Welcome Taurean Prince

[foucault87]

Great game by him yesterday but what is up with that 2 point shooting. He is about 58% at the rim on his career but around 46% with us. Shooting about 37% overall inside the arc. He has always played like a 6'2" player but you have to finish better than that at his size.

 

[Jake]

Another reasonable game by Prince, this time against the warriors. Looks like he played better than many of our more highly regarded players.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

In the month of April Prince has played in eight games averaging 26 minutes. He's shooting 46.3% from the field and a blistering 47.1% on 3's. His career average on 3's is 37%, so he's 10 points above that. It's only eight games, though, so it may just be a hot streak but OTOH what if he's figured something out?

He uncharacteristically had six turnovers in the win over Charlotte, but has a total of seven in the other seven games. He's having a really strong month so far. If he can maintain this level of play over the last 17 games I'd say he's put himself firmly in the conversation for a rotation spot next year ahead of Cedi and Windler. He may even be a trade chip going into the draft.

But considering that the Cavs are the lowest scoring team in the league I'd be inclined to keep somebody who can come off the bench and contribute 15 ppg while hitting some 3's and spreading the floor. Prince has shown he can knock down a contested three-pointer with the shot clock expiring after the designed play failed. Those guys are pretty valuable.

Now that Prince is healthy and getting regular minutes he's showing he can contribute and provide some offense this team desparately needs.

 

[Derek]

Stay hot and maybe we can get a late-first (even if it's down the road) from a contender this off-season

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Looking at how Prince compares to other players in the NBA at his position (from cleaningtheglass.com) is interesting.

Offensively, his points per shot attempt (PSA) was only in the 19th percentile as a rookie, then improved to the 53rd and 87th percentiles his next two seasons. He showed amazing progress his three years with Atlanta.

Last season, his fourth, he moved to Brooklyn and dropped to the 8th percentile, possibly because they were playing him as a power forward 91% of the time.

Looking at Prince’s numbers since coming to the Cavs, he’s played power forward 67% of his minutes and small forward 33%. With Prince at the 4, the Cavs have been outscored by 13.6 points per 100 possessions. When playing the 3 on the other hand, the Cavs have outscored their opponents by 5.8 points per 100. So the Cavs are a whopping 19.6 points better when Prince plays small forward instead of the 4.

To put real numbers on it, the Cavs average 120.3 points per 100 with Prince at the 3 and 108.1 when he’s a 4. That 120.3 number puts the Cavs in the 90th percentile in the league in scoring. In other words, when Prince has been at small forward this year the Cavs’ offense is in the top 10%. Their defense, however, ranks only in the 36th percentile. Put them together and the Cavs have been in the 77th percentile in +/- in the 200 minutes when Prince was on the floor at small forward. They’ve been a well above average team with Prince at the 3.

Defensively the Cavs give up 114.4 points when Prince is a 3 compared to 121.7 points when he’s a 4. Clearly, Prince is a pretty bad power forward, but the Cavs have played him there two-thirds of the time due to injuries to Love and Nance plus they were overstocked at the 3 with Okoro, Cedi, and Windler.

The last eight games he’s been playing small forward exclusively now that Love and Wade are both available and now Nance is also back. He’s shooting 48.6% on 3’s, which puts him right at the top of his position group, or any position group for that matter. He won’t continue to shoot nearly 50% on 3’s, but it’s clear that small forward is his best position and he needs to play on the perimeter.

Now that Prince is back to his natural position he is playing by far his best basketball of the year. It will be interesting to see if Prince can continue to score at a high level over the next 17 games if he gets regular minutes and plays exclusively at the 3. Barring more injuries to Love and Nance, that should happen.

 

[daddywags]

He's playing okay but he needs to start sharing the ball. Every time he gets it I'm thinking "shot."

 

[Nphan]

What's stopping this guy from being the face of the franchise? Still young, very good, and getting better.

 

[CleveRocks]

What's stopping this guy from being the face of the franchise? Still young, very good, and getting better.

Umm Talent?

