SportVU Data: Identifying the League's Best... Drivers

With the release of SportVU camera tracking data to the general public via NBA.com, there's a whole new world of information available to try and figure out what's happening on an NBA court, and who's doing it well (or poorly). Really, an ideal application should be to identify the best players filling certain roles on a team, because good role players can swing a playoff series. While understanding all this data has to be in its infant stages, here's a quick look at a few things that seem useful right off the bat. The data is pulled from here, and some summary rules for how I cut the stats are included at the bottom of each post.

In today's NBA, the ability to create a good shot out of nothing has value. Similarly, players that effectively drive to the rim can warp a defense and, if done well, produce points for himself and his team in an efficient way. Here's a look, through the season to date, at some of the most prolific (and efficient) drivers to the hoop. They're identified by how many points a player produces per drive, for himself and for his team.

A few thoughts on the players listed above:

• While they may not be getting a lot of the All-Star fan vote at this point, hopefully coaches have noticed Ty Lawson and Jeff Teague. They're driving to the rim a lot, and producing points efficiently for their teams, primarily via shots for their teammates. Given the offensive burdens that both guys carry, that should merit consideration.
• Patrick Beverley brings other things to the table (notably, on-ball defense) better than Jeremy Lin. But, as a driver to the rim, Lin has been much more efficient (1.15 points per drive) than Beverley (0.99). Now, whether the Houston offense is designed for two guys to drive the ball, with Dwight Howard inside, remains to be seen. 
• I'm not sure whether Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday being on this list is a testament to their individual talents blossoming in New Orleans, or the power of Ryan Anderson's otherworldly outside shooting, or both. I haven't watched enough Pelicans basketball to guess, so I won't.
• Isaiah Thomas is probably someone I should be watching a lot more of. How he manages to produce just some of his offensive numbers, given everything that swirls around him in Sacramento, plus his height, plus his "Mr. Irrelevant" draft status, seems like a great feel-good story.

Eligibility Rules:

 - Top 100 drives per game

 - Must have produced at least 1.15 team points per drive (average for the group)

 - Ranked by drives per minute