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Posts Tagged ‘Ersan Ilyasova’

Ersan Ilyasova will grab that offensive rebound, don’t worry about it

March 9th, 2012 Jeremy Schmidt 2 comments

This may have been Ilyasova getting his shot blocked. But it was probably after an offensive board. (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

As a promising 2009-10 season wound down, Scott Skiles regularly spoke fondly of Ersan Ilyasova. He predicted good things from his power foward. Ilyasova was impressing nightly with his effort and shooting stroke from deep. Skiles said they expected Ilyasova to take a step forward in the future and turn into a strong rebounding forward who would shoot around 37 or 38% from 3-point range.

It sounded probable. There was little reason to expect Ersan to take a step backwards, especially after a strong summer of 2010 during which he led the Turkey national team to a silver medal at the World Championships.

He promptly arrived back to the NBA last season and took a huge leap backwards. He battled a concussion and his own indecisiveness. Ilyasova struggled to know when to pass and when to shoot when he caught the ball outside and often found himself, “pump faking air” as Skiles noted last season.

But that Ilyasova Skiles was hoping he’d see has appeared without warning over the past 19 games.

Read more…

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Derrick Rose is better than everyone on the Bucks

March 7th, 2012 Jeremy Schmidt 6 comments

Chicago Bulls 106 Final
Recap | Box Score		 104 Milwaukee Bucks
Ersan Ilyasova, PF 43 MIN | 14-18 FG | 2-3 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 32 PTS | +2

Career high 32 points. Could you make an argument that he’s the Bucks second best player right now? Absolutely. Could you make an argument that he’s their best player right now? Absolutely. He probably isn’t, but his numbers and overall game has been there lately. His movement towards the hoop resulted in layups on passes from teammates or offensive rebounds all night on Wednesday and he was hitting shots from everywhere. Scott Skiles had some insightful words about Ersan before the game that I’ll write up (hopefully) on Thursday.
Drew Gooden, PF 37 MIN | 11-21 FG | 3-4 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 27 PTS | +4

Aside from a rough spot early in the third, this was a night full of offensive treasures from Gooden. Thank his effort for some of that, but thank Carlos Boozer’s lax defensive tendencies as well. He gave Gooden some extra space a few times when it just wasn’t necessary or prudent. Not when Gooden is making mid-range jumpers and threes. Watching the two of them duel back and forth was a fair amount of comical.

Carlos Delfino, SF 25 MIN | 4-11 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 5 AST | 8 PTS | -7

First quarter: 4-6 FG. Rest of game: 0-5 FG. His slump continues. Delfino got all of his baskets early on forays to the hoop, something he doesn’t typically do. The Bulls rarely give up open threes and he only saw one shining opportunity from outside. They made sure of it.
Brandon Jennings, PG 38 MIN | 4-18 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 6 AST | 11 PTS | +4

Credit the Bulls defense more than you discredit Jennings for Wednesday’s quiet start. He had just two at half. Rose and the Bulls weren’t giving Jennings anything from outside the arc, Jennings favorite launch point. But he snuck in for a couple shots inside, finished another break and got some looks from outside in the second half. Timely scoring, if not quite enough. In the half court the Bulls seemed to put a lot of focus on getting the ball out of Jennings’ occasionally dangerous hands or letting him take contested off balance shots. He opted for the latter.
Mike Dunleavy, SF 33 MIN | 2-8 FG | 4-4 FT | 8 REB | 5 AST | 8 PTS | +1

A little bit of everything from Dunleavy. Except made threes. He had one of the more prolific airballs I’ve seen in quite some time on a three he took in the first half. Really unexpected stuff there.

