Roland NBA Physicality Report

Quick Overview

• Oklahoma City won the physicality on a game by game basis 4-3. They also took the "playing hard energy" wins by the same 4-3 margin.


• The team with the better Physicality score was 5-2, while the team with the most "Playing Hard Wins" was 7-0.


• Shai led all players with 226 Physicality Wins, followed by Siakam (164), Turner (140), Holmgren (134) and Jalen Williams (132). Siakam led in Net Wins with +33. Hartenstein led in Net Wins per 36 min.


• Siakam was the top "playing hard energy plays" leader with 63 PH Wins, followed by Caruso (55), Holmgren (52), Haliburton (47), and Nembhard (43).


• Siakam dominated Jalen Williams Head-to-Head (+19 wins), while Shai was +20 net wins against the five IND starters (only losing H2H to Siakam).

Team Physicality Series Summary

Winner: -draw-

Tracking over forty types of contact, aggression, and resilience

Header notes:
RPR = "Roland Physicality Rating" (in development), Wins = a Physicality play that is deemed a 'win', L/D = Losses/Defeats (non-intentional fouls and soft plays), L2+ = level 2 or higher force physicality plays, Falls = player hits the ground, KD = Knockdowns: causes opponent to hit the ground

Game by Game

• Shai was in the top2 for "net physicality wins" in four games, and had the most Physicality Wins (226) for the series. Turner also made it four times into the top2.


• Siakam was the top "playing hard energy plays" leader in four games, and had the most PH Wins (63) for the series. The top PH Wins per 36min players were McConnell 10.6, Caruso 9.8, Siakam 9.7.

Player Physicality Stats

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

INDIANA PACERS

Player Head-to-Head Physicality Matchups

• Siakam-Jalen Williams -- Siakam had a 39-20 wins lead head to head, although Jalen had 9 knockdowns (tied for the most in a matchup).


• Siakam/Turner-Dort -- Both the IND starting bigs put some physicality wins on Dort, although Lu's limited role on offense can make it tough for him to stack physical wins.


• Shai-IND starters -- Shai won the H2H against all but Siakam and was +20 net physicality wins versus the starting five, including besting Turner by 10 net wins. In addition he had five of the top 20 biggest matchup wins (although two defeats).

Physicality as a Foundation—Not Yet a Final Word

• Why were the "Playing Hard" wins seemingly so significant? (the team with the better game score was 7-0) Are there certain sub-categories of PH Wins that are especially telling to the outcome of games (and regualr season vs playoff differences)?


• Should teams put more emphasis on the Hard Play guys in roster construction? (And shout-out to all the important UNDRAFTED hustle players in this series: Dort, Caruso, McConnell -- pay attention for the next Vegas Summer League breakouts! )


• Will other teams seek to up their ball pressure/swipes at the ball seeing the OKC success and runaway turnover edge numbers? Is this a skill that can be coached up, or does OKC have players who are especially well suited to the job?


• Can we identify player archetypes —like Siakam— who consistently challenge certain players like a Jalen Williams on a physicality front? Is there consistency in head to head physicality dominance?


• We expect bigs to dole out some heavy level 2+ force plays, but does having wing players who also bring higher magnitudes of force carry extra juice in the playoffs? Dort, Nesmith, and Mathurin all posted a high number of Level 2+ plays given their position.


• Shai's performance was masterful but how dependent is he on current officiating? His go-to "clear out space for a jumper with his forearm shove" never got whistled for an offensive foul or a travel (He was called for 4 Off-fouls in the series, 2 on setting screens, 1 on a drive where he swung his arm into Nembhard's face, and another offball getting trying to get free of Nembhard when he swung his elbow -- the first possession of game three!)

What Kind of Physicality Wins?

• Physicality Rating (RPR): Teams winning this stat won the game 68% of the time.
• Total Physicality Wins: 66% game win rate.
• Level 2+ Force Plays: Just 47% win rate. May suggest over-aggression backfires, or things aren't "coming easy" so trying to achieve something difficult with pure force.
• Ballhandler Pressure/Swipes at Ball: 77% win rate. A key OKC weapon.
• Screening battles—setting and fighting over: 67% win rate.
• "Grabs, bumps, pushes, chucks, and get-free's": 63% win rate.

Addendum: Player Physicality stats (original format)

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

...OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER "physicality suffered"

Analysis:

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led all players in RPR and Wins, as well as the highest by far physicality suffered of the series.

INDIANA PACERS

...INDIANA PACERS "physicality suffered"

Analysis:

• Pascal Siakam put together a strong physicality series, and also collected the most "playing hard non-contact effort wins" of any player. The most falls and knockdowns too.


• Myles Turner a solid effort on the physicality front for Indiana.