Brandon Knight: Point Guard or Shooting Guard?
By Ti Windisch
Jan 22, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) shoots around Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during the third quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
I owe an apology to Brandon Knight.
Brandon if you’re reading this, I’m sorry.
In my first ever article for BTBP, I wrote that Knight should make the switch to shooting guard because he wasn’t a good enough point guard. When I wrote this article, I overlooked a few things that have now made me reconsider this stance.
Probably the most obvious thing I missed about Knight was his coach. Jason Kidd was one of the better point guards to ever play basketball. He has more assists than any player ever besides John Stockton. So you could safely assume he knows a thing or two about passing the ball. This is Knight’s first season with Kidd, and he’s assisting more than he ever has before. This is a good sign for Bucks fans.
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He’s also stealing, rebounding, and shooting more efficiently (in all three aspects, FG%, 3P% and FT%) then he ever has. But we’ll get to that momentarily.
Brandon Knight is young. Although this is his fourth season, he’s still only 23. In my earlier article, I mentioned how Knight’s assist/turnover ratio makes him a bad point guard. This time, I decided to dig a little deeper. I looked at both point and shooting guards, because now more than ever traditional positions seem to be dying out in the NBA. So I looked at players who I thought did the same thing Knight does; handle the ball very often and score a lot of points for their team. The following data I found shows the name of the player and their assist to turnover ratio when they were 23 years of age.
Dec 21, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan unveils the new Charlotte Hornets logo at halftime during the game against the Utah Jazz at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) goes up for a dunk against the San Antonio Spurs in game three of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 106-97. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) scores a three point basket to tie the game against Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 113-109 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 25, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; Milwaukee Bucks point guard Brandon Knight (11) tries to pass the ball before going out of bounds during the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
As you can see, Knight isn’t doomed to fail in the NBA because he doesn’t have Chris Paul-esque assist numbers. He actually had a better assist/turnover ratio than one of the best players ever and two of the best players in the league today. I’m obviously not saying Knight is on Jordan’s level, but I think some context with the numbers that are always thrown around are important.
Some notes about these numbers: Knight has a better three-point percentage (better than Westbrook/Harden have ever had, and better than all but two Jordan seasons) and free-throw percentage than any of the others. Also, Knight is tied with Jordan and better than Harden or Westbrook in terms of turnovers per game.
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One interesting note about those three elite players I’ve been comparing Knight to: all three of them were All-Stars in the season they were 23. Maybe that means Brandon Knight should be selected by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to replace Dwyane Wade and be an All-Star as well. ESPN’s Marc Stein seems to think so, according to his Weekly Power Rankings Post:
"Brandon Knight is generating zero All-Star buzz. Even in the East. But maybe he should be: Knight is one of only eight players averaging 18+ PPG, 5+ APG and 2+ RPG; four of the other seven are All-Star starters … with James Harden, Damian Lillard and Russ Westbrook all likely All-Star reserves."
Now Lillard did not end up making the All-Star team this year, but the other players (who just so happen to be players I compared Knight to, fancy that) both did. This part of the article really has two theses, two different points I want to take a little time to elaborate on.
- Brandon Knight should be an All-Star. Word is its mainly down to Knight and Atlanta’s Kyle Korver. I’m a Kyle Korver fan, I really am, but he should not be an All-Star. I know he has historic shooting percentages. He does not however, have historic stats outside of those percentages. Knight scores more, steals more and rebounds exactly as much as Korver. Korver is nailing shots with incredible accuracy, but not in tremendous rates. He only attempts 8 shots a game; 5.8 threes and 2.2 twos(for a comparison, Knight averages 14.3 shots, 4.7 threes and 9.6 twos). He does almost nothing except shoot threes. Korver’s free throw percentage is also renowned, but again the sample size is almost miniscule. Korver only attempts 1.8 free throws a game, compared to Knight’s 3.7. Korver’s free-throw percentage is slightly higher than Knight’s, 92 percent to 89 percent, but Knight scores more points from free throws because he takes literally more than double the amount Korver does. Now don’t take any of this as a slight towards Korver and his historic season, that’s really not my intention. It’s a testament to how good Atlanta’s system is that Korver is so specialized. Clearly whatever they’re doing works considering the Hawks went 17-0 in January, the first time that’s ever happened in the NBA. But I just don’t believe a player who only takes shots he knows he can likely make should be an All-Star. Knight should not be penalized for carrying his team occasionally. In fact, I believe he should be awarded his first All-Star appearance for it.
- Brandon Knight has a very high ceiling. Jordan is unattainable (he averaged over 30 PPG when he was 23), but I included him to show that basing analysis off of one stat is an ill-advised approach. Bucks’ fans should remember that when looking at Knight. He could very well end up being on Westbrook and Harden’s level someday. The numbers support it, and I believe the eye test does as well. He does have too many turnovers and too many poorly selected shots right now, but so did Westbrook and Harden. When I see Knight play, I see a guy who can pull up from almost anywhere and make the shot. If he really mastered his inside game and got to the line as much as Harden, his efficiency would skyrocket and he could score even more than he does now. Here’s some evidence that Knight is already starting his ascent to potential stardom. This season, Knight has career highs in field goal, three-point and free-throw percentage, as well as assists, steals and rebounds. Literally every facet of his game has improved aside from turnovers, which could be attributed to playing in a new system under Kidd (last season Knight was too busy shooting to have time to turn the ball over as much). Although he seems to be getting himself back on track lately. In his last two games, Knight has 17 assists and only seven turnovers for a ratio of 2.4. There’s nothing to suggest that he will not continue to get better and better.
- Finally, I’d like to tackle one last thing to pull this whole thing together. The myth that a team’s point guard needs to be Chris Paul. Stop it. There are a lot of point guards in today’s NBA that do a lot of shooting. Ever hear of that Steph Curry fellow? Or former MVP Derrick Rose? Or Westbrook, or Harden (who really runs that Houston offense), or Kyrie Irving, or Dame Lillard, or countless other point guards. There’s nothing wrong with running an offense through your point guard if he’s your best player, and right now Brandon Knight is the Bucks’ best player. There’s no reason to move Knight to shooting guard when the Bucks have several capable shooting guards and when Knight feels the most comfortable at point.
Just let it happen. Take Aaron Rodgers’ advice, and relax. Sit back and enjoy the Knight Train. Its a fun ride.