Metrics wizard Wayne Winston and his lacrosse-minded son Greg are back! This week’s report features longpole Jarrod Neumann. He could play other sports at the professional level – no question about it.
So could some of the other guys atop Week 8’s PLL By The Numbers ‘Top Ten Rankings’. Check it out all out below…
The Rise of Jarrod Neumann
Jarrod Neumann is the biggest threat in transition in the Premier Lacrosse League. The 6’4″, 220lb defenseman from Northhampton, MA is adding the most points to his team per shot taken and almost leads the league completely!
Top 10 Rankings (as of 8.16.19)
Goals Added
Here are the top ten shooters that add the most to value while using the least number of possessions:
Now for the players who use the most possessions and get the least output. Here are the least efficient players in the Premier Lacrosse League:
Points Created
For each goal, we tracked the person who dodged to create it. If a dodge created a two pointer, the player gets two points for the dodge. Here are the top ten players who have created the most points off of dodges:
Key Insights & Players To Watch
Archers
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- The Archers are you’re definition of an average PLL team with a 4-4 record and a close to average goal differential
- Kevin Rice has been the limiting factor in the Archers attack in our goals added metric Rice has taken more goals away with wasted possessions than Manny and Holman have created combined. Benching him this week seemed to work out
- Like most teams the Archers fair better when they attack from the wing as opposed to up top
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- Keep your eyes on Christian Cuccinello this weekend
Replacing Rice with Cuccinello has proved to be a great decision thus far, as he is producing much more and playing much more efficiently. Looks like he’s the third attackmen they needed.
Atlas
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- The Atlas are getting ROASTED behind the two point arc, in the PLL defense is about more than defending the crease, a two point shot against Atlas is 13% better than an average shot
If you estimate the value of a possession as .3 Baptiste has added ten goals to his team
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- Keep your eyes on Trevor Baptiste this weekend
The Atlas are arguably the weakest team outside of their FOGO, and will need the extra possessions to remain competitive. We believe Baptiste is the current MVP of the league, because the quantity of possessions he gains outweighs the amount of goals added by any shooter by a very large amount. Yes every week he is the key player.
Chaos
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- The Chaos have the most dominant offense, and they are making great use of the most valuable shots in the game (two-pointers and crease); Note how far above average those both are
- The talent on this offense extends beyond, their attack and even beyond their short sticks as a whole. Jarrod Neumann is currently adding the second most goals to his team in our Goals Added stat, and Matt Rees is in the top ten as well
- The Chaos are doing better when they take the alley then when they go top, this is pretty common
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- Just as the title of this report suggests, keep your eyes on Jarrod Neumann this weekend
The Chaos defense will have its hands full this weekend, but we suspect them to come out on top.
Chrome
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- I have no statistical way to prove this but Chrome must be the best team to go winless through the first half of their season in any professional sport. They are not far behind the other five teams in the league. They have a zero goal differential
- The Chrome are getting burned behind the arc. A two point shot against Chrome is nearly 20% better than average
- The Chrome are not without scorers despite their record. Guterding, Manley, Ranagan, and MacIntosh, and Crotty are shooting a goal above average in goals added. Note that Wolf is in the bottom ten in goals added
- The Chrome are creating a lot of goals off the dodge. Guterding is leading the league in points created by the dodge. Crotty, Wolf and Ranagan are not far behind
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- Keep your eyes on Joel White this weekend
Most of the dodging threats for Atlas are middies, it’ll be up to Joel White to slow that down.
Redwoods
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- The Redwoods have not utilized the shorter two point line at all. A Redwoods two pointer is 20% below average
- The Redwoods are doing better when they dodge from the top then anywhere else; One of the few teams to fair better when they dodge from the top then the wing
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- Keep your eyes on Jules Heningburg this weekend
The most important piece of this offense is no doubt Jules Heningburg. Since the trade he has been as efficient as anyone.
Whipsnakes
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- In the same sense that the Chrome aren’t that much worse than the other teams. The Whipsnakes aren’t that much better than average; As we mentioned last week, the parity in this league is nuts
- The Whipsnakes are one of the few teams doing better defending dodges on the wing as opposed to up top
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- Keep your eyes on Mike Chanenchuk this weekend
The Redwoods have a very good defense, and what better way to counter that than the league leader in two point attempts, there to stretch out the defense.
We hope you enjoyed our PLL Week 8 report!
Got a question about ‘PLL By The Numbers’?
We’re here to engage and dive deeper into the numbers if you are! It doesn’t matter if you’re Jarod Neumann himself, or some kid from Winnemucca. You’re always welcome to drop a comment below or contact Lacrosse All Stars.
