Andre Pippen

by Jordan Sams on Apr 6, 2009 1:08 PM PDT

As I made my internet rounds this morning, I came across a TrueHoop article which caught my attention. The specific article links to a BasketballProspectus article by Kevin Felton. In Felton's article he compares current NBA'ers to the six NBA players on the Hall of Fame's list. Our own Andre Iguodala makes an appearance.

Chris Mullin
Five boards, two steals, an efficient 22 points without a ton of 3s from a swing man ... that's what Chris Mullin did in the 1991-92 season. And that's a lot like Kevin Durant, which is why the highest score in this whole similarity exercise comes from the Thunder's Kevin Durant.

The next time someone tells Durant he plays like Chris Mullin will certainly be the first, won't it? That's why I love these comparisons.

   - Kevin Durant 96.2

   - Michael Redd 96.1

   - Jason Richardson 96.1

   - John Salmons 95.4

   - Andre Iguodala 95.3

Being compared to any Hall of Famer is flattering, but the flat-topped Chris Mullin isn't the player I had in mind.

The future Hall of Famer most Sixers fans like to compare Iggy to is Scottie Pippen. Felton's formula is intriguing, but I don't have access to his calculations, so I decided to do a little research and simple math of my own. Click through for a chart comparing the first five years of both Iguodala's and Pippen's careers.

ANDRE IGUODALA		SCOTTIE PIPPEN
398	G	398
37.9	MP	33.6
5.4	FGM	6.3
11.5	FGA	12.8
.468	FG%	.495
0.8	3PM	0.2
2.5	3PA	0.9
.323	3P%	.250
4.0	FTM	2.7
5.2	FTA	3.9
.756	FT%	.693
1.1	ORB	1.9
4.5	DRB	4.4
5.7	TRB	6.3
4.3	AST	4.9
1.8	STL	1.9
0.5	BLK	1.0
2.4	TOV	2.8
2.3	PF	3.2
15.5	PTS	15.6

The numbers are pretty similar. The biggest differences are the percentages, but if you look at the averages in the major statistical categories the numbers are extremely close.

	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Iguodala	15.5	5.7	4.3	1.8	0.5
Pippen	15.6	6.3	4.9	1.9	1.0

So on a day when I'm choosing to give myself a mental break from the Sixers and their playoff push, it puts a smile on my face that I can sit here and compare Andre Iguodala to players like Chris Mullin and Scottie Pippen. Now we just need to find the Batman to Andre's Robin, and I think we're close with this guy. Get well soon Thad.

Enjoy opening day baseball everyone. My beloved Astros open the season in less than three hours. Try to spend the whole day not thinking about yesterday's loss or the playoff push. You'll be a lot healthier for it. We'll get back to work tomorrow.

Until then...

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Comments

Having watched Mullin play- he was nothing like Iguodala at all. That must be one flawed formula.

Mullin was a jump shooter and much better scorer. His numbers where a bit inflated given his team’s 118 ppg (#1 pace factor.)

Also, David Robinson’s game was nothing like Dwight Howard. Another example where stats are ‘blind.’

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by tk76 on Apr 6, 2009 1:27 PM PDT reply actions

When you watch Iguodala.

You have to see a little Pippen in him.

Liberty Ballers.com.

by Jordan Sams on Apr 6, 2009 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions

Not just the game, but the petulant personality.

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by tk76 on Apr 6, 2009 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm with ya.

I’m also really banking on Thad being the next big thing. I see it.

Liberty Ballers.com.

by Jordan Sams on Apr 6, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Amen. He's got that undeniable superstar quality.

by yardbird on Apr 6, 2009 6:43 PM PDT up reply actions

The Iguodala Pippen Categories have been made from day one.

And tk76 – this isn’t a matter of the stats being blind – itt’s a matter of the statistician not knowing what he’s dealing with – instead of being a slave to the numbers the guy needs to look at his results and see if they pass a smell test – comparing Iguodala to Mullin just smells

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 6, 2009 4:47 PM PDT reply actions

Comparing Iguodala`s and Pippen`s first five seasons is not fair because...

Iguodala`s first two full seasons he played alongside Iverson. Iverson is not the type of player to allow other players to develop around him. Rather, they tend to mold their game to compliment his.
Currently, and no one can argue this, Iguodala is leading this team. However, I think Thad has a much better chance of developing his skills with Iguodala on the team than Iguodala had with Iverson on his team. I think it`s fair to say that next year you will see Thad leading the team in scoring, Brand leading the team in rebounds, Iguodala leading the team in steals and all around good stats, and Miller (let`s hope he stays) leading the team in assists. Then we sixers fans can finally see a Pippen/Jordan combo in the making.
One final note: that will never happen unless Brand sacrifices his leadership tendencies and accepts himself as a role player on the team.

by jefu on Apr 6, 2009 5:19 PM PDT reply actions

Oh I think an argument could be made that Andre Miller is the leader of this team depending on how you want to define it.

It seemed Iguodala deferred, not only to Iverson but to Webber as well his first couple seasons here and it wasn’t cause Allen Iverson ’wouldn’t allow’ him to shoot – he just seemed to ‘respect’ his elders.