Beno Udrih, PG 25 MIN | 4-5 FG | 3-4 FT | 2 REB | 7 AST | 11 PTS | -4

He’s supposedly been grumpy about his minutes and he’s certainly playing like a guy who deserves some more. Beno was crucial in saving a possession late for the Bucks. Even better, after his offensive board, he went to the rack and got two free throws. He followed that up with a layup over Joakim Noah to tie things up at 102. He and Jennings worked very well together with him often as the primary ball-handler.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Why do I discuss tanking? Getting a guy like Derrick Rose, that’s why. I’m less concerned with his last second shot, I subscribe to the theory that running a play would have been better, but it was everything else he did that amazed me. So easily he moved through the Bucks. Not every draft has a guy like Rose, he’s a rare, rare talent. But no draft ever has a guy like him between eight and 15.

    (I know Kobe went 13. That was a high schooler and the mid-90s. Unlikely to happen again.)

  2. You know what’s a uniquely Bucks experience right now? Having a guy play incredibly well, possibly have the best game of his career and then watch people on Twitter debate intensely what he could be traded for. I know I helped get that ball rolling with Ilyasova, but let’s take tonight and enjoy what he did rather than think about him leaving.
  3. Everyone cheered everything late. Bulls fans were like 10,000 little explosions of joy each time Derrick Rose took a dribble. Bucks fans were thrilled to A. be in this game and B. have players making good plays late. A very lively arena late. No question that the players, specifically the Bucks players, fed off the energy. COME TO GAMES.

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Jennings steps up, leads Bucks past Sixers

March 5th, 2012 Jeremy Schmidt 6 comments

Philadelphia 76ers 93 Final

Recap | Box Score

 97 Milwaukee Bucks
Ersan Ilyasova, PF 42 MIN | 3-11 FG | 4-4 FT | 18 REB | 4 AST | 11 PTS | +7Reliable Ersan. Struggled from the floor. surged on the glass. He seems good for at least one big rebounding quarters every game and tonight’s was the third. Nine rebounds in the third alone helped him to 18 on the night, yet another big board effort for Milwaukee’s fast rising power forward.
Drew Gooden, PF 36 MIN | 9-21 FG | 7-8 FT | 10 REB | 2 AST | 25 PTS | +9With Jennings taking on a heavy scoring load and Milwaukee’s defense accentuating Philadelphia’s offensive weaknesses, the Bucks didn’t need a second huge scoring effort. They just needed someone to prove reliable in work with Jennings. Gooden was up to the task. He regularly connected on pick and pops with Jennings once the point guard got going and forced the defense to react to him.
Carlos Delfino, SF 21 MIN | 1-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 2 PTS | 0Not sure what has happened to Delfino. He’s shooting worse than 25% from the field over his past five games and an even worse sub-20% from three. Milwaukee could certainly use production out of him so long as Stephen Jackson isn’t playing and Tobias Harris isn’t really ready.
Brandon Jennings, PG 42 MIN | 11-23 FG | 7-8 FT | 4 REB | 7 AST | 33 PTS | +5Damn fine game. Damn fine. 19 points in the first quarter set the tone for what could have been a special night. Reality and rest caught up to Jennings and he only mustered 14 points the rest of the way, but that’s still a great night when you add in his seven assists and general play. Defensively, he had some problems with Jrue Holiday early, but it wasn’t for lack of effort. If anything, he was putting a little too much effort in, being a little too aggressive. It hurt the team early, but it was just a flesh wound. They recovered — he helped make sure.
Mike Dunleavy, SF 33 MIN | 4-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 10 PTS | -5As he often does, he found a way to fit in. I’ll be honest, seeing him on Andre Iguodala in the fourth quarter was a terrifying site. But it didn’t get the Bucks killed. Credit Dunleavy for handling himself admirably against a player who, athletically, is playing on a different difficulty level than him.

Two Things We Saw

  1. Sure, Gooden played well. But his turnover with less than two minutes to play was especially dangerous. Milwaukee held just a five point lead when Gooden fired a cross court pass three rows into the stands. This is the kind of thing that happens to a guy who gets a lane violation on his own free throw. Some very Gooden moments.
  2. First half for the Sixers: 22-45 FG (48%). Second half: 13-49 FG (27%). Scott Skiles has been lamenting the defense as of late, but he had little reason to frown when this one finished. Brandon Jennings in particular played a much better second half, culminating on the final possession when he nearly forced a turnover on Lou Williams. Yes, he gambled and got beat seconds later, but Lou missed, so we’ll just overlook that for now.

