It would be better if you put the info in the context of the article, which suggests the Tigers need to use Mills more aggressively as a scorer because when he isnt scoring he doesnt seem to have an influence on the game.

In the last quarter against Sydney the Tigers were +18 with Mills on the court, and were +11 in the third quarter against Wollongong. Both those occasions Mills was going off. For the rest of the season the Tigers are something like -47 with Mills on the court (but +20 with him off), suggesting they need to utilise him better.

And given that Mills is one of the major reasons for 2 of the Tigers 3 wins, the topic thread doesnt really tell the story.

I wouldn't call myself a hater but not the biggest fan. However, there's no way Patty's hurting the Tigers.

all those stupid things just have to shut the f*ck up cos the Tigers are 3-1 and Patty's the leading scorer for the team and that speaks for itself.

they do seem a bit disorganized when Patty's on the court cos he draws so much attention since he's a "NBA" player/bench warmer.

but regardless of whatever stats it is, Tigers are winning and Patty's their leading scorer and that matters more than anything.

you only have to watch the game to see the influence patty has on the game. the stats only tell half the story and you can use random stats to prove anything, any statistician knows this.

for development of Patty at the higher level, I think that is the problem. he still doesn't seem very confident running a team on a consistent basis, like Ubaka. at the higher level he won't be 'scoring' whenever he'd like.

you see a few good plays here and there that he creates for his team mate but his high turnover to assist ratio (3:2) talks alot.

for him to go higher level his play-making ability needs to improve. maybe Tigers should hire Sedale Threatt to help him with that, the dude was ranked #6 all time play-maker for Lakers franchise lately.

haha i love how the article mentions the 3 quarters of the sydney game that make Mills look bad, but fails to mention the last quarter which makes him look good.

I personally don't think the +/- stat is a very good determinant on a players value anyway.

Read the article Rog:

http://www.nbl.com.au/news/article/2011/november/r5-preview-sydney-kings-v-melbourne-tigers/

"The Tigers have twice dominated opponents with Mills on the court - the last quarter against Sydney and the third period against Wollongong. Mills went into attack mode, showing he can be a scoring superstar by nailing 30 per cent of his season points total in those two match-winning periods."

I'm not a huge fan of +/- either, but the stats for Mills were a surprise when I read them and definitely worth discussion.

Outside his two really good quarters the Tigers have been getting soundly beaten with Mills on the court, yet are outscoring opponents when he is on the bench. Why is that? Mills is obviously a very good player so I am intrigued by these stats.

He shoots way too much and the rest of the team which is very capable is not utilised to its potential when he is playing.

If he was playing more as apart of the team and not a star, whether or not he is, then I would think higher of his game in the NBL.

I dont think they will miss him much when he goes, not saying that he isnt making an impact just dont think it will leave as a big hole as his points stats might suggest.

I kinda agree with above, but not confident how the Tigers gonna look after Mills.

obviously Ubaka will play better and Dillon will do better but I think performance of Dorsey will determine whether Tigers gonna be successful post-Mills.

IMO Mills need to understand how to make others around him effective. he's kinda acting like a shooting guard right now. even when watching the game he seems more comfortable when spotting up in the corner with Ubaka running the point.

Correction Anon, Mills has the potential to be the best player in the NBL, all he has at the mo is footspeed and the ability to throw up 12 bricks and then make goggles with his hands when he finally hits 1 shot ;)

I have to disagree with the comments that the +/- isn't important, I'd say it's the most important stat. It's the only one that indicates whether a player is making his team better, and Mills at the moment cant be in MVP discussions (based on proper MVP voting, which the NBL doesnt really have) because the V stands for valuable, and you're only valuable if youre making your team better.
What is worse is that the Tigers are 3-1 and his +/- is that bad. If they were losing it would be understandable, but they have a winning record despite how much theyre being outscored while mills is playing

He will always be a scorer, first and foremost, whichever guard spot he is in. Realistically though he is going to play PG more often than not so I'd like to see the Boomers and Tigers have a system where once he makes the entry pass he is constantly in motion coming off screens, ala Penney for NZ.

The focus other teams will have on him will open things up for his teammates, and he doesnt have to actually be the option each time down. When he does touch the ball again after the initial pass though he should be in a position to score, that's what he does very well.

I agree that 'The focus other teams will have on him will open things up for his teammates', but that doesn't explain why his teammates are playing better with him on the bench.
I'm not saying he's not a good player but he's not being used right by Gleeson at the moment

Someone's gone and said that dreadful line "Mills is the best player in the league".

He's a front-runner, but by no means "The Best". As discussed in other threads, there are at least 3-4 other players equal or better than him.

Mills could be scoring this much for any team in the league, but the Tigers are dominating because they have reliable talent across the board. All due respect to Patty, but Ubaka/Dillion/Dorsey/Trigger could easily replace the point production that Mills has been putting out. Same goes if he was on any other team in the league. Patty would need to wrack up 30+ppg for the season to say otherwise.

