Kendrick Nunn vs Wade Baldwin: The ultimate comparison of the two “machine guns” – sport-fm.gr THEME

With its Regular Season Euroleague to have been completed and the playoffs approaching, everyone can’t wait to see Europe’s top 8 teams battle it out for 4 tickets to the Final Four.

One of the most interesting pairings that emerged is his Panathinaikou AKTOR with the Maccabi Tel Aviv. An intersection that was desired by many, mainly because of the… dialogue that had been opened through social media Kendrick Nunn and Wade Baldwin.

It all started when the “green” guard called himself the top offensive player of Euroleague in an interview. His former player Olympiakou disagreed with this opinion, and posted on the official website of the event, stating the following:

“That’s how he (Nan’s speech) feels.” He’s put up some big baskets, but there are stats that show who the best offensively are and he’s not at the top of the list at this point in time. There’s Mike James, Keenan Evans, myself, Marcus Howard who’s playing great right now. Nan is also approaching. He does what he needs to do and is very impressive for an American guard playing in the Euroleague for the first time. But you can’t call yourself the best offensively when there are others with better stats.”

THE Nanfor his part, didn’t let what Baldwin said go unnoticed, and responded with a comment on Instagram “I don’t want to get into an argument with someone who has a career average of three points!”apparently referring to her failed guard pass Maccabi from NBA.

While the series before us may provide many answers, the numbers from the Regular Season are enough for an early investigation into the big question: Is Nunn or Baldwin a better offensive player?

Baldwin’s right

To begin with, with a first look at the numbers we can initially give a… small right to her player Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 28 games (27 of the Regular Season and one of the play-ins), o Baldwin dominates in averages, in almost all the basic numbers concerning the attack, having in fact less the ball in the hands from Nan.

The latter may seem strange to many, but indeed his former guard Olympiakou uses (shots, won shots or error) about the 29% of his team’s possessions when he is on the floor, while the corresponding percentage of his player Panathinaikos AKTOR is 32%.

Overall in the Euroleague, Baldwin counts 18 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 turnovers, with 48% on 2-pointers and 40% on 3-pointers. On the other hand, Mr Nan has, respectively, 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3.1 turnovers on 46% two-point shooting and 38% three-point shooting.

Furthermore, since these “cold” numbers do not speak for themselves, it is worth looking at the influence that the two players in their team’s game, while they are on the court. Here too, there is a little dominance of her player Maccabiwho does by 3.7 points per 100 possessions the Israeli team better than its opponent, while Nan’s relative figure is 2.3 points per 100 possessionswhich is actually the worst among his core rotation players Panathinaikou AKTOR.

Summarizing what we mentioned above, Mr Baldwin has higher averages than Nanshoots slightly better, passes more accurately and makes fewer mistakes, even having numerically better influence on his team relative to his player Panathinaikou AKTORwhose numbers are impressive, but certainly not superior to those of his “rival”.

Nan’s right

It may seem as if we have already handed over the “crown” of this feud to Baldwin, but this is not the case. As much as the numbers mentioned above are clear, o Nan he has his arguments too, which make his statement seem less exaggerated.

The main thing that we all have to keep in mind, is that his guard Panathinaikou AKTOR he does these in his first year at Euroleague. Or, to put it even better, at his first season away from the USwhere he grew up, learned basketball and played the sport professionally throughout his career.

It seems incredible that the former player the Heat and the Lakers came to the old continent after 4 years in the NBA and one “missing” season due to injuries, and not only adapted immediately, but managed to level up many levels his team, which without him certainly would not have finished so high, he would probably fight for octave.

On the other hand, Mr Baldwin he is an excellent player and is probably in the prime of his European career, yet he is playing in Euroleague since 2019 it has now completely adapted to completely different basketball which is played here in relation to his homeland. His friends Olympiakouespecially, will remember that the 28-year-old looked nothing like the player he is now when he donned the “red and whites” in the 2019-20 season, making his debut in Europe’s top league.

We also couldn’t close without mentioning the defense. Obviously, the rivalry between the two is about… forwards, but it’s much harder for a player to be very efficient aggressively, when he gives everything to the rear. All defensive indicators favor him Nanwho generally shows a great willingness to mark and put his body in phases, which is rare for an American player coming straight from NBA.

The beef favors Panathinaikos

Based on all of the above, it is safe to say that so far o Wade Baldwin wins her against between the two, since the numbers are… relentless. Or maybe not; Because the truth is that spiritually, this condition probably favors Panathinaikos AKTOR in view of the series playoffs.

If his former player is anything to go by Olympiakou has been consistently criticized since the beginning of his career, this is the “spiritual” part of the game. The American guard often takes too much wrong choiceshaving been fatal in crucial matches for his respective team.

The existence, therefore, of such a contradiction is in favor of the “greens”, as it can very easily “spoil the mind” of Baldwin. If the latter takes it personally and set out to prove that he is the master at taking one sophisticated shot after another, then the “clover” will have even greater odds in his favor.

On the contrary, the Nan he has never shown himself to be influenced by external factors, as he always plays with great composure and “cold blood”. As for his statement, that was probably it inaccurate by the numbers, but his confidence is what makes him so far unbeatable for his opponents, so he rightly did. More answers will come from April 23 at OAKA…

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