Take That for Data - Individual Defense

Through 6 games, I was under the impression that Kawhi’s covering the opposing team’s best player - which is typically the volume shooter on the team. Surprisingly, Danny Green is contesting an average of 15 shots a game — and defending them admirably by giving only 36.7% of those shots. Eye test suggests the following:

• Kawhi is shutting them down in some possessions;
• Opposing players are getting Kawhi switched out of them.

Other observations from the data:

• Opposing players are attacking Fred VanVleet at a higher rate but surprisingly not that successful (41.9%).
• Eye test that says Serge Ibaka is defending the basket much better can be affirmed by his 35.2% DFG which is pretty good since he’s mostly defending near the rim.
• Siakam is a monster, yielding only 29.8% in 9.5 shots defended per game.
• Green, Ibaka, VanVleet, Lowry, Kawhi, Siakam so far are our best defenders based on these stats (highest DFG% is Lowry at 42.9%), which makes the switching on defence easier to execute since there’s no  major weak point. Heck, even JV and OG are 50% or under.