Thanks to readerAaronfor passing along a link tothis feature on Lebron James's "chase-down blocks"by乔纳森·艾布拉姆斯（Jonathan Abrams）in theNew York Times. Abrams writes...
The chase-down block is the defensive equivalent of one of James's dunks, and it is becoming his signature play. The sequence begins with James in the backcourt as a fast break develops for the opposition. James's speed enables him to make up ground, and his size and athleticism allow him to come from behind and block the layup or dunk attempt. Because James is one of the few players who can block shots this way and the only one who performs it regularly, the chase-down block is a statistical category he has mostly created on his own.
Aaron's reason for sending the email: Where's the love for Nicolas Batum? Is it really accurate to say that LeBron is "the only one who performs [the chase-down] regularly?" Aren't we overlooking a certain Frenchman with a proposensity for wiping out transition layups? Great question, let's investigate.
According to the article, the Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coaches track this type of play over the course of the season: James had 20 chase-down blocks during the 76 regular season games he played this year.
To compare Nicolas Batum to James, I reviewed videotape on我的协同运动of every shot that Batum blocked this year. I used a strict criteria for determining what was and wasn't a chase-down (determining this type of thing is a little trickier than you might imagine). My criteria were as follows...
- The offensive player had to make a direct path towards the basket without a significant pause, stop or pump fake.
- The offensive player had to attempt a layup or dunk.
- The defensive player had to come from behind (or mostly behind) the offensive player and not from his side or from in front of him.
- The defensive player had to block the shot in the vicinity of the basket area and while in the air, without fouling.
当然,巴统由sh明显是有限的oulder injury this season and played in just 37 games, starting just 25. Nevertheless his numbers are pretty remarkable. Batum executed 5 chase-down blocks. Here's his victim list:
- Nick Collison -- Oklahoma City -- March 28th
- Shawn Marion -- Dallas Mavericks -- March 25th
- CJ Watson -- Golden State Warriors -- March 11th
- Arron Afllalo -- Denver Nuggets -- March 7th
- Deron Williams -- Utah Jazz -- February 21nd
好吧，是时候并排比较詹姆斯和巴图姆了。干得好...
数字告诉我们,詹姆斯确实是the Chase-down King. But they also make a fair argument for Batum as Prince. (Atlanta's Josh Smith and others likely deserve to be in the court too.)
詹姆斯每场比赛总共打了2966分钟，平均39分钟。每148.3分钟一次追逐一次。鉴于他参加了多少分钟，这转化为他今年上场每四次大约有1分钟。那简直令人难以置信。
Batum obviously doesn't play nearly as many minutes as James when healthy, let alone when coming back from shoulder surgery and working his way back into the starting lineup. But when you breakdown chase-downs on a per-minute basis, you see that Batum doesn't trail James by all that much.
Extrapolating a 37 game sample into a full 82 game season is tricky and unfortunately I don't have access to last year's numbers to determine Batum's chase-down block rate over a full season. But if our initial goal was to present evidence that LeBron James is not the only NBA player to execute a chase-down "regularly" I think we've met that goal.
Batum vs. The Blazers
对于那些不受巴图姆（Batum）5个追逐块的印象深刻的人，这是一些观点。在审查了今年所有其他18个开拓者的封锁镜头（包括Shavlik Randolph，Travis Diener，Anthony Tolliver等）之后，他的队友合并了总共4个追逐。总共18,938分钟。那是每4,734.5分钟。
Dante Cunningham snuffed out JJ Barea. Martell Webster swatted both Anthony Carter and Chris Douglas-Roberts. And Brandon Roy was credited with a block on Jason Terry on a weird play that may or may not have been scored properly (but a play that fit all the criteria I outlined above). That's it.
