the smurk, originally uploaded by ignaciovlm.
Twenty players scored 20 points per game or more last season in the NBA. That's about par for the course. Among those twenty, there are of course the obvious scoring leaders such as Kobe, Dwayne, and LeBron. There are the perennial 20 ppg club members and the much publicized new comers Devin Harris and Danny Granger. And then there's Ben Gordon. Gordon's long been touted as instant offense, and far be it from me to dispute that. He puts points up, hands down. The question, though, is whether or not that's good for your team. He was fairly important to what Chicago was doing last year, and looks to be the same in Detroit. The jury, however, has been out since he got to the league. Is he too small? Does he give too much up on defense? His defense has been worse, according to Basketball Reference's defensive rating stat, the last two seasons, but that's probably attributable more to Chicago's coaching situation than to Gordon's actual prowess or lack thereof. And it's not like Gordon scores and does nothing else. Three rebounds and three assists a game won't set the league on fire, but it's serviceable.
The real question comes in how the offense flows in relation to BG. You might have a hard time naming all twenty players who went for 20 ppg last season, but presumably coming up with the twenty players who took the most shots last season would be easier. Or how about the top ten? Again, we would see Wade, Bryant, and James atop the list, joined by Nowitzki, and Durant as obvious entrants. The list is filled up with other, less obvious names that still make sense on this list: Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, Antawn Jamison, and Vince Carter. (I guess the whole story about Carter giving it up for Devin Harris in Jersey was a bit blustery) But who fills in the ten spot? That's right, you guessed it, Ben Gordon. Should he be taking the tenth most number of shots in the league in any given season? I hesitate to rush encouragement. But let's take another measure to look at how Gordon contributes to a team.
Leaf Cutting Ants, originally uploaded by fen_snapz.
So why is he #34? We're giving him a chance. He moves to Detroit in what should be an auspicious move for him, if not for the Motor City franchise. Would you rather have Kevin Martin on your team? Perhaps. But Ben Gordon has proven himself a solid contributor for teams that can push at the contending ranks. He has proven himself a 20 ppg scorer, which doesn't just happen. He's proven quite durable, which really helps his case. And he's 26, which means the bulk of his prime is ahead of him. Furthermore, Gordon simply holds a decent case of good karma for being a bit of a scape goat whenever Chicago felt it was skimping along. Did the other Ben in Chi-town without a pair of horns let the worries of the franchise keep him from producing? Nope. Perhaps as he goes forward, a bit more constraint and self-reflection will be a positive thing. One last stat indicates Gordon steadily improves in this regard, though. His field goal percentage and true shooting percentage have continued to get better. Last season, BG recorded a .573 true shooting percentage, which takes into account three point shooting and free throws. As in, yes, he can put it in from most spots on the court, and he's getting better at it. Hooray.
