I decided to look at the Los Angeles Lakers, and in particular, Kobe Bryant. While not on the LeBron/Durant level many believe him to be, Kobe is still having a great season, and I wanted to see why. Most believe its a combination of the Nash/Dwight/Gasol tandem taking pressure off Kobe, but when examining the off/on numbers, it seems this thought is only half right.
To see which of the 3 "all-star" caliber players on LA is impacting Kobe the most, I looked at 3 major categories. Scoring ability (True Shooting Percentage), play-making (assist to turnover ratio), and rebounding (total rebounding rate).
For each category I tested 5 different lineup combinations with Kobe. There is the "scrub" lineup, where Kobe is not playing with Gasol, Dwight, or Nash, and is therefore playing with the, "Scrubs". There is the "all-star" lineup, where Kobe is playing with all 3 of the above players. Then there are 3 combinations, where Kobe take turns playing with two of the "all-stars" at once, but not the third.
I measure how Kobe's effected by these lineups with a simple subtraction. Example. If Kobe's average TS% for the year is 57%, and he is shooting 52% with a certain lineup, I simply subtract 57% from 52%, to get the difference, which accurately depicts how much Kobe is being effected.
All stats are playing time and pace adjusted.
Kobe's Scoring Ability (TS%)
Kobe's Play-making Ability (AST/TOV)
Kobe's Rebounding Ability (TREB)
The Play-making chart is intriguing, as it follows an opposite pattern. Kobe is a more effective play-maker, when either Gasol or Dwight is out, but Nash is still on-court. He's still above average when all 3 "all-stars" are with him, but quickly falls under average when Nash exits the game. Predictably, Kobe is at his worst when Gasol/Dwight/Nash are all out, and Kobe has to carry the "scrubs".
The Rebounding chart was also pretty interesting, as it challenged conventional wisdom. Many make the argument that Kobe has deflated rebounding numbers because he plays with two 7-footers, in Gasol and Dwight. However, its clear that the presence of these behemoths are actually helping Kobe gather rebounds, probably due to them boxing out and occupying bodies that would otherwise be rebounding. Indeed, the only time Kobe rebounds under his season average, is when the "Big-3" are off the court, and its Kobe carrying the scrubs.
Now for a few quick closing comments. Although Dwight has been only a shell of his former self with the Lakers, he has tremendously improved Kobe's scoring prowess. Its also clear that Kobe's play-making and rebounding abilities aren't overtly influenced by his teammates, although they clearly digress when Kobe's isn't surrounded by talent.
That's all for now. I might do one of these for Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat (LeBron/Bosh), with Westbrook/OKC being a possibility as well. Remember, these are on/off numbers for a single season, so we should take them with a grain, or jar, of salt. Nonetheless, its still fun to play with, and the results can be intriguing.