The Importance of Reggie Evans

[Built Ford Tough]

An article posted on Raptors HQ after the Suns game. There is a lot more to the article than what is posted here.

 

No, nothing to write home about, but in the Chicago Bulls' triangle offense, it was essential to have a big man who could distribute to cutters like Jordan and Pippen, find open gunners like Steve Kerr and Toni Kukoc, or even lob the ball inside to Luc Longley types. Essentially, Rodman had two jobs on the court - rebound and defend at one end, and help facilitate the offense around Jordan and Pippen at the other.

 

I was reminded of this while watching Reggie Evans in the second half of Toronto's win over Phoenix on Sunday afternoon. Reggie was doing his best Rodman impersonation, hauling down balls and immediately resetting the offence, moving his feet on D, and making the correct decisions with the ball on O, finding teammates en route to 4 assists to go with his 7 points and 12 rebounds.

 

It was a spectacular performance in my books, and one that made me rethink my "why the hell are the Raptors starting Reggie Evans" stance.

 

The question remains however; is it feasible to expect Reggie Evans to take only 3 shots a night, hit 2 of them, pull in 12 rebounds and dish out 4 or so assists?

 

Looking at his stats historically, you wouldn't think so.

 

He's never even averaged an assist a game over a whole season, nor has he averaged even 6 points. Yet he's averaged more than 3 field goal attempts per game, and has been a bit turnover prone during his career, especially in extended minutes.

 

In fact Evans is a player who has always been a bit of a paradox.

 

He is a rebounding monster, one of the best in the league on a per minute basis, yet he's such a horrific free-throw shooter and all-around offensive player, that it negates his rebounding value, and as a result, he's averaged below 20 minutes a game for his career.

 

 

http://www.raptorshq.com/2010/10/19/1760346/the-importance-of-reggie-evans#storyjump

 

I've made my opinions of starting Evans pretty clear, but the writer does bring up some very interesting arguments in this article. I still stand by what I said in the other thread about Evans starting, but I can understand where the writer is coming from as well.

 

Thoughts on this?

[Check my Stats]

Evans was kicking the ball out? I missed all the games save the first, but he typically does not kick it back out lol.

 

A reggie evans taking 3 shots a game is a player that will help you, a Reggie Evans to tries to do too much is not.

Edited October 20, 2010 by Check my Stats

[Poe]

I liked the decision from the start, and I like the subtle changes Triano is making overall. Perhaps he's a better coach than I thought, or maybe he's improving.

 

Earlier I predicted a bad record for the Raptors this year, but now I think there could be a chance for a surprising season... though still not good enough for the playoffs.

[Built Ford Tough]

Evans was kicking the ball out? I missed all the games save the first, but he typically does not kick it back out lol.

 

A reggie evans taking 3 shots a game is a player that will help you, a Reggie Evans to tries to do too much is not.

 

Basically my thoughts. I loved the way that he played tonight against the Bulls (not sure if you saw the game or not). He finished with 15 or 16 rebounds in about 25 minutes of action and only took 2 shots all game. He was crashing the offensive glass like crazy and finished with around 7 or 8 offensive boards and was probably directly responsible for another 2 or 3 by keeping the ball alive and having a teammate come down with it. He was still weak defensively as he simply isn't big enough to defend post players, quick enough to defend players who can step outside the paint and doesn't react fast enough to provide much help defense, but he was great on the glass, which is needed when playing beside Bargnani.

 

He is like Kris Humphries when he was with the team. A good energy guy when he plays within himself, but gets into these moments when he tries to do way too much and winds up hurting the team way more than helping.

 

On a somewhat unrelated note, after watching todays game (and looking at the box scores of others) I've come to the conclusion that Amir Johnson can't start on this team. He fouled out in only 16 minutes today and if he were to be a starter it would really put a strain on the bench when he is constantly having to be yanked early due to picking up 2 quick fouls. I think I may have to agree with Triano and it is the right move to start Evans with Johnson coming off of the bench.

 

Depending on how Davis does when he returns, my opinion on the matter may change again, though.

[Real Deal]

It really reminds me of the situation with Danny Fortson. Excellent rebounder (I'm talking one of the best while he was playing, actually), did a lot of dirty work, but he just wasn't much of a contributor elsewhere. Fortson's biggest issue was his foul trouble. It seemed like Fortson was at five fouls within 10 minutes, he would rack them up so quickly, and it really ruined his career.

 

In fact, the two seasons he played 28-29 minutes per game (under 30), he averaged 12 boards and 11 points. In his third season in the league, he was racking up OVER 15 rebounds per 36 minutes of play (actual number was a hair under 7 boards in 16 minutes).

 

Reggie Evans reached similar rebounding numbers a few years back (well, per 36)...not as good, but pretty close to it. However, he does NOT foul as often as Fortson did (I mean, hell, Fortson was averaging over four fouls in just 16 minutes back in 2005). Evans is not as efficient scoring the ball, but his effort on the glass is what seems to be keeping him in the NBA.