Millsap steals?

[MDAV28]

Usually there are some unusual stats in the first part of NBA seasons. Millsap's steal #'s so far are one of them.

11 steals (tied for 5th, no other big man besides Dwight has 11 or more, and Dwight has played 6 games)
2.2 steals per game (tied for 5th)
3.67 steals per turnover (4th)
3.91 steals per 48 (6th)

Millsap in his career averaged 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 0.8, then jumped to 1.4 last year. Just a good stretch for him or could this be an upward trend?

 

[Stoked]

Usually there are some unusual stats in the first part of NBA seasons. Millsap's steal #'s so far are one of them.

11 steals (tied for 5th, no other big man besides Dwight has 11 or more, and Dwight has played 6 games)
2.2 steals per game (tied for 5th)
3.67 steals per turnover (4th)
3.91 steals per 48 (6th)

Millsap in his career averaged 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 0.8, then jumped to 1.4 last year. Just a good stretch for him or could this be an upward trend?

With Milsap you never know. He is always trying to improve his game. Maybe it is something he worked on in the offseason.

 

[BluesRocker]

Wait til the season progresses. Stats change quite a bit as more games are played. And things average out.

 

[moevillini]

or maybe changes in team personnel means there's more opportunity for him (or he's taking more initiative) on the defensive end rather than being thought of primarily as a rebounder

 

[Stoked]

Wait til the season progresses. Stats change quite a bit as more games are played. And things average out.

All the responses look good but you are right in that time will tell if it is a fluke or something more.

 

[Zulu]

I noticed at the game last night that Milsap was playing the passing lanes, never really saw him do this in previous seasons!

 

[cjs55]

5 games this year is way too small a sample. But since he improved so much last year in this stat, it's not unreasonable to think he might be at 1.5 or 1.6 by the time this year is over.

 

[vslice02]

5 games this year is way too small a sample.

This.
Looking back, even Carlos Boozer had a 5-game stretch in 2006-07 where he recorded 11 steals. Like Sap, Boozer had multiple seasons where he averaged over 1.0 steals per game - but very rarely do players double their steals per min average.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Question: Is a steal awarded to the player who dislodges the ball or the one who comes up with it?

 

[vslice02]

Question: Is a steal awarded to the player who dislodges the ball or the one who comes up with it?

"Poke-away" steals generally go to the player who initially deflected the basketball.

For example, Millsap poked the ball away from one of NO's bigs in the first-quarter last night and Harris came up with it and went coast-to-coast (iirc he either scored or got fouled). Harris did not record a steal last night so obviously Millsap got credit for the steal.

 

[MDAV28]

This.
Looking back, even Carlos Boozer had a 5-game stretch in 2006-07 where he recorded 11 steals. Like Sap, Boozer had multiple seasons where he averaged over 1.0 steals per game - but very rarely do players double their steals per min average.

So it seems like the general conclusion is that it is just a good stretch. I don't think Millsap can keep a 2.2 average by any means. But I just found out that Millsap had 103 steals last year, which is the best out of ALL Power Forwards and second to only Dwight (107) for big men. And it does seem like he is playing the passing lanes a little more, early on in this season...

 

[vslice02]

So it seems like the general conclusion is that it is just a good stretch. I don't think Millsap can keep a 2.2 average by any means. But I just found out that Millsap had 103 steals last year, which is the best out of ALL Power Forwards and second to only Dwight (107) for big men. And it does seem like he is playing the passing lanes a little more, early on in this season...

Agreed. I think steals are a good inclination of having active hands - but not necessarily an inclination of playing good defense (Boozer had 3-straight seasons averaging 1.2, 1.1, and 1.1 steals per game). Millsap's block numbers have gone since becoming a starter so it's nice to see him making an impact on the defensive end in other ways.