最近的失误：拉马库斯·奥尔德里奇（Lamarcus Aldridge）从后面封锁了扎克·兰道夫（Zach Randolph）的上篮尝试，但只有在伦道夫（Randolph）抽水并完全聚集自己以摆脱其他西装外套后卫之后。马库斯·坎比（Marcus Camby）在一场戏剧中被冠以一个障碍物，在那场比赛中，他从后面剥离了球，罗恩·阿蒂斯特（Ron Artest）上篮得分。否则，绝对是纳达。
Here's a chart that hilariously reinforces Batum's singular dominance of this category. (Numbers pulled fromBasketball-Reference.)
Length, Speed, Vertical Jump and Instinct
虽然上图比严重工具更多的是对话作品，但它完美地反映了执行艾布拉姆斯描述的追逐块所需的独特技能组合：长度，速度，垂直跳跃和本能。
While they certainly have sufficient length, the Blazers bigs (Camby, Oden, Przybilla, Pendergraph, Howard) do not possess the necessary closing speed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Blazers guards (Bayless, Fernandez) might possess the closing speed but don't have significant length to challenge shots on the run at or near the rim. We're left with the guys (Miller, Blake) who simply can't get vertical,don't havethe coordination (Outlaw), or never really saw the court (Mills, Randolph, Diener, Tolliver).
The remaining group of Blazers with sufficient length, speed, ability to elevate and instincts include the four names you would expect: Batum, Webster, Roy and Cunningham. What separates Batum from the others?
Situational Factors
Chase-downs almost always occur after one of two things happen: a Blazer turnover or a Blazer missed jump shot. Given what we know about the Blazers offense, both of those situations would tend to favor the small forward, particularly the starting small forward. Why? Being off the ball is key. If your momentum and/or attention is directed at the basket during or immediately after a shot, it stands to reason you are not getting a head start getting back on defense. Because a steal is generally unexpected, the player who commits the turnover regularly hesitates just long enough to be a non-factor going the other way. Closing speed can help make up for either of these situations and no Blazer has the same high-end closing ability as Batum.
Unit personnel is also a critical factor here. Who is taking the shots and where are they coming from? As the small forward playing alongside Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, you're likely to find yourself on the weakside for a fair number of long misses.
What makes Batum's numbers here all the more impressive is that the Blazers committedthe second fewest number of turnovers per gamein the entire league. Playing with a Monta Ellis or a Steve Nash could do wonders for his chase-down numbers. On this same point, I suspect that some of LeBron's chase-down blocks were the result of covering up his own turnovers (he averaged 3.4 per game, top 5 in the league).
Also interesting is that both Cleveland and Portland play at an extremely slow pace: Cleveland is 25th and the Blazers are 30th. Up the tempo, up the turnovers and quick shots and, theoretically, you would be upping the potential for chase-down blocks as well.
Given the lack of turnovers and slow pace, one could argue that Batum's chase-downs are occurring in just about the most difficult petri dish possible.
Concluding Thoughts
Reviewing video of every blocked shot by the Blazers this season in search of chase-downs had an unintended consequence: I appreciate defenders that get back in transition more than ever before.
Martell Webster就是一个很好的例子。尽管他整个赛季只有2个追逐障碍，但他实际上在过渡情况下有10个街区。这些以多种方式出现，并以不同程度的重点来，但基本的公式是：开拓者的射门升高，韦伯斯特正确地旋转了防守，反对的后卫看起来像推动节奏，韦伯斯特在钥匙中等待他，并挑战了射门。有时候它是壮观的，有时候很丑，有时候它是令人难忘的。但是，这种承诺使波特兰保持了步伐，并阻止了对手将球推到球场上。它不会成为SportsCenter，但会赢得比赛。
Abrams starts his piece by comparing chase-down blocks to dunks, but I'd like to amend that slightly. Chase-downs are more like an alley-oop: a select group of players can execute one, the degree of difficulty is very high, a number of situational factors must be just right for it and, in the end, it's more of a novelty rather than a sustainable strategy. Only in the rarest of cases -- Tayshaun Prince on Reggie Miller -- does the chase-down have game-changing potential. But, like an oop, it will always draw oohs and aahs. Just ask Deron Williams.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter
PS If you, like Aaron, have questions or situations you'd like investigated just shoot me an email.