded NBA All-Defensive First Team honours boggles the mind of fans and players alike.
The Detroit-Bradley marriage has proven to be mutually beneficial on the offensive side of the court. Detroit were both slow and inefficient offensively last season — a combination that provides an even worse outcome than an NBA player’s productivity after shacking up with a Kardashian. Bradley has alleviated this by posting career highs in free throw attempts, three point percentage, and points per game.
The shots Bradley has been taking with the Pistons are the picture of modern basketball efficiency and would make Daryl Morey drool. So far this season, 70.6% of Bradley’s shots have either been in the paint or from three point range. This is the immediate antidote to Detroit’s inefficiency — last year they took the second most mid-range shots and the fifth fewest threes per game.
By draining 42% of his threes so far, Bradley offers greater spacing for the Pistons to operate. However, Bradley isn’t just a typical spot-up shooter, his dynamic play off the ball has been the catalyst that has revitalized the Piston’s offense. The Jackon/Drummond high pick-and-roll often became stale and predictable last year — the inclusion of Bradley as a shooter and deadly cutter has changed its entire dynamic. Bradley kills defenders that fall asleep for one second, as seen above.
The Pistons offense still moves at a plodding pace, however the Bradley-led defense are first in the league in steals which has led to far easier transition buckets.
Bradley has also quickly learned how to play alongside Piston’s big man Andre Drummond. His improved ability to shoot off the dribble and on handoffs has been a staple of the Bradley-Drummond two man game. Bradley’s shooting has obviously cleared space for Drummond, but more importantly his ability to penetrate off the dribble has given the Piston’s center the easiest looks of his career. It is clear that Bradley has had an impact on Drummond’s reemergence as a monster.
Detroit were in a similar position as Orlando, toiling around the depressing position of Eastern Conference mediocrity. By no means did the Pistons have the personnel to make a significant impact come playoff time, however their roster was simply too good to tank below the likes of the Knicks and Nets. The team were in an infuriating middle ground, led by two players who seemed to have lost a passion for playing.
Avery Bradley has changed that culture. Like Simmons, Bradley has brought a competitive edge that has drastically shifted the perception of the Pistons. His well-rounded game has improved the performances of those surrounding him and as such the Pistons have now formed an identity in which to build around.
The Pistons nor Magic are likely to be favored to win a playoff round come April. Despite this, the talented role players they each acquired have laid a solid foundation from which to build from. The NBA may have turned into a boom-or-bust league, but there’s still hope for teams that pursue incremental growth.
