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Los Angeles Lakers’ Jeremy Lin vs. Ronnie Price: Offense Edition

By Daniel Tran

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The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with a point guard controversy for a majority of the season between Jeremy Lin and Ronnie Price. This is one article in a series of articles comparing the two players. This one deals with both players’ offensive contributions.

0-10 with four turnovers: that was the final straw for Lakers head coach Byron Scott regarding Jeremy Lin and his spot in the starting lineup. In the four games prior to being demoted to the bench where he started alongside newly designated ball handler Kobe Bryant, Lin was averaging nine points on 29.4 percent shooting from the field. That, coupled with his perceived defensive struggles, led to his departure out of the starting lineup.

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So, Coach Scott moved Ronnie Price into the starting point guard position and plugged Lin into the second unit to provide bench support. Fans openly questioned decision for good reason. Lin was clearly the better offensive player in comparison to Price and has more total minutes played in five seasons than Price has in 10.

Why then was Jeremy Lin struggling to produce in the Lakers offense and Price given the opportunity to start? The key to offensive production in the NBA is the same key to finding good jeans: it is all about the fit.

Since Bryant was assigned as the primary ball handling guard, he needed a floor spacing guard joining him in the backcourt. Lin and his poor field goal percentage (29.4 percent in four games as mentioned earlier) were not going to be good enough for the Lakers.

Since Price was inserted into the starting lineup, he has been averaging shooting 36.8 percent from three-point range and generally fitting better with Bryant in the starting lineup. Here is an infograph comparing the two guards on offense:

The key stat here is in the catch-and-shoot position where Price has an astounding 10.3 percent advantage over Lin in effective field goal percentage. With Bryant handling the ball and finding teammates for shots, Price has proven to be more effective than Lin in that regard. Price also has a better net rating and assist to turnover ratio starting than Lin did when he started games on the court.

Though he may have seen drops in true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage since going to the bench, Lin is actually in a better situation coming off the bench. Lin improved his assist to turnover ratio from 1.8 in the starting lineup to 2.48 despite increasing his usage rating from 19 percent starting to 22.1 percent off the bench. He also improved his net rating from -14.1 starting to 2.0 as a bench reserve.

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A look at the effective field goal in the shot types other than catch-and-shoot show Lin much better than Price with pull-up jumpers and shots closer than 10-feet. With a bench unit that needs creativity to score and create for others, Lin adds a dimension that Price does not off the bench.

No matter how much Lin fans dislike the situation, the reality is this: Byron Scott is the Lakers coach, he appointed Bryant has the main ball handler of this offense, and he will never relegate Bryant to the bench. Therefore, Lin cannot start for the Los Angeles Lakers because his style of play clashes with Bryant’s.

Lin needs the ball in his hands for him to maximize his production. He showed that in New York and he showed that in Houston at certain points. If Bryant is starting, there is no way Lin gets the number of touches he needs to be effective due to Bryant’s 35.1 percent usage rate.

Although Lin may be the better offensive player, his style of play is a better fit for the bench rather than starting for the Los Angeles Lakers. Many fans look at this as a slight, but his role on the bench is important to the organization and has had a positive impact on the team and it’s chemistry.

*stats do not include Friday’s game vs. Orlando

Next: Lakers Plight: How Did We Get Here?

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