We’re not being hyperbolic, here. Anthony Bennett is currently on pace to have the worst season by a number one pick in NBA history. That’s right, worse than Michael Olowokandi, Kwame Brown, and Greg Oden, if you can believe it.
Drew Garrison over at SB Nation broke down Bennett’s performance to date to illustrate just how utterly useless the number one pick out of Toronto has been for the Cavaliers so far this season.
Let’s begin with the basics. Bennett is shooting .269 from the field and an even more embarrassing .143 from beyond the arc. Even more sad, he’s shooting worse in the restricted area, a zone where pretty much everyone and their mother has a better field goal percentage.
What’s more, Mike Brown trusts Bennett so little that he’s playing a weak 10.4 minutes per game. Yes, the number one overall pick is getting less minutes than Adonal Foyle did in his rookie season, and that’s saying something.
Moving on, Bennett’s player efficiency rating (PER) is an abhorrent 1.08 , good for second-to-last in the NBA (Marquis Teague, please stand up). For those of you unfamiliar with the metric, PER measures a player’s per-minute performance and their effectiveness on team performance while on the floor. For reference, an average PER is 15.00, therefore, Bennett’s nearly negative PER is truly indicative of his worth (or lack thereof) thus far.
Furthermore, Bennett’s fruitless performance has not only been a personal stain, but a stain on the entire Cavaliers basketball team as a whole. When Bennett is on the court, the Cavs are being outscored by a whopping 11.1 points per-100 possessions.
Yes, it has only been 31 games, so we can’t quite call him a bust yet, but he doesn’t even register on the eye test. You look at some players and you can tell they got game, simple as that. Steph Curry – he passes the eye test. Kyrie Irving – yup. Marc Gasol – definitely.
When you look at Bennett, all you see as a fat mess (pun intended) while you shake your head solemnly. He’s like an old, used mop that just dirties the floor instead of cleaning it.
Bennett can’t really get any worse right now and the only direction he can go is up (this is a bold-faced lie), but at this rate, the Cavs can probably get more utility out of a sack of potatoes and a roll of duct tape. Maybe a trip to the D-League will put Bennett’s ass in check?
Oh, yeah. Speaking of the eye test, this video is an alarmingly accurate indicator of Bennett’s miserable play. Dude doesn’t even hustle.
More Articles You May Enjoy..
Cubs Unveil New Mascot, Twitter Reacts Expectedly
Your Stupid Friend’s Favorite Sports Jokes
Guys You love to See Fail
About Ramin Rezvani