Boykins coming up real short in Milwaukee

Maybe its just a matter of bad timing. But, considering the hype surrounding his arrival in Milwaukee, Earl Boykins has been a major disappointment. Whenever the Bucks put him on the court, the results are not good.

With Boykins in the game, the Bucks offensive efficiency is 100.6 pts per 100 possessions, and its defensive efficiency is an ABA-like 117.9 pts per 100 possessions. If you're scoring at home, that's an efficiency deficit of -17.3. You can't win any games with numbers like that.

On the other hand, when he sits down both the offensive (109.3) and defensive (110.7) efficiencies improve sharply, resulting in a more manageable deficit of -1.4. In other words, when the Bucks get Boykins off the court, they actually become competitive.

He needs to act like a point guard, not a 5'5'' shooting guard

Why has Boykins been such a disaster for the team? I think he's overmatched as a starter, but, more than that, its his court decisions and style of play. He hasn't played like a point guard. At 5'5'' he plays like a shoot-first, pass-much-later, shooting guard who happens to play point.

Look at his numbers. His Passer Rating, a key indicator of a PG's effectiveness running the offense, is an extremely low 7.0. By comparison, former Buck TJ Ford's Passer Rating currently stands at 13.2. And Boykins ass/48 average as a Buck has also quite low (6.1). Again, compare him to TJ Ford, who is currently averaging an ass/48 of just over 11.

He just doesn't pass the ball. And the effect is like a plumber's wrench dropped in the Bucks usually sound offensive machine. With Boykins on the court, all of the important measurements of offensive proficiency decline. The team's assisted field goal % (the % of field goals that are a direct result of a teammates assist) shrinks from 57% to 51%, and the team's overall eFG% falls from 54% to 46%, both of which suggest Boykins is not setting his teammates up as a point guard should. He's too busy setting up himself. His own assisted FG%, meaning the % of his made field goals that were set up by a teammate's assist, is a very low 29%, suggesting he's going one-on-one rather than moving the ball around and getting his shots as a natural part of the offense.

And -- get this -- he's not even very good going one-on-one. He can't seem to finish around the basket at all. His eFG in the lane is a meager 44.8%. When he goes in only rebounds come out.

Boykins poor offensive decisions also have a negative impact on the team's defense, often creating long rebounds and numerical advantages for the team's opponents. Not to mention the negative impact it has on defensive morale. Everyone knows there is nothing that takes away a player's defensive "want-to" like an ineffective and selfish point guard. Its demoralizing.

And Blake's turned his game around

If the foregoing weren't bad enough, former Buck bricklayer Steve Blake, the man we gave up to get Boykins, has undergone a Rocky Mountain renaissaince. They couldn't be happier with the guy. After a completely unproductive stint in Green and Red, he's suddenly come to life for the Nuggets. He's still not the most productive player in the world, but you can't argue with the results the Nuggets are gettng with him on the court. Their efficiency differential is +7.0. With him on the bench it sinks to +0.9. And suddenly he's found his shooting touch, scorching the nets at an eFG% of 56.3.

Did the Nuggets screw us?

I'm not saying we should have kept Blake. It wasn't working out with him in Green and Red, and the situation was unlikely to improve. What I am saying, though, is we are getting much less than advertised from Earl the Pearl. Except when he's on the bench.