A Mea Culpa

We live in a world where more data is available for public consumption than ever before. With a few clicks of a button, we can find out a tremendous amount of information on any subject we choose. Nowhere is that more true than in sports, where we can seemingly learn everything we need to know about any player we want to,  and subsequently make quick decisions on how we feel about that player.

It wouldn’t be fair to say that Cleveland Cavalier fans were apathetic towards the team’s signing of Jose Calderon on the first day of free agency last July. Apathy means that people don’t care, and in this case they certainly did. Reactions to the team signing an aging point guard coming off a career-worst season ranged from confusion to anger. This wasn’t just a case of the fans not understanding the situation either. Most of the media members who covered the team were at a loss to explain the addition of Calderon so early in free agency.

When the Cavaliers later signed Derrick Rose and traded for Isaiah Thomas, the angst only increased. Even if the Cavs did need a third point guard—which made sense given Thomas’s hip issues as well as Rose’s own injury history—couldn’t they do better than Calderon? Emotions really came to a boil when the media began to report that the signing of Dwyane Wade (another ball handler) would likely lead to the team trading fan favorite Richard Jefferson. Jefferson didn’t look like he had a spot in the rotation, and made more money than Calderon (who couldn’t be traded until December 15th), but was beloved by fans due to his play in the 2016 NBA Finals, as well as his incredible Snapchat account, Road Trippin’ Podcast, and postgame interviews with Cavaliers play-by-play man, Fred McLeod. It was also easier to trade Jefferson than a player with a higher salary, such as Iman Shumpert.

Even with Thomas injured, Calderon began the season outside of the rotation. Then an injury to Derrick Rose prompted Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue to start Calderon against the Orlando Magic in the third game of the season. That game was an absolute disaster, as Calderon played terribly on both ends and didn’t get off the bench in the second half. Calderon fell back out of the rotation, and failed to appear in seven straight games in the first half of November. When Rose was injured again Lue went with Iman Shumpert as the nominal point guard. At this point, nearly everyone who followed the Cavaliers wondered what the point was in having Calderon as a third point guard if Lue wasn’t going to play him when the other point guards where injured?

Sentiment began to change on November 20th. The Cavaliers were playing the Pistons in Detroit when Calderon returned to the starting lineup in place of the injured Shumpert. That night, he made four of five shots from the field to finish with 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists as the Cavs blew out a Pistons team that was the number two seed in the Eastern Conference at the time. From there, the Cavaliers and Calderon have taken off. The team is 13-1 with Calderon in the starting lineup, and he has been a surprising contributor to that run. The question is, how surprised should we be?

Calderon has been an underrated (if highly effective) player throughout his career. Even during his prime in Toronto, the Raptors often looked to upgrade at starting point guard only for Calderon to fight off his challengers and regain the job by the end of each season. A big reason for this is because people often focused on what Calderon couldn’t do. He’s always been a minus defender and isn’t going to wow anyone with his athleticism. However, if you look closely at Calderon’s game, you’ll see one of the smartest and most efficient offensive players in NBA history. Before you laugh, let’s take a closer look.

A basic fact in the NBA over the last 15 seasons is that if you surround LeBron James with a bunch of shooters, you will win a lot of basketball games. For all of the well-deserved praise Kyle Korver, Channing Frye, and J.R. Smith get for their shooting, people often seem to forget that Calderon is a career 41% shooter from deep on 2.6 attempts per game. Per basketball-reference, that’s the 21st highest three point percentage in league history among qualified players. Calderon’s shooting allows him to play of the ball effectively in a way Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert can’t.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3YVlBDTA5I

The one aspect of Calderon’s game that may be even more impressive than his shooting is his passing. While Calderon’s career average of 6.1 assists per game might not jump off the page, he’s done that while averaging just 1.6 turnovers for his career, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.8-to-1. An acceptable assist-to-turnover ratio for a point guard is anything above 2-to-1, and Calderon is nearly twice as good as that. Calderon has had five seasons with an assist-to-turnover ratio of at least 4-to-1, and even this season is averaging 2.5 assists for every turnover he commits. By comparison, Derrick Rose has a pedestrian 2.1-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio for his career, and is at 0.63-to-1 for this season, an abysmally poor number.

Those numbers show the startling contrast in playing styles between Rose and Calderon. Rose is strictly a finisher at the rim who is a mediocre-at-best passer over the course of his career, and a terrible outside shooter. At this point, he’s a non-star who has no role player skills, and therefore doesn’t fit with this Cavaliers team. He’s also a player whose commitment to his team can rightfully be questioned after his recent hiatus to contemplate his future in basketball. By contrast, Calderon doesn’t look to get to the rim much—especially at this point in his career—but he’s an excellent passer and shooter who understands his role and plays as close to mistake-free basketball on offense as anyone in the NBA has over the last 13 seasons. Calderon’s skill set and heady play have allowed him to surprise everyone and step up for the Cavaliers when they needed his contributions, and his attitude and professionalism have been lauded by his teammates on multiple occasions.

Now, it’s being reported that Isaiah Thomas is targeting the first week of January to make his Cavaliers debut after a long period of rehab from his injuries. When that happens, Calderon will return to the bench and may very well be out of the rotation all together. If and when that happens, it’s good to know that the Cavaliers will have a smart and skilled veteran on the bench who will be ready if and when he is called upon.