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Jennings 34 Not Enough Bucks 94 – Hawks 99

March 2nd, 2012 Ian Segovia 4 comments

Milwaukee Bucks 94 Final

Recap | Box Score

 99 Atlanta Hawks
Carlos Delfino, SF 42 MIN | 1-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 8 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS | -11

Josh Smith, Tracy McGrady and Marvin Williams took turns depantsing Delfino throughout the night. Smith was especially cruel. Delfino had no rhythm on offense and no tenacity on defense.
Ersan Ilyasova, PF 25 MIN | 4-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | +7

Frankensova rose in time for a timely tip-in to put tie the game at 94 all. But then he lost his fellow vampire, Vladimir Radmanovic, who then hit a wide open game winning three. Besides those last two plays, it was a very non-descriptive night for Ilyasova.
Drew Gooden, PF 38 MIN | 8-21 FG | 9-9 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 26 PTS | -4
Brandon Jennings, PG 43 MIN | 10-23 FG | 9-11 FT | 3 REB | 9 AST | 34 PTS | -10

Jennings was spitting hot fire in the second and third. He had one stunning sequence: three, three, steal, floater. It was everything that Bucks fans want him to be. The question remains as to why he wasn’t heavily involved late in the game. Jennings never took a shot within the last 2 minutes of the game. Down 97-94, Jennings wasn’t trying very hard to get away from his man, a play that resulted in Drew Gooden’s Drew Goodenness.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SF 23 MIN | 2-6 FG | 3-4 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 7 PTS | -12

23 minutes of playing four on five on offense. The clamor for Moute to develop an 18 footer has been going on for years. But why have the worst offensive player in a century take the worst possible shot on the court? In the past, I would say that they should just have Moute shoot at the rim, but he’s not even doing that well anymore. So the only answer may be not to play him.

Two Things We Saw

  1. So let me get this straight: down three and the play goes to Drew Gooden in the post where the defense absolutely suffocates him. The play was probably drawn up to be a bad three, but still, Drew Gooden was the back-up play.
  2. Tracy McGrady, Jerry Stackhouse and Vladimir Radmanovic sparked the Hawks run that won the game. It’s 2004 all over again.

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Late game rebounding and Ersan Ilyasova

March 2nd, 2012 Jeremy Schmidt 2 comments

I’m at the Sloan Sports Analytics conference in Boston today. I just attended a panel led by two guys who wrote a research paper titled: Effort vs. Concentration: The Asymmetric Impact of Pressure on NBA Performance.

There were a lot of numbers involved with this. They established what tasks constituted effort and what tasks constituted concentration based tasks. They wanted tasks that produced roughly the same result, but could be calculated differently. The authors decided that they would compare offensive rebounds as the effort task and free throws as the concentration task. Previous research had determined that an offensive rebound was worth roughly one point, the same as a free throw.

Their findings showed, at home, players performed better in late game situations that were related to increased effort and worse in late game situations that required increased concentration.

The offensive rebounding rate of the home team increases monotonically with the importance of the point, but the away team’s rate is flat, indicating the result is due to the supportive crowd and not other confounding factors. In contrast to free throws, for which the home team shows a decline in performance, pressure amplifies home-court advantage in the heat of the moment

I couldn’t help but think of Ersan Ilyasova.

Over his past two home games, Ilyasova has five offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, including a game winning tip in against the Wizards that came with two seconds left. On the season, Ilyasova is averaging 1.2 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter per game. His next highest quarter is .9.

Just thought it was worth mentioning considering Ilyasova’s recent uptick and the upcoming trade deadline. Perhaps a team struggling to finish off games and in need of some offensive rebounding prowess might be interested?

Jeremy Schmidt writes the Milwaukee Bucks blog Bucksketball.com. Follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

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