However, he is clearly a better option than Cedi. His game is actually a good model for Windler...he is not going to be a Kawhai level 3.. He will get destroyed by a LeBron or a Durant.. But he is a pretty OK player.. Stevens at the three has a better physique to defend, and is also a pretty OK player...

I don't see us making playoffs with Pretty OK players.. All teams have a starter or two in this category, but you need more than that to really compete.. We would have to see Sexland become what people imagined Wall and Beal would be, with strong progress from Allen to achieve above average..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

It took Prince two years to get up to speed and then in his third year he was a very good scorer for the Hawks, ranking in the 87th percentile in points per shot attempt. Then in his fourth season Brooklyn moved him to power forward (Durant injury?) and his numbers fell off. This year he's been mostly at the 4 with the Cavs but now that he's back at the 3 his scoring has taken off and he's a decent passer and rebounder.

He seems to be moving into the prime years of his career but he needs to stay at the 3 and get consistent minutes so his shot can stay locked in. I see him as a big upgrade over Cedi if he can maintain this level of play and a valuable scorer off the bench. The guys we have coming off the bench now, like Nance, Wade, Delly, and Hartenstein, can't really create their own shots. It really helps to have a guy like Prince who can knock down a contested 3 with the shot clock winding down.

His numbers say he's a poor 2-point shooter but lately I've seen him pull up and hit 15' jumpers and also finish at the rim even when drawing a foul. Since coming to the Cavs he's in the 67th percentile in assists/usage rate so he's an above average passer.

In his 200 minutes at small forward on the Cavs, the team is in the 91st percentile in points per possession. This is the team, not Prince individually. They're also in the 72nd percentile in turnovers (fewer than average), which contributes to all those points being scored (120.3 per 100 possessions). They're in the 66th percentile in offensive rebounds and the 91st percentile in free throws made per 100 possessions. Defensively they're only in the 36th percentile and overall they're in the 76th percentile with a +5.8 per 100 possessions with Prince at the 3.

With Okoro at small forward the Cavs are -5.4 per 100. So the Cavs this season have been 11.2 points per 100 possessions better with Prince at the 3 than Okoro.

 

[ryanf]

It took Prince two years to get up to speed and then in his third year he was a very good scorer for the Hawks, ranking in the 87th percentile in points per shot attempt. Then in his fourth season Brooklyn moved him to power forward (Durant injury?) and his numbers fell off. This year he's been mostly at the 4 with the Cavs but now that he's back at the 3 his scoring has taken off and he's a decent passer and rebounder.

He seems to be moving into the prime years of his career but he needs to stay at the 3 and get consistent minutes so his shot can stay locked in. I see him as a big upgrade over Cedi if he can maintain this level of play and a valuable scorer off the bench. The guys we have coming off the bench now, like Nance, Wade, Delly, and Hartenstein, can't really create their own shots. It really helps to have a guy like Prince who can knock down a contested 3 with the shot clock winding down.

His numbers say he's a poor 2-point shooter but lately I've seen him pull up and hit 15' jumpers and also finish at the rim even when drawing a foul. Since coming to the Cavs he's in the 67th percentile in assists/usage rate so he's an above average passer.

In his 200 minutes at small forward on the Cavs, the team is in the 91st percentile in points per possession. This is the team, not Prince individually. They're also in the 72nd percentile in turnovers (fewer than average), which contributes to all those points being scored (120.3 per 100 possessions). They're in the 66th percentile in offensive rebounds and the 91st percentile in free throws made per 100 possessions. Defensively they're only in the 36th percentile and overall they're in the 76th percentile with a +5.8 per 100 possessions with Prince at the 3.

With Okoro at small forward the Cavs are -5.4 per 100. So the Cavs this season have been 11.2 points per 100 possessions better with Prince at the 3 than Okoro.

The last few games is the prince that earned that 13M per yr contract. That's actually a good value contract and i dont mind if he stays the whole of next season as a starter or back-up 3.

 

[MirORich]

 

[Dr No]

Strange. Why now?

 

[Lee]

Strange. Why now?

because he was helping the team and our management wants the best chance at the best draft pick possible without hurting the development of the young players?

 

[cabs]

Oh gosh I guess that means the return of the Cedi