Playing behind future Hall of Famer Tony Parker, Cory Joseph hasn’t had much run for the Spurs in these playoffs. But the Pickering, Ont., native just keeps picking up plaudits, largely for his maturity and ever-improving game. The most recent might be Dunk of the Night from NBA.com for the posterization above.
As Dave Zarum pointed out a while back, Joseph jumpstarted his development when he requested a stint in the D-League last season. And it paid off: He’s raised his player efficiency rating in each of the last two seasons (from a decidedly lacklustre 6.89 in his rookie year to 13.52 in 2012–13 to 14.89 this past year), along with his FG%, 3P% and PPG.
According to a new system created by basketball analytics thinker Austin Clemens, he’s also a budding defender. Check out the chart to visualize (chart cheat sheet: blue is good, orange isn’t):
The chart shows Joseph excels at defending the three-point line (aside from the left corner) and is also surprisingly stout inside the arc, possibly thanks to his excellent size for his position.
Finally, if you haven’t already, rewatch the video above. He can also do stuff like that.
