@JayHawkFanToo and @HighEliteMajor
I think you both make interesting and though provoking remarks.
Any individual game can be very situational in terms of how much PT a player gets.
Against good opponents, Self may play Player A more because he is a good player, and less against weak opponents, because he is developing lesser players against weak opponents.
Or it can be match-up driven. Player A plays more because he holds MUA, or less because he does not, and a back up does.
Or it can be a case of lighting a fire under the ass of an older player, as appeared to occur in the first Canada exhibition regarding the Jam Tray.
Or it can be a player being in the bottom third of his performance distribution and stinking up the floor a time when Self can not afford to let him work through the funk.
Or it can be Self penalizing a player for practicing poorly.
Or Self may have had an argument with an unhappy parent and proving a point to them about who runs the team.
Or Self may have had a fight with Cin and decided to phone one in by relying on his old reliables and forgetting about trying to develop the problem guys that game.
And so on.
On the other hand, whether a player gets 8 minutes, 18 minutes, or 38 minutes, his per minute production can reasonably be commented upon under most if not all of the situational conditions above.
Also, when one observes low numbers in a players line score that are similar to a couple of seasons of his past performances, these situational numbers support a historical pattern and are rightly noted.
All data means something.
Its up to us understand their contexts and conditions shaping their manifestation.
The above noted, one place where I and others have not been rigorous enough is analyzing Jamari’s on ball defense and help defense. I am usually pretty good about keeping an eye out for the kind of defensive play that doesn’t show in the box score, but I confess I have failed to analyse Jamari in this regard, since I have been half asleep and focusing on the new players.
Perhaps you two and others will weigh in on what you have noted in Jamari’s on ball and help defense. Is he contributing a lot there that may make up for his somewhat volatile line score game to game so far?