Lets Talk About Alexey Shved

Home » Timberwolves » Lets Talk About Alexey Shved

Dec 7, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Alexey Shved (1) looks on in the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

There sure has been a lot of talk lately about the outstanding play of Timberwolves rookie guard, Alexey Shved. All of this talk is why sports are so great; they really are the purest form of reality TV. Everyone has an opinion on sports. Very often it can bring people together, and can tear them apart. How many conversations are started with a simple “did you see the game last night?” How many people surround the water cooler on Monday to recap the wild weekend of sporting events? Being a fan of everything sports, many of my conversations revolve around sports. Over a recent conversation with a Timberwolves season ticket holder, who was giving me his eye test on the team, and about Shved. He also talked about Shveds current role on the team, and what he has seen so far this season.

Like all conversations in sport, it is more of a debate. Debates are fun, they usually are based on facts and stats, numbers, and numbers never lie. The conversation with my friend was no different, we quickly engaged into a plethora of information swapping. We both took turns giving our own 2 cents on the Wolves, the roster, and specifically Alexey Shved.

So like all good debates, this one quickly took off. Comparisons of how Alexey was a longer Ricky Rubio. Well maybe not quite to Ricky’s level of passing, or court vision, but he was capable of controlling a game very similar to Ricky. Alexey single handedly can create offense, doing it in numerous different ways, getting other players involved or taking the right shots when the game calls for it. He seems to possess some of the same innate abilities as Ricky, and more importantly he has a better outside shot.

We are almost a quarter of the way through the NBA season, and up to this point in the season, Shved is definitely on the list for Rookie of the Year. There is no doubt Shved has made an impact in the NBA, and even more of an impact on a team that has seen its guard position depleted by injury.

It’s funny how things just seem to work themselves out. To start the season, there were numerous questions about how Shved would even get playing time. With the additions of Chase Budinger, Brandon Roy and returning players Luke Ridnour, JJ Berea and Ricky Rubio (don’t forget Malcolm Lee) where would there be room for Alexey Shved? Other than an impressive Olympic performance, Shved was considered an unknown and questionable signing for POBO (President of Basketball Operations) David Kahn. This just seemed to be another typical Kahn move for a team that already had a log jam in the back court. It seemed as if David Kahn, again signed a player for more money than he should of, and there was no need for it.

Due to the Wolves injuries in the back court Alexey got his chance and did he ever take advantage of the opportunity. Just like Ricky, who has some seriously high expectations when he returns to the floor, Alexey’s early season performance has already placed high expectations for the rest of the season.

Some things to keep in mind at the quarter break, for as good as Alexey has been so far this season, he is still the seventh highest performing rookie in efficiency. While Alexey is still trying to get his bearings straight in the NBA, he has already been performing at a very high level. That is all rookies, including front court players such as Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS	WS/48
Anthony Davis	26.3	0.567	0.493	17.6	5.7	1.9	6.4	9.6	26.2	115	105	0.5	0.2	0.7	0.19
A. Drummond	20.6	0.566	0.59	19.8	3.9	2.4	5.2	11.9	16.5	114	99	0.7	0.7	1.4	0.17
Damian Lillard	17.9	0.558	0.512	4.9	30.4	1.7	0.4	15.9	24.2	110	112	1.5	0.1	1.6	0.1
M. Kidd-Gilchrist	17.3	0.543	0.494	12.8	12.2	1.8	4.2	13.4	18.6	108	107	0.7	0.4	1.1	0.1
J. Valanciunas	14.9	0.556	0.507	13.5	8.8	0.7	4	14.9	17.7	109	109	0.6	0.3	0.9	0.09
Alexey Shved	14.2	0.533	0.484	6	25.2	1.4	1.5	17.5	21.8	103	103	0.4	0.5	1	0.1
Meyers Leonard	12.8	0.59	0.528	11.8	1.7	1.1	4.3	12.5	11.9	117	108	0.6	0.2	0.8	0.11
Jared Sullinger	12.6	0.541	0.494	16.5	4.7	1	2.3	10.8	14.5	111	102	0.5	0.5	1	0.13
Dion Waiters	12.6	0.464	0.428	4.2	18.8	2	0.5	10.3	24.8	99	110	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.03
Bradley Beal	12.3	0.474	0.411	6.8	13.5	1.7	1.7	11.4	22.7	96	107	0	0.4	0.3	0.03
Arnett Moultrie	11.6	0.356	0.25	16.3	2.8	2	1.5	5.6	16	97	104	0	0.1	0.1	0.06
Kyle Singler	11.2	0.591	0.551	7.1	5.4	0.9	1.4	12	15.1	112	109	0.9	0.3	1.2	0.09
Tyler Zeller	11.1	0.466	0.439	13.7	6.2	1.1	2.4	13.3	17.2	98	109	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.04
Maurice Harkless	10.8	0.466	0.467	12.4	4.7	1.8	3.3	10.6	11.8	98	100	0	0.5	0.5	0.09
Harrison Barnes	10.8	0.515	0.478	9.7	9.1	1.1	0.4	12.6	16.9	102	106	0.3	0.5	0.8	0.07
Jeff Taylor	10.2	0.52	0.484	5.1	6.3	2	1	10.9	14.8	104	112	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.04
Austin Rivers	5.8	0.392	0.348	5.2	16.6	1.6	0.7	15.3	17.4	83	113	-0.7	0	-0.6	-0.1

