Bobcats Quarterly Update: Bismack Biyombo

 As everyone in the Bobcats organization has either implied or just said out loud, this year is less about wins and losses and more about development. 20 40 or so games in, there are some interesting things that you can already see (via stats from Hoopdata).

BIYOMBO HAS NOT IMPROVED AS A SCORER

• Despite a slight uptick in minutes per game (23.1 to 25), Biyombo's overall field goal attempts have decreased this season, and remains below the average power forward playing 20+ minutes (9.4 attempts per game).
• While free throw attempts are down a little, his percentage (53.9%) is up from last year.
• Attempts at the rim have increased, but his field goal percentage has dropped to 55%. The league average is 67%.
• Attempts from 10-15 feet have dropped significantly, and he may not have made one this season (effectively 0%), versus a league average of 41% from that range.
• Attempts from 16-23 feet have also dropped, and his field goal percentage has also dropped dramatically (to 11%), versus a league average of 39%.

BIYOMBO'S DEFENSE HAS IMPROVED MARGINALLY

• Offensive rebound rate has improved to 10.1, better than the league average for power forwards playing 20+ minutes (9.0).
• Defensive rebound rate has decreased slightly, but remains above the league average (19.8).
• Total rebound rate has improved to 15.2, versus the group's league average of 14.4.
• Blocks per game remain well above the league average (0.86), although they have decreased despite the increase in minutes.

CONCLUSION

The stats back up what most people have seen with their eyes: Biyombo is still generally a minus player on offense, and an above average player on defense. As valuable as a defensive force could be, a player with little to contribute on one end of the floor can sometimes hurt a team as much as he helps. Thankfully, at this point, that doesn't seem to be the case: per NBA.com's plus/minus numbers, most of the Bobcats' most productive lineups seem to involve Biyombo.

Hopefully, as the season of development continues, Biyombo's offensive education remains a priority. From Year 1 to Year 2, Biyombo's offensive opportunities have both decreased and become less efficient. While Dunlap's emphasis on "kill spots" in the offense likely has a lot to do with this, it's important to see whether Biyombo's offensive game can (or should) branch out to more spots on the floor.