Looking Closely At Andris Biedrins

First off, I have to start by saying that I still cannot believe this guy is more than a year younger then I am. It's ludicrous! There must be some kind of Danny Almonte birth certificate deal going on here and I refuse to believe that I will be able to rent a car faster than the starting center for the Golden State Warriors. Just look at the man; the chiseled jaw, the constant look of unquestioned patience even in the most wild of times, the hair, and the uncanny body control scream out to us that Andris has to be at least 25. 

I ran a comparison of Andris, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming and Andrew Bynum to see if I could uncover anything interesting about our favorite Latvian I must say that the results were somewhat staggering. On the surface, Andris's stats are comparable with our future starting centers in the All-Star game and Bynum. Points per game are a little lower and rebounds per game are a little higher. However, we all know that over the course of an entire season, (I also looked over their entire careers) Biedrins receives lower amounts of playing time in Don Nelson's system when compared to the other 3. This is where the advanced statistics were needed from basketball-reference to truly uncover the brilliance of Hair Product Central. I picked out the stats that Andris was tops in when compared to the other 3 centers. The following statistics were from each of the 4 players' careers. It's too early for this particular season to give effective analysis on these advanced statistics. 

ORtg: Offensive Rating is points produced per 100 possessions. It has a whole bunch of different algorithms and other math words I don't know the meaning of but the essence of the stat is points produced per 100 possessions. Guess who leads in this category? None other than our man Andris. While it may be hard to find in a boxscore, this man's efficiency every time he touches the ball on offense is through the roof. This leads into my next stat...

Usg%: Usage percentage is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used while this player is on the court. As one would expect, Andris had the lowest usage percentage of the bunch. I didn't need to tell anyone this, just watch a Warriors game. The man sometimes disappears during Warrior offensive sets, but when he does touch the ball, great things happen.

eFG%: Effective field goal percentage adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. For example, suppose Player A goes 4 for 10 with 2 threes, while Player B goes 5 for 10 with 0 threes. Each player would have 10 points from field goals, and thus would have the same effective field goal percentage of 50%. Andris tops the group far and away. This must mean that he knows his role better than the other 3 and attempts less from downtown. He also is much more effective in his 2pt. field goal percentage.

TS%: Same thing as the one before only this one takes into account free throws rather than 3 pointers. Biede heads up this department which was a surprise to me. I figured that Yao's uncanny ability to hit free throws would push him over the edge on this statistic. It just goes to show you how much MORE effective Andris is at hitting his shots that aren't free throws. 

ORB%: Offensive rebound percentage is an estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while he was on the floor. The man has an ability to be in the right place in the right time. This stat more than anything shows his natural instinct around a basketball. While he does not top off the list for defensive and total rebounding percentage, I felt that this stat was telling of the type of player Andris is. Another reason this stat is near and dear to my heart is that Jeff Foster has been in the Top 2 for this percentage over the past 10 years.

STL%: Just like our last stat only with steals. He leads the stat because of his complete awareness on the defensive end of the court. Andris doesn't just go for the blocks, (as evidence of him being 3rd in that category of our 4 centers) but he also plays the passing lanes and I would imagine that a majority of these steals come from his ability to snake his way around other post players to nab errant entry passes. 

TOV%: Same as the last two stats only with turnovers. Remember, this data I am presenting DOES take into account playing time and even so, Andris still commits the least amount of turnovers by far. He protects the ball and won't try to go into an advanced set of moves that could allow for a guard to sink in and swipe at the ball mid possession. His moves around the basket are quick and deliberate, lowering his turnover numbers.

DRtg: Defensive Rating is points allowed per 100 possessions. Often times, blocks and steals are used to determine how effective a player is on the defensive end. This stat looks at if your man is scoring on you or not. And in Andris's case, his man isn't scoring on him as often as the other 3 centers. I'd argue that this statistic would be the hardest to accurately keep track of with all the double teams, switches, help defense, zone defense and matchups. Still, I was impressed that he showed up as the leader in this category. 

So what can we take away from these stats? Obviously Andris is an unheralded elite center who does not receive the attention deserved due to the limits put on his minutes. Raw numbers are harder to come by but the percentage at which he preforms in measurable statistical categories is at or often above the most elite centers of the game. 

Look at the data for yourself. 

Here is the glossary I used along with the formulas for each stat.