Agree fully with comments about better utilization. The man can get on a hot-streak, but doesn't get setup for the best shots to trigger it.

Agreed. Hard job for Gleeson too with Mills coming in late. I think the teammates are perhaps playing better without him because Mills is uncomfortable trying to balance running the system and getting his shots and it throws things out of whack. Ubaka has that balance down pat.

The +/- stat is most effective when it used to look at the 5 players on the court as a whole, rather than individuals.

He reminds me of a ball hog i used to play basketball with in under 12s

Interesting stat.

The 4th quarter against the Kings needs to be included as does the Breakers game to see where he is truly at. Every player in the league has hot and cold streaks, thats basketball, every minute has to be included.

The stat will more than likely improve dramatically though. NZ, Perth & Sydney were all tipped to finish top 5 this season. All 3 also have probably the most disruptive defense's in the league. Bruce & Cooper, Martin & Robbins, Jackson with Vukona, Boucher & Anthony trapping.

When the Tigers start taking on the weaker teams, Mills will show his class.

I can't really see how the Tigers are hurting through Mills being there. Sure his defense isn't the greatest in the world but just him being there seems to be bringing out something extra in his team mates.

To me its not just about the numbers he's putting up. Sure he's currently 2nd in the NBL in scoring but stats don't tell the whole story. Whether he's on court or sitting on the bench, just him being there is having a positive affect on the Tigers who are currently 3rd on the ladder.

The way I see it, just because Patty Mills is a current NBA player that doesn't automatically mean that he is going to dominate the NBL in a way few others have before, though that is what some people have been expecting of him, and TBH I'm not sure of Mills is totally capable of that. And just remember, he's come into a new environment and has to adapt to the way Gleeson runs things (as do the other Tigers Gleeson hasn't coached before). Both the Tigers and Mills have had to adapt to each other and IMO they are currently doing an ok job of things.

Gee the Tall Poppy Syndrome is alive & well in SA! FFS Patty has chosen to play in the NBL (could have played in Europe for 3 times the $$$) & give us the chance to see his considerable talent up close & personal. Everyone is quick to point out his areas of improvement but very few praise his strengths. Patty will tell you himself that he is still a work in progress & he needs to continue to improve his basketball skill set as well as his shot selection. This could be the only time we see Patty in the NBL so instead of creating crap subject topics to tear Patty down why dont we just appreciate Patty for what is!!

We are just being consistent, we slag off everyone else so why not Mills?

Nailed it CP3

Tigers keep winning. Enough said!

If he played like last nights game every game then I will change my tone, which it looks like progressively he is moving towards. So good on him.

I still think Melbourne will be fine without him though. Maybe not as much of an offensive threat since the focus wont be on him but still they will be a good team.

That was me above BTW. Forgot to put my name in.

Pat is great for the NBL and Tigers you idiots.
You monkeys dont know shit! Quoting your stupid stats to make
it look like you all know the game.Does anyone have anything good to say about anyone? I cant believe some of this crap is allowed to be posted
from so many jealous losers.
Watch what happens to the Tigers when he goes back to the NBA
You stupid f__ks, look at the teams record.
Jt

Here's the season cumulative +/- to date for the Tigers (first number is their rank in the league). Mills is doing pretty well, though they are equal top (5-2) and he plays a lot of minutes. Still, not quite a cancerous +/-.

12. Daryl Corletto (+37) (Oh yeah, oops, no longer with Tigers...)
18. Tom Greer (+30)
20. Patrick Mills (+29)
24. Cameron Tragardh (+26)
25. Daniel Dillon (+24)
31. Liam Rush (+15)
33. Ayinde Ubaka (+14)
34. Ron Dorsey (+11)
36. Matthew Burston (+11)
54. Lucas Walker (-1)
76. Benny Lewis (-14)

The last three games he is +47. He has really turned his +/- around since he has become a distributor, and a very good one at that.

Interesting to note that after he dished off his ninth assist midway through the third quarter (wow!) the Tigers were outscored 50-33 - Mills 2/10 with one assist after that. When he is creating for teammates the Tigers are incredibly hard to guard, but perhaps not quite so good when he is creating shots for himself.

Agree Paul, since he has started to distribute more he looks better as do the Tigers.

Tom Greer at the top of the list doesn't surprise me.

Why was he taken out in OT against the Crocs? Other than Trigger he was the next best scoring option and was playing good D.

Bennie Lewis needs to get his head in the game, comes out with heaps of energy on the offensive end then just has random brain fades on the defensive end which lead to easy baskets.

Definitely agree re Tommy. On fire at the moment. Him knocking down those open shots makes the Tigers a different proposition, you cant sag off him to cover Mills and Ubaka. On top of that he provides the real grunt and the word that rhymes with grunt that every team needs.

runt?