Elhassan: Quantifying Blazers C Robin Lopez's Screen-Setting Ability

Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com (Insider) includes Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez on his list of the NBA's best screen-setters who are on affordable contracts.

Using proprietary data from Vantage Sports that tracks a variety of heretofore unmeasurable actions (such as screening), we are now able to identify and attribute credit to individuals. The data was collected over the span of roughly 2.5 seasons, giving us a large enough sample size to draw conclusions. For the purposes of this piece, let's focus on three specific aspects of screening: (see explanation at the bottom of the story)

1. Screen frequency
2. Screen quality
3. Screen outcome

...

Robin Lopez | Portland Trail Blazers
AAV: $5.1 million | Set Screens Per 100 Chances: 52.4
Solid Screen %: 78.8% | Set Screen Outcome Efficiency: 37.0%

Another player I had the privilege of working with in Phoenix, Lopez embodies the spirit of a blue-collar player who excels on white collar teams. Teammates frequently praise him for the daylight he creates with screens, and that bears out in his solid screen percentage, which places him third on the leaderboard. His arrival in Portland has not only been a success as a defensive anchor but also for his prowess as a screen setter.

The full list is right here.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter