Evan Fournier surprise guest of a very prestigious ranking!
After his big debut under the colors of the Knicks, Evan Fournier has fallen back into anonymity. However, his declining stats should not obscure an important aspect of his game, in which he is quite simply among the best players in the league!
He who dreamed of one day treading the floor of Madison Square Garden as a Knicks player, could have let himself be caught by the pressure that this deadline was wearing. On the contrary, he used it to enter directly into the hearts of fans. For its official premiere in New York colors, Evan Fournier had thus delivered a pure recital, synonymous with a prestigious victory for his team against Boston.
Since then, the soufflé has fallen slightly for the French rear, just like its averages. A logical conclusion for him, who could not decently maintain such form over 82 games. His recent performances, however, are starting to cause concern in the Big Apple, and have even led Tom Thibodeau to take a strong decision against him the last days.
Evan Fournier, Knicks defense leader
Fournier’s performance has been increasingly criticized lately, and in particular his defensive performance. The French indeed found himself directly targeted by overwhelming statistics in this area for its frankness. However, Evan has much to be proud of his activity on this side of the field, since he is among the best defenders in the league according to the shooting percentage of their direct opponents!
Lowest DFG% in the NBA 🔒
(min. 100 DFGA)PJ Tucker – 34.6%
Austin Reaves – 34.9%
Deni Avdija – 35.1%
Bruce Brown – 35.2%
Draymond Green – 36.4%
Bam Adebayo – 36.7%
Evan Fournier – 37%
Devin Booker – 37.5%
Derrick White – 37.5%
Alex Caruso – 37.9%– NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) November 11, 2021
Of course, this ranking gives pride of place to the rear, whose opponents try their luck more regularly at 3 points, and therefore have statistically less chances of registering their shots. Likewise, it only takes into account players who have contested at least 100 shots at the start of the season. Once these details have been made, the presence of Fournier in this list remains to be noted, he who is not really known as a good defender.
Despite everything, he managed to maintain his direct opponents at 37% skill in his first 12 games, and therefore appears in 7th position in this ranking. Some will see this figure as a mere coincidence, even an epiphenomenon. Others will believe that the Thibodeau leg is already doing wonders on the Frenchie, and allows him to appear alongside renowned defenders like PJ Tucker, Draymond green or Alex Caruso!
In a team coached by Tom Thibodeau, Evan Fournier had better not be crumbly in defense. He obviously understood it well, since he distinguished himself in a very nice way in this exercise!
