ThugginPaulyGAllen
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Finally someone with an intellectual argument; here we go!
1) Incorrect! Not every player has a drastic decrease in PER. For example, the first two players I thought of off the top of my head as a third option (Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler) did not see the drastic decrease that you claim. Why is this? Because, typically, only the top 2 options will see a drastic decrease in efficiency because defenses are geared towards them, opening up opportunities for the lesser players, which USUALLY actually stay about the same at PER or even increase, because the increased relience upon them to succeed. (Look at the entire SPURS team over the last couple years, for instance.) That is why the third star is CRITICAL. Also, you'll notice Batum went from slightly above average PER wise to below average. His PER was 34th in the league in regards to small forwards. I agree it is not the end all be all, but EFFICIENCY IS CRITICAL IN THE PLAYOFFS. You simply cannot pull a Jeff Green (I'll concede he wasn't that terrible). But our 3rd best player cannot, absolutely CANNOT, go from above average to below average in the playoffs if you want the team to be successful.
2) As it is my understanding, you are successfully arguing why PER is a good stat - it accounts for pace adjustment, less rebounds, smaller numbers because it measures EFFICIENCY and not STAT mongering. Rebound %, Ast%, TO%, shooting percentage, etc. Once again, if Batum were being guarded by elite defenders - we wouldn't be having this conversation. Do you think Jeff Green is an elite defender? Additionally, Memphis' admitted they were game planning for CJ FUCKING MCCOLLUM at one point in the series. But not Batum. That is insane. I hate to go back to it, but, you simply cannot have your third best player become below average PER wise. (If PER is overrated, why is it that every elite player has a great PER?) The truth is, its probably not as important as I make it sound, but you make it seem virtually negligible, which it clearly is not.
3) I did not ignore his per game stats, I actually took this into account (and you're the first person to question me about them) but the fact is, they are inefficient stats regarding points (additionally, this post season Batum had to make up for the loss of Wesley Matthews garnering a larger role - in which he only increase his scoring by 3 points? Sheesh.) Playoffs are about EFFICIENCY and he simply is LESS efficient than he must be in the playoffs for this team to be successful. He goes from a good above average player (PER WISE) to not very good and that is WITHOUT TEAMS KEYING IN ON HIM.
Additionally, his PER was 11.1 in the playoffs on a 19.2% usage rate.
His regular season? 13.1 on 14.6% usage rate. So in the playoffs, he got less efficient while having the ball more. Why did he have the ball more? Well, we lost Wes and - what GOOD playoff teams do - take the ball out of the best players hands (Lamarcus and Damian) and make the third, fourth, fifth guy step up. Batum didn't do that and become more efficient. Once again, this is not JUST about Batum, but this thread is. McCollum has his weaknesses, so does Meyers, so do our better players. But the fact is, Batum is paid like our 3rd best player and will want to get paid even more and you cannot pay a guy significant money who has a 11.1 PER in the Memphis series that people keep say he was "good" in. 11.1!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS GARBAGE for someone who is going to want 15+ million. You'll struggle to find another 3rd star who teams are defending for having a 11.1 PER.
JR Smith had a higher PER than Batum in the playoffs and he sucked up the joint in the finals.
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