Sunday Rundown

Herro ball I actually enjoy, getting drunk off DD's performances, the Fantastic Mr. Fox, and more...

QUICK(ISH) HITS

At some point, I’m going to get tired of writing about Dyson Daniels, but that point damn sure isn’t today. Daniels has been the talk of the league over the last week, and rightfully so, after a stretch of five games where he logged an insane 29 total steals. Since the league started tracking steals in the ’74 season, only 14 times in league history has a player recorded 29 or more steals over a five-game stretch. Amazingly, ten of those occasions belong to just Alvin Robertson (who I’ve maintained is perhaps the biggest Hall of Fame snub we have going at the moment—sorry, KJ, you’re first in my heart though). Another two occasions belong to Kendall Gill. For those good at quick math, that means in 51 seasons of basketball, only three other NBA players have ever accomplished thievery at the level we’ve just witnessed from “The Great Barrier Thief” (side note: I haven’t seen attribution for that nickname, but whoever came up with it, fucking bravo).

Just to make sure everyone knows he’s not playing, Daniels is also averaging an astounding 7.5 deflections per game—three more than Nikola Jokić, who’s second at 4.5. Information on deflections only goes back to the ’16 season, but Daniels’ 83 total deflections thus far are 17 more than any other player has had at this point in the year since it became a stat. Paul George (’18) and Gary Trent Jr. (’22) each had 66 deflections by November 17, but they did so in 15 games compared to Daniels’ 11.

Of course, regression is inevitable, but if Daniels were to play in 70 games (his current pace after missing two games so far this season) and average only four deflections the rest of the way—which seems far too conservative based on his play, but stay with me—he would set the league record at 4.6 per game. Robert Covington is the current titleholder with 4.2 deflections per game in ’17 while playing with “The Process” Sixers. Even if Daniels were to get just three deflections per game the rest of the way, he’d still average roughly the same number Alex Caruso did in leading the league last season at 3.7.

And as long as he’s healthy, I’d bet on Daniels obliterating the record. Daniels has had just one game this season with fewer than five deflections—when he recorded three against Boston last Sunday, a game in which he exploded for a career-high 28 points. Meanwhile, he has three contests with 10 or more deflections, including an absurd 14 versus the Pistons back on November 8.

Speaking of his scoring, Daniels has been on a career-best tear offensively over these five games as well, averaging 18.6 points on 47.0% shooting from the floor—though the three-point shooting we discussed before the season began is still lagging at just 28.3%. Oof. But, as John Hollinger pointed out, the important part is that he continues to shoot them with confidence, averaging 4.2 attempts per game—a leap of two shots from distance per night over last season.

All this over-the-top praise for the third-year player from Down Under has catapulted Daniels into the greater NBA consciousness. He’s not just stealing basketballs anymore; he’s taking headlines. Fortunately, those of you who’ve been with me for a while know that all he needed was a chance. Glad to see him making the most of it and more. Now, I’m going to go stretch—it was tough reaching that far to pat myself on the back.

A couple additional notes from researching this one:

• Robertson is far and away the GOAT of the swipe. His 2.71 career steals per game are the most in NBA/ABA history, as are his 301 steals in a season (’86)—38 more than any other player since (Stockton had 263 in ’89). You’d be hard-pressed to find any streak of play where he isn’t a top-ten option in terms of steals. Seriously, how the hell is this guy not in the Hall of Fame?

• I’ve heard multiple outlets saying Daniels is far and away the best perimeter defender the Hawks have ever had. While this may eventually prove to be true, much like Eddie Vedder, you better put some respect on Mookie Blaylock’s name. My dude led the NBA in steals per game in back-to-back seasons with ATL, posting 2.7 (’97) and 2.6 (’98).

• Speaking of players you better put some respect on: while Daniels’ 3.8 steals per game this season would be the most in NBA history, the most recorded in professional basketball history were 4.1 by Don Buse in the ’76 season for the Indiana Pacers (then of the ABA). Buse is also responsible for the second-highest steals per game in an NBA season—trailing only Robertson’s 3.7 in ’86—with 3.5 swipes per game for the ’77 Pacers following the merger that previous summer.

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The notion that our tastes shift every seven years has long been debunked as a myth. What has been shown is that as we become more comfortable with the concept of certain foods and as our taste receptors change over the course of aging, we eventually come to enjoy things we once didn’t. Essentially, the idea is that exposure over time creates comfort, which fosters eventual enjoyment, leading to a shift in our preferences.

Famously for me, I hated olives forever. I despised those salty little things with a passion. But now, short of those insipid black abominations on shitty pizza, there isn’t a briny little pitted guy out there I don’t enjoy. (If you’re curious about my hierarchy of preference, it’s Taggiasca first, then Castelvetrano, then everything else—sorry, Daniel.)

Much like olives, I have not been a fan of Tyler Herro over the last several years, but I’m starting to come around. Early on this season, Herro is in the midst of his best run in Miami, averaging career highs in scoring (24.5 ppg) and assists (5.3 apg) while shooting a stellar 49.7% from the field and 45.7% from distance (5th in the league) on 4.4 makes per contest (3rd)—all career bests.

So, what changed? Much like my experience from childhood to adulthood with olives, Herro has greatly increased the quality of his product. (I’m sure there’s some cute shot diet analogy in there somewhere, but it’s 5am and my brain hurts)

Herro, who made it known that he intended to work on becoming a better catch-and-shoot player this summer, has been true to his word, making a career-best 49.2% on those opportunities (5th) and doing so at a healthy 31.7% frequency—5.4% more often than any other season in his career. Herro has also eliminated the long two, with just 1.7% of his attempts coming from 16ft to the three-point line, compared to 11.9% from that range over his first five seasons.

Really, the only shame is that Herro is doing the lion’s share of his damage in the first quarter. His 7.3 points per game in the first ranks 11th in the NBA (min. 8  games)—Jayson Tatum leads the league at 11.6—and accounts for 29.8% of his total scoring output. While Herro’s 6.6 points per fourth quarter is the second-highest on Miami (Butler – 8.3), the Heat, who are just 2-4 in clutch games this season, would probably like to see a few more of those early buckets landing later.

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Congratulations to Chris Paul, who logged his 12,000th career assist in Friday’s loss against the Lakers. Paul, who sits at 12,011 career dimes after last night’s loss to Dallas, now joins Jason Kidd (12,091) and John Stockton (15,806) as the only players in NBA history with at least 12,000 assists.

Other notes from this:

• LeBron James currently sits in fourth on the all-time assists list at 11,129. If James maintains his career pace of 7.4 assists per contest—he’s currently averaging 9.2, which, though likely unsustainable, would be the second-highest of his career—he would join this elite group in roughly 118 games.

• Paul should pass Kidd for second all-time in roughly nine games. However, the disparity between Paul and Stockton in career assists (3,795) is just 299 fewer than the divide between Paul and 13th all-time Rod Strickland, who has 7,987.

• John Stockton owns the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th highest assist-per-game seasons in NBA history. Only Isiah Thomas in 1985 (13.9 APG) cracks the top six. For good measure, Stockton also owns the 11th, 14th, and 17th best seasons, meaning he accounts for eight of the 17 best APG seasons in league history.

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