A few weeks back, a quote from new Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd made the rounds that raised some eyebrows.
The quote, as presented in several outlets:
“If you’re into analytics, you look at Joe Johnson as the clear-cut guy taking the last-second shot. He was 9-for-10 with 24 seconds or less. So that would be your guy who is the closer...But if you're looking at stats, which a lot of you guys do, Joe Johnson is the name that comes first.”
The reaction to this was that, while Johnson is a good enough scorer, it made no sense to identify one man as a closer when the team's key offensive advantage is having multiple threats capable of scoring.
Well, it turns out that the abridged quote used hid some of the context of Kidd's words, as The Brooklyn Game points out:
Well, if you're into analytics, you would look at Joe Johnson as the clear-cut, of the guy taking the last-second shot. He was 9 for 10 with 24 seconds or less, so that would be your guy that could, who's the closer. But the game of basketball is something that, you put five guys out there and you draw up a play for your- for one player, most of the time it doesn't end up being that one guy taking that shot. He creates a problem, which results in one of his teammates getting a wide open look, and make or miss, it's the right basketball play. So for us, it's about making the right basketball play at the end. But if you're looking at stats, which a lot of you guys do, Joe Johnson is the name that comes first.
(Emphasis on the section originally not presented.)
Well, that makes a lot more sense and clears things up nicely. Turns out Kidd has a solid grasp on basketball. Who knew?
