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Brooklyn Nets 2016-17 grades: Justin Hamilton

By Ryan Muhlstock

Dec 1, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Justin Hamilton (41) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Justin Hamilton (41) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker (12) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Justin Hamilton (41) drives to the basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 119-99. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Brooklyn Nets center Justin Hamilton (41) drives to the basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 119-99. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Highlights

Hamilton has shown flashes of excellence throughout the 2016-2017 season. His best game came on October 26th vs the Boston Celtics. While recording a double-double, with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Hamilton was on fire from the field shooting over fifty percent.

At the season close his stat line finished with averages of 6.9 PTS, 0.7 BLK, 0.5 STL, 0.9 AST, and 4.1 REBs per game while tagging on 2.8 three-point attempts per game. He shot a little over thirty percent from behind the arc and a solid forty-five percent from the field all while averaging 18.4 minutes a game.  These stats show that Hamilton has begun to establish himself as a solid stretch five option in the NBA.

Career years in field goals attempted, field goals made, and three-point attempts per game continue to display the progress he has truly made. After starting the year blazing hot from behind the arc, Hamilton finished with a 30.6 three-point shooting percentage compared to Brook Lopez’s 34.6. Still, this is great progress from the journeyman center.

To take a more detailed look at Hamilton’s performance we can use a number of metrics such as the Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and the NBA Offensive rating system. The offensive rating is an individual scale that shows the number of points produced per hundred individual possessions. PER is a little more complex and goes into much greater detail.

PER is a rating of a player’s per-minute productivity that also adjusts for the pace of the team. It’s a great forecasting tool that allows management to project what a player’s performance would look like with increased usage. It includes positive stats such as field goals, free throws, 3-pointers, rebounds, assists, blocks, and steals. It counts poor stats such as missed shots, fouls, and turnovers as negatives.

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In a sense, these tools are the Sabermetrics or “Money Ball” approach for the NBA. To put this in perspective, the average NBA athlete or rotational player usually has a PER score of around 13.0-16.5. MVP candidates are usually in the 25+ range. The NBA league average score is a 15.

According to ESPN’s PER stats, Justin Hamilton received a score of a 13.61. This was tied for number 178 out of all qualified players in the league. For comparison, guys that rank higher than Hamilton are Kosta Koufos (#170-13.82), Markief Morris (#172-13.75),  Marvin Williams (#173-13.74) and Victor Oladipo (#177-13.62). Hamilton’s score still ranks higher than many notable players such as  Rajon Rondo (#181-13.59), Roy Hibbert (#182-13.58), Bojan Bogdanovic (#183-13.56) and Ryan Anderson (#185-13.53).

It’s intriguing to see guys like BogdanovicRyan Anderson ranked lower than Justin Hamilton. Suddenly Hamilton’s three-million dollar salary seems to carry a lot more value than perceived.

As mentioned above, this offensive rating scale shows the number of points produced per hundred individual possessions. According to FoxSports.com, Justin Hamilton falls at a solid year-end rating of 109.3, the sixth best score on the entire Nets roster. The Nets as a team finished with an offensive rating of 101.9. Hamilton, by association, was quite productive.

What’s even a little more surprising is that his offensive rating score is actually a little bit higher than Brook Lopez’s score of a 108.5. If you were to use the NBA comparison insights from SAP to compare Brook and Justin’s stats (adjusted for per one hundred possessions) you’d see that Justin Hamilton actually outperforms Lopez in rebound and steals. He remains slightly behind Lopez in assists and blocks and significantly lower in points.

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These numbers can be pretty important for a backup center in the NBA. If the aging Brook Lopez is ever to miss time for injury or rest, it seems as if Justin Hamilton can put up respectable numbers given the right minutes.

To further put these numbers in perspective, Teams such as the Toronto Raptors and San Antonio Spurs had team offensive efficiency ratings of 109.8 and 108.8 respectfully. This would place Hamilton’s production in a pretty solid middle ground territory compared to two top ten offenses in the League.