The constant debate trying to justify Andre Iguodala is getting kind of silly though

One final note: that will never happen unless Brand sacrifices his leadership tendencies and accepts himself as a role player on the team.

This team has no vocal leader – they have a guy who complains a lot (Iguodala) but that’s not necessarily a leader – if Brand has leadership tendencies it would be asinine to ask him to sacrifice them. You seem to think that leadership means you can’t accept your role – I think the exact opposite. I also think any one who thinks Elton Brand is going to be a role player really doesn’t get it yet – Reggie Evans is a role player, Lou Williams, Willie Green. Brand is a great player who can fit in the proper system built by the proper coach – but he’s not a role player

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 6, 2009 5:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Agree with the last point.

Kevin Garnett is averaging 15-8 this year. That doesn’t mean he’s a role player. I’d be completely fine with Elton averaging 15-10 next year.

Liberty Ballers.com.

by Jordan Sams on Apr 6, 2009 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions

Garnett also helped to make his team better. I don`t think that is a fair comparison. As of right now, I dont think the coaching staff knows how Brand can fit in to make the team better.

Do you?

by jefu on Apr 6, 2009 6:47 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't think you can make a judgement either way.

Brand wasn’t healthy all, and DiLeo was his coach for what, 10 games? If that. When Cheeks was the coach, he couldn’t figure out how to use anybody — not just Brand.

Liberty Ballers.com.

by Jordan Sams on Apr 6, 2009 6:54 PM PDT up reply actions

well, my point is, we do not yet know how Brand will fit with this team in order to make them better. If they can play better with him as a leader…let that happen and see how they perform with the help of a new, good coach. If the team can play better with him as a role-player, let that also happen. Put the fact that he`s getting paid the most money to the side. That doesn`t necessarily mean he has to be the focal point of the team.

As far as Cheeks is concerned, he figured out enough to get them to the playoffs the year prior. You dont allow your team to go 24-12 in the last 36 games by making bad coaching decisions. He may not have been good enough to incorporate Brand with the others, but I am interested in seeing what a new coach can do to help the team. And as I already mentioned, we do not know what Brand`s role will be once that happens (if it happens).

by jefu on Apr 6, 2009 7:16 PM PDT up reply actions

And yet you are ready to define brands role – do you know things the rest of us don’t?

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 7, 2009 6:50 AM PDT up reply actions

Jemagee, I am not sure how good your reading skills are….

let me clarify: I said Iguodala is `leading` this team. I did not say he is the leader of this team. When I said leading, I meant in terms of stats. Statistically, he is leading this team. He is the all around best player on this team. You can not argue that.

Also, it is completely asinine to ask Brand to be the leader of this team. Brand`s style that fit him for a number of years, does not mesh with this team. Brand is a post-up player, we know this. The team was not successful making him the focal point while giving up their run-and-gun style. You can also argue that with his number of injuries, he is past his prime. Therefore, with the number of years left on his contract, his skills should be used to accompany the team`s already successful style of play (and I am constituting a current winning record as being successful), thus making him a role-player.
Also, when defining role-player, I am not sure if you quite `get it`. The term role player is a very loose term. Reggie Evans has a very specific role, where as Brand`s role (seeing as he has more skill) would be to fit his game with the other players. His role would be to get rebounds and open up perimiter shots for the other players. His role would be to resort to a post-up offense only when the team gets bogged down in a half-court set against a team with good zone defense, etc. His role should not be to carry the burden of this team as he did in the beginning of the season. Once more, that was not successful.
Furthermore, I feel the way you argue shows your arrogance. And an arrogant person can never make proper arguments.

by jefu on Apr 6, 2009 6:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Yet you’re the one who mentioned brand’s leadership tendencies. Make up your mind – does he have any or doesn’t he. And maybe make it clear what you mean when role player has a pretty clear definition within the world of the NBA and you have to redefine it to fit your use of it.

Andre Iguodala leads the team in points per game – maybe steals – there are other ‘stats’ that matter – I’m hoping you realize that and are smart enough to look past points per game when comparing players.

"Someone created the box score," Morey says, "and he should be shot."

Blocked shots — they look great, but unless you secure the ball afterward, you haven’t helped your team all that much.

by jemagee on Apr 7, 2009 6:52 AM PDT up reply actions

You still can`t read correctly. I`m not surprised by now.

I said Brand has leadership tendencies, but they do not fit with this team. I said he has to give up those leadership tendencies and not become the focal point of the team when he returns.
I also said Iguodala has the best overall stats. He is the only player on the team to have good all around stats with the exception of maybe miller, if you want to count 4.5 rebounds per game being better than 5.8. WIth the way you argue logic, I`m not surprised if you would try to claim that.
And as far as role player goes, I didn`t redefine it, but it certainly fit my use. Just because you are a starter doesn`t mean you can`t be a role player. please provide evidence to prove me wrong on that one. Please.
Lastly, I am hoping you are smart enough to be able to read correctly in the future.

by jefu on Apr 7, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions