Who will block your shot, but never let you block his? - From ESPN Insider

[LRB]

Who will block your shot,
but never let you block his?
by Ethan D. Cooperson, STATS. Inc.
Friday, February 7 Updated 2:46 PM EST


A check of the NBA's leader boards at the All-Star break shows the Spurs' Tim Duncan atop the blocked-shot leader board, with 144 swats in 2002-03. On the down side, Duncan has had his own shot blocked 66 times, tied for third in the league in that dubious category. Still, it's tough to argue with Duncan's differential: 144 blocks vs. 66 times his shot has been blocked -- that makes Duncan a +78 in blocked-shot differential. That's one of the best figures in the league.

First, a little background. There is no official stat for the number of times a player's shot is blocked. You won't find that information on the NBA's Web site or in any league record book. It's a facet of the game that we track at STATS, Inc., and a look at the numbers reveals that Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, who will start Sunday's All-Star Game, has seen 79 of his shots rejected this season, most in the NBA.

It should be pointed out, however, that O'Neal does have 100 blocked shots to his credit, for a +21 blocked-shot differential. Compare that figure to, say, the 76ers' Allen Iverson: at 6-foot-0, he has managed only four blocks this year, but on his frequent forays into the lane, he has seen 63 of his attempts sent back the wrong way. That's a differential of -59. . . but again, that's understandable, given Iverson's height.

To get a good sense of which players are coming out ahead in the blocked-shot battle -- and to limit our list to players who are expected to block shots -- we looked at all players 6-foot-10 and taller. Here are the leaders in blocked-shot differential through the All-Star break:


Best Blocked-Shot Differential, Players 6'10" & Taller -- 2002-03
Blocks Own Shot Blocked Diff
Shawn Bradley, Dal 124 13 +111
Theo Ratliff, Atl 128 20 +108
Adonal Foyle, GS 106 17 +89
Keon Clark, Sac 101 17 +84
Tim Duncan, SA 144 66 +78


Not to pick on the Philadelphia 76ers, but we couldn't help noticing that the top two names on our list, Shawn Bradley and Theo Ratliff, are both former Sixers. If you've seen many Philly games this season, you know how much the team is hurting for a shot-blocker. The 76ers average 3.33 blocks per game, second fewest in the league, and their blocked-shot differential of -3.5 per game is easily the worst in the league. Bradley and Ratliff aren't the only names on our list with Philadelphia connections -- as a free agent last summer, Keon Clark was given at least some consideration by the 76ers, before he signed with Sacramento. Exactly what was Philly thinking in dealing Dikembe Mutombo?

The top four players in blocked-shot differential could be labeled defensive specialists. Bradley, Ratliff, Adonal Foyle and Clark all average less than 10 points per game, and both Bradley and Foyle have swatted more than half as many shots as they've attempted this year. These players simply don't shoot that often; they're in the game to block shots, not to take shots, so they should have the best blocked-shot differential.

Not so, of course, for Tim Duncan. Here's a guy who scores in the paint, endures some blocked shots, and gets more than his share of rejections. With teammate David Robinson checking in with a +59 differential (86 blocks/27 blocks against), the Spurs rank second in the NBA with a blocked-shot margin per game of +2.0.

What about Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal, arguably the biggest names among NBA big men in 2002-03? Both players are well into the black in blocked-shot differential; Yao is at +57, Shaq at +54. For the record, in their only head-to-head meeting to date, Yao recorded five rejections of O'Neal shots, while Shaq failed to block Yao once! We'll be interested to see how the head-to-head shot-blocking numbers between these two giants play out in the years to come.

Finally, who among the big men has the worst blocked-shot differential? Well -- and we swear we're not picking on the 76ers -- it's none other than Philly's Keith Van Horn, with just 17 blocks and 45 blocks against. Van Horn's -28 differential is the worst in the league among players who stand at least 6-foot-10. With Van Horn's -28 and Iverson's -59, it's no wonder the 76ers are last in the league in blocked-shot differential. And it's no wonder they're making noise about re-acquiring Theo Ratliff.

[LRB]

Wow nice to see a Mav leading the way in another stat column. Go Mantis.

[Evilmav2]

Wow that's amazing... it must be a fluke, just like all these other stats...

Ranks #4 in the NBA in Blocks Per Game(2.64)
Ranks #4 in the NBA in Blocks(124.0)
Ranks #17 in the NBA in Defensive Rebounds Per 48 Minutes(9.4)
Ranks #14 in the NBA in Rebounds Per 48 Minutes(13.9)
Ranks #1 in the NBA in Blocks Per 48 Minutes(5.23)
Ranks #17 in the NBA in Efficiency Ranking Per 48 Minutes(28.43)

[jayC]

I wonder what it would take to get a guy like adonal foyle. He is a physical player can never have too many of them, and a shot blocker. A one and Walt williams for big A.

[madape]

Just like Keon Clark, he'd rot on the bench. But I like Adonal Foyle, he's a good player, and unlike Keon Clark isn't a complete idiot. He's one of the reasons the Warriors are doing so well right now.

[OutletPass]

LRB...any idea where Ben Wallace stands in all of this. I realize that he's not 6'10" but he sure does play bigger. ryan would be grateful if you had any info on this!

[FlyinGK22]

thats some great info, thanx lrb

[Murphy3]

obviously, this stat depends heavily on the shot blocker not taking many attempts..