In his 46 games this season with the Milwaukee Bucks, Bobby Portis has come off the bench in 32 games. He has started 14 games, or about 30% of the games. For his career, Bobby has started just under 27% of the games he’s played in.
For the Bucks, having a player like Portis who can come off the bench or start and be a contributor is a huge asset. But as Portis flipflops from starter to bench player, the question needs to be asked: Is Bobby Portis more valuable off the bench or as a starter? And is he more productive in one role versus the other?
Well, here are some of the numbers through the first 46 games of the season.
Bobby Portis’ stats as a starter and off the bench
Team Record: The Bucks are 21-11 (.656) when Portis comes into the game as a sub; they are 8-6 (.571) when he starts a game.
Field Goal Percentage: Starter-.471, Off the bench-.508.
Three-Point Percentage: Starter-.389, Off the bench-.310
Free Throw Percentage: Starter: .917, Off the bench-.735
Points per game: Starter-16.7, Off the bench-13.3
Rebounds per game: Starter-11.0, Off the bench-9.7
Assists per game: Starter-2.2, Off the bench-1.6
Minutes played per game: Starter-31.1, Off the bench-24.9
Points per minutes played: Starter-.54, Off the bench-.53
Double-Doubles: Starter-10 (71% of starts), Off the bench-18 (56% of games off the bench)
So how do you read these numbers?
Bucks have a higher winning percentage when Portis comes off the bench
First, from a strictly team record standpoint, the Bucks’ winning percentage has been almost 100 percentage points higher this season when Portis is coming off the bench.
Secondly, most of his personal stats are higher when Portis is a starter. That is likely a result of having to play more minutes because of teammates not being available for those games (see minutes played as a starter).
Because there are no glaring differences in the stats between when Portis starts and when he comes off the bench, the easy answer is that it doesn’t matter when Portis sees the floor… he is productive in any role.
What’s your take? Starter or off the bench?
But debate, analysis and discussion is a different animal. Let me ask it this way: Are the Bucks a better team with Bobby Portis coming off the bench or as a starter?
Commence discussion.
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