“Over three-plus anonymous seasons with the Spurs, Eubanks injected his brief stints with a certain violent flare. He dunked with rage, and swatted at shots as if the ball had done something bad to his family.
The Portland Trail Blazers saw something more — including an ability to switch against pick-and-rolls.
Eubanks switched on only 59 total picks last season in San Antonio, per Second Spectrum. That changed the minute Portland snapped him up on a 10-day contract.
Eubanks is switching on 12 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions this season — a hair more often than Bam freaking Adebayo, the switch king. Only five rotation players top that figure: Nicolas Claxton, Mohamed Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Usman Garuba, and Larry Nance Jr. Portland has allowed a miniscule 0.88 points chance when Eubanks switches onto ball handlers.
Quicker guards can get by Eubanks, but he sticks close enough to bother their shots from behind:
Missed layups turn into transition chances. That switch by Eubanks on defense means the matchups are scrambled when Portland gains possession; it’s hard to corral fast breaks with everyone trying to figure out who to guard.
Switching also places Eubanks at the top of the defense — ideal position to rim-run. He sprints the floor, sucking in the defense and generating open 3s for teammates:
Eubanks is fine in more conservative schemes too; opponents have hit just 51.7% of shots in the restricted area with Eubanks as the closest defender — one of the half-dozen or so lowest marks in the league among rotation bigs, per NBA.com. Portland has sunk to 23rd in points allowed per possession, but that has nothing to do with Eubanks. He has proven a solid find.”
Tiiiimmmooo
Drrrrreeeeeewwwwwwwww
loudstain
I’d like to think there’s a bit of all of us in the vault 🥲
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“Over three-plus anonymous seasons with the Spurs, Eubanks injected his brief stints with a certain violent flare. He dunked with rage, and swatted at shots as if the ball had done something bad to his family.
The Portland Trail Blazers saw something more — including an ability to switch against pick-and-rolls.
Eubanks switched on only 59 total picks last season in San Antonio, per Second Spectrum. That changed the minute Portland snapped him up on a 10-day contract.
Eubanks is switching on 12 pick-and-rolls per 100 possessions this season — a hair more often than Bam freaking Adebayo, the switch king. Only five rotation players top that figure: Nicolas Claxton, Mohamed Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Usman Garuba, and Larry Nance Jr. Portland has allowed a miniscule 0.88 points chance when Eubanks switches onto ball handlers.
Quicker guards can get by Eubanks, but he sticks close enough to bother their shots from behind:
Missed layups turn into transition chances. That switch by Eubanks on defense means the matchups are scrambled when Portland gains possession; it’s hard to corral fast breaks with everyone trying to figure out who to guard.
Switching also places Eubanks at the top of the defense — ideal position to rim-run. He sprints the floor, sucking in the defense and generating open 3s for teammates:
Eubanks is fine in more conservative schemes too; opponents have hit just 51.7% of shots in the restricted area with Eubanks as the closest defender — one of the half-dozen or so lowest marks in the league among rotation bigs, per NBA.com. Portland has sunk to 23rd in points allowed per possession, but that has nothing to do with Eubanks. He has proven a solid find.”
Drrrrreeeeeewwwwwwwww
I’d like to think there’s a bit of all of us in the vault 🥲
Great analysis! We love Drew!