One game hardly qualifies as a trend and would be short-sighted to make a prediction off of.
Here are Carlino's numbers according to when he: 1) Starts; 2) Plays the 2; and 3) Off the Bench.
Starting (12 games)
- 16 Pts/game
- 5 Assists/game
- 3 Turnovers/game
- 5 Rebounds/game
- 2 Steals/game
- 68% FT
- 28% 3P
- 39% FG
Shooting Guard (3 games)
- 10.6 Pts/game
- 2.3 Assists/game
- 2 Turnovers/game
- 4.6 Rebounds
- 1 Steals/game
- 90% FT
- 25% 3P
- 27% FG
Off Bench (7 games)
- 13.3 Pts/game
- 4.8 Assists/game
- 1 Turnovers/game
- 2.4 Rebounds/game
- 2 Steals/game
- 64% FT
- 40% 3P
- 45% FG
He only played the 2 for three games, so not much data to go off of, but the numbers support him not being a good at the 2 or that not being the position best suited for him.
As a starter, MC scored more, dished out more assists, rebounded really well, and shot better from the line. As a starter, he shot worse from the arc and has a lower FG%.
Off the bench, MC turns the ball over less, shoots better from the field and better from the three point line. He doesn't score as much, averages slightly fewer assists, and rebounds poorly compared to when he started.
The question is whether his better FG% is due to him coming off the bench, him averaging fewer min (he is getting fewer min), or just him learning from losing his starting role. Causation is a bit hard to determine, though there appears to be a correlation.
As a starter, MC averaged 29.5 min/game.
Off the bench, MC averages 26.8 min/game (including the 3OT game against Portland).
As a stater, MC took 15.5 shots/game. Roughly 1 shot every 2 min.
Off the bench, MC takes 9.6 shots/game. Roughly 1 shot 2 min 45 seconds.
Off the bench, MC is taking fewer, better shots. Again, whether this is due to him coming off the bench or just realizing he needed to take fewer shots is another question. I suspect it actually has little to do with him coming off the bench.
If you look at the seven games where he came off the bench, the first two he combined for a total of 8 shots. In the last 5 games he's taken about 12 shots/game, including 23 against Portland; his high on the season (Yes, I know it was a triple OT game). He's basically working himself back up to his regular clip. He's also shooting about half as many three pointers as he did as a starter. As I mentioned in a previous thread, if MC just reduced the number of 3s he took his shooting percentage would increase (maybe he reads CC).
I think the disparity in rebounding is key. As a starter, MC averaged more than twice as many rebounds and was one of our best rebounders (cough...Haws...cough...Mika). Now, 5 boards a game for a PG is nearly unheard of, so that level is hard to maintain but he's taken a nose dive coming off the bench and I think that's has more to do with his improvement.
MC plays better when not rushed. Rushing leads to poor decisions and bad shots on his part. When he rebounded the ball, MC would rush. A lot of his turnovers in the first half of the season came from those long, down-court passes. Those have disappeared in the last 7 games and his turnovers have subsequently dropped.
Likewise, getting a rebound and rushing down the court made MC prone to taking bad shots - hence the increase in FG percentage.
As with any set of data, it will be used to support ones personal bias. I did think it was interesting to take look at his performance, however.
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