Part of the outstanding performance of Alexey, has been more than just numbers pure numbers. He has been on the floor to close out 4^th quarters, because of his understanding and knowledge of the game. He is a typical intelligent basketball player, which Rick Adelman likes to have in his system. It is his intelligence that has won over his teammates and coaches. He knows the game, the angles and the nuances which normally takes players an entire career to develop, and understands the guard position. If we look at the rookie guard class, Alexey is proving to be the cream of the crop.

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	TOV%	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	OWS	DWS	WS	WS/48
Damian Lillard	17.9	0.558	0.512	30.4	1.7	15.9	24.2	110	112	1.5	0.1	1.6	0.104
Alexey Shved	14.2	0.533	0.484	25.2	1.4	17.5	21.8	103	103	0.4	0.5	1	0.102
Dion Waiters	12.6	0.464	0.428	18.8	2	10.3	24.8	99	110	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.033
Bradley Beal	12.3	0.474	0.411	13.5	1.7	11.4	22.7	96	107	0	0.4	0.3	0.034
Austin Rivers	5.8	0.392	0.348	16.6	1.6	15.3	17.4	83	113	-0.7	0	-0.6	-0.064

As the statistics show, Shved is right at the top of the list in numerous categories. He’s got the 2^nd highest Win Share of rookie guards, and the 2^nd highest PER. Here is a major difference; the only rookie above Alexey on the list is currently starting. Alexey is the top performing bench player of all of the listed rookies. Alexey, also is tied for the 2^nd best in EFF (efficiency), but when you take into consideration Alexey’s time difference, he has the highest EFF48M (efficiency per 48 minutes) at 19.5 of any rookie guard.

Player	MPG	PTS	EFF	RPG	APG	STPG	BLKPG	EFF48M	EFF
Damian Lillar	38	18.9	17.4	3.2	6.5	1.2	0.2	22.01	17.4
Dion Waiters	32.1	15.2	10.1	2.3	3.4	1.2	0.18	15.18	10.1
Alexey Shved	24.7	10.6	10.1	2.7	3.6	0.7	0.5	19.45	10.1
Bradley Beal	27.8	11.7	9.5	3.4	2.1	0.9	0.59	16.32	9.5

Seeing how Alexey has been so solid to start this season, and when you take into account his averages per 48 minutes, it starts to make a guy wonder. How would Alexey Shved, the 6^th man of the Timberwolves, compare to other past 6^th Man of the Year winners rookie season stats. I’m glad you asked that question, as you can see below, Alexey has been every bit as good in most categories and better is others as these past winners rookie seasons.

Alexey Shved	MPG	FG%	3p%	FT%	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	PPG	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	PER	WS	WS/48
Alexey Shved	24.8	0.399	0.325	0.792	0.533	0.484	25.2	1.4	1.5	17.5	10.6	21.8	103	103	14.2	1	0.102
James Harden	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	PPG	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	PER	WS	WS/48
James Harden	22.9	0.403	0.375	0.808	0.551	0.484	12.3	2.4	0.9	13.4	9.9	20.4	109	104	14	4.5	0.124
Manu Ginobili	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	PPG	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	PER	WS	WS/48
Manu Ginobili	20.7	0.438	0.345	0.737	0.556	0.503	15.8	3.6	0.8	17.5	7.6	18.5	106	98	14.7	4.2	0.141
Jason Terry	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	PPG	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	PER	WS	WS/48
Jason Terry	23.3	0.415	0.293	0.807	0.497	0.453	29.3	2.5	0.3	19.1	8.1	19.2	100	108	13.9	1.9	0.047
Jamal Crawford	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	PPG	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	PER	WS	WS/48
Jamal Crawford	17.2	0.352	0.35	0.794	0.442	0.419	23	2.2	1	21	4.6	17.9	84	108	8.5	-0.9	-0.043
Leandro Barbbosa	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	TS%	eFG%	AST%	STL%	BLK%	TOV%	PPG	USG%	ORtg	DRtg	PER	WS	WS/48
Leandro Barbbosa	21.4	0.447	0.395	0.77	0.553	0.535	18	3.2	0.3	19.5	7.9	18.6	100	106	12.7	1.9	0.061

To try and make sure we have some perspective, these stats are only a quarter of the season played for Alexey and a full season for the other listed 5 players rookie seasons. However, there is some reason to be excited about the possibilities for Alexey, the players he is being mentioned with above have gone on to have great careers that are still being played out.

It is still early for Alexey, but if his performance we’ve seen so far is any indication of what he is capable of, the Wolves could have a back court running mate for Ricky that will be around for years to come.