Nets: Why Caris LeVert has hit a glass ceiling in Brooklyn
By Zamir Bueno
The presence of Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie have pushed Caris LeVert off the ball causing him to hit a glass ceiling
There are instances in a person’s life when external factors in the workplace force them to decrease their productivity. Caris LeVert is currently living through this as the presence of Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie has hampered his performance.
Caris LeVert’s statistics have varied over the last couple of seasons, depending on how much he touches the basketball. For example, head coach Kenny Atkinson allowed him to touch the basketball 59.4 times a game in 30.7 minutes per game during his 13 outings of last season. The 59.4 touches per game helped him attack the basket 14.5 times per game.
LeVert created 10.4 points and 0.9 assists per game for Brooklyn on these drives. The drive statistics accounted for 54.7 percent of his points and 24.3 percent of his assists as he averaged 19 points with 3.7 assists. Unfortunately, LeVert’s touches declined after the 13th game as he sustained a dislocated right foot midway through the 14th game.
The dislocated right foot kept him out for the next 41 games. Upon his return from injury, Kenny Atkinson decided to ease back into the rotation. Kenny Atkinson told Caris LeVert to enjoy his time on the court before returning against the Chicago Bulls.
Kenny’s approach led a significant decrease in his touches as he averaged 41.8 touches times a game in 24.9 minutes per game over his final 26 regular-season appearances. The 41.8 touches per game helped him attack the basket 10.9 times per game.
LeVert created 5.8 points, and 1 assist for Brooklyn on these drives. The drive statistics accounted for 52 percent of his points and 25 percent of his assists as he averaged 11.2 points with 4 assists.
Kenny Atkinson maintained this approach until the final week of the regular season, where he informed media that the team had lifted the restrictions on LeVert. With no limits, Caris saw a substantial increase in his touches during the playoffs as he averaged 47.8 touches per game in 28.9 minutes a game.
The 47.8 touches per game helped him attack the basket 16.6 times per game. LeVert created 11.4 points and 1.6 assists for Brooklyn on these drives. The drive statistics accounted for 53.5 percent of his points and 53.3 percent of his assists as he averaged 21 points with 3 assists.
However, Caris LeVert wasn’t able to build off his playoff performance as the team signed Kyrie Irving this past summer. Signing Kyrie put Kenny Atkinson in a tough spot for the 2019-20 season as his top 3 players want or need the ball to be effective. Kyrie averaged 77.8 touches per game in the six seasons before joining Brooklyn. Not only that, he held the basketball for 4.84 seconds after he got the basketball.
Kyrie hasn’t changed his style since arriving in Brooklyn, as he is averaging 78.2 touches per game. Furthermore, he is holding for 4.97 seconds during every touch. On the other hand, Spencer had the best stretch of his career when Caris and Kyrie were sidelined with injuries as he averaged 81.1 touches per game over 22 outings. The 81.1 touches per game helped him attack the basket 21.6 times per game.
Spencer created 13.8 points and 1.8 assists per game for Brooklyn on these drives. The drive statistics accounted for 53.7 percent of his points and 25.3 percent of his assists as he averaged 25.7 points with 7.1 assists. Consequently, Caris LeVert is spending more time off the ball as he is averaging 43.1 touches per game.
The 43.1 touches per game has helped him attack the basket 12.3 times per game. LeVert has created 5.4 points and 1.2 assists for Brooklyn on these drives. The drive statistics accounted for 37.5 percent of his points and 36.4 percent of his assists as he averaged 14.4 points with 3.3 assists.
Caris isn’t an effective player off the ball because he has struggled to make the catch and shoot three throughout his career as he is shooting 31.5 percent on that particular shot. The inability to consistently make a catch and shoot three has played a factor in his overall struggles behind the arc, as Caris has a career 3-point percentage of 33.1 percent on 3.5 attempts per game.
Therefore, defenders are not guarding him when he is off the ball. A prime example of this was found late in the first quarter of a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers when LeVert was standing in the right corner as Spencer Dinwiddie brought the basketball up the court. Consequently, his defender (Jared Dudley) left him open by standing near the paint.
The inability to use Carris Levert in the correct role would usually incentivize a team like Brooklyn to put him in the block. Unfortunately, the team is hesitant to trade him at the moment because of Kyrie’s injury history. Kyrie Irving has missed 160 regular season games throughout his eight-plus seasons .
Those 160 games includes 26 games that he has missed this season due to right shoulder impingement. The combination of being in the wrong role and Kyrie Irving’s injury history has caused Caris LeVert to hit a glass ceiling in Brooklyn. Caris can only break the glass ceiling if the team chooses to trade Kyrie or Spencer.