Player Facts
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 205lbs.
Date of Birth: Aug. 25, 1994
College Experience: Michigan (4 years)
Selections
All Star: 0
All-NBA: 0
All-Defensive: 0
Player Grades
Speed/Explosiveness: 8
Physical Strength: 5
Positional Size: 9
Positional Wingspan: 9
Paint Scoring: 7
Midrange Scoring: 7
Three-Point Scoring: 5
Dribbling: 8
Passing: 7
Perimeter Defense: 5
Interior Defense: 3
Rebounding: 6
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STRENGTHS
Intro
The 6'6" LeVert is a skillful scorer with a robust in-between game. Caris uses close-range jumpers and floaters more than most other guards. His size, length (6-10 wingspan), and commendable playmaking abilities push him into a versatile multi-positional offensive role.
Offensive Flexibility
Caris can commandeer a bench unit with his combination of scoring and playmaking ability. While still being an okay fit beside high usage starters, Caris can let his iso prowess shine more when he plays with bench lineups. If given the opportunity, he is capable of exploding for a big point total on the night.
He finds various ways to commence his iso's. The offense will look to force a switch up top for Caris to attack, or he can curl or accept the handoff prior to an isolation sequence. Regardless, LeVert leans on his core-defined skills as a one-on-one player.
Short-Range Jumpers
LeVert's most potent go-to as an attacker is to get into that in-between range. He loves those 12-foot jumpers where he can spring up off the hardwood to release it nice and high. He uses his handle and dynamic first step burst to get to that spot.
A wheelhouse area on the court for him is from 8-16 feet. He averaged 1.8 of these per contest in 2021-2022. That knotted him with a pair of other offensive talents that utilize the same area: Khris Middleton and Jalen Brunson.
Other Modes of Attack
LeVert especially burns big men in space with his quick first step. Caris proceeds to take it all the way to the rack with those long-legged strides. It's a good idea to get the ball over to him if a switch sticks a slower frontcourt guy on him.
He uses motion off-ball to make himself available as a target. LeVert will Iverson cut, come off pindowns, or other off-ball screens to receive the rock. Catching it inside the arc is a preference for the 6'6" guard where he can proceed to attack right away, pass or pull up for a midranger.
Slippery Drives
En route to the basket, Caris can be slippery to guard. He oozes talent in these areas especially when he opts to jump stop, pivot, and pump fake in a beautiful sequence. LeVert makes it a point of emphasis to go up strong with two hands when right around the cup.
Screen-and-Roll Work
When a pick-and-roll is the action being run, Caris can do a few different things. He can reject into a take, averaging a hair under 15 drives per night in 2021-2022 (top-15 in the league for per-game volume). He can snake into the middle, then put his man in jail and assess his options against a pared-down defense.
His 7.5 points per play as the P&R initiator (2021-2022) was higher than Zach LaVine, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker.
Moreover, he handles these opportunities with a grasp on how to involve others. The same jump stops in the lane that he uses to score can also result in the attraction of a second defender. He then can make a nice interior feed to his freed-up big.
Kickouts to weakside corner or slot shooters are the right passes when the help defense comes in from that side. Caris can make most if not all of these passes after he penetrates. His unselfish, team-first mindset also aids the cause in this department.
Additional Playmaking + Scoring
He is also a nice drive-and-kick guy in his own right. Caris keeps his eyes peeled for open shooters upon breaking down the defense. All in all, he generated more points for others on a per-game basis than point guards Monte Morris and Tyrese Maxey in 2021-2022.
Rounding out his offense is respectable post play at guard and adeptness in DHO sets. Caris will turn and back down a smaller guard before turning and firing over cleanly. Handoff-wise, the eye test is supported through a 93rd percentile spot as a scorer here in 2019-2020.
Using His Length on Defense
LeVert is a tick below average as a permeter defender (below this as an overall defender). His impact goes up a notch when he locks in and plays with his feet. The tools could not be much better as a guard/wing on defense: 6'6" height, 6'10" wingspan, quick 205 lbs. build.
His off-ball work is effective as a perimeter player. He has a strong gauge on when to use his first step to jump passing lanes and nab a steal. Caris will sometimes pick off that wing-to-point pass, thwarting that ball reversal. He can then get out in transition and use his speed and ball skills.
Last but not least Caris rebounds the basketball nicely at his position. This defensive rebounding squeezes out some incremental worth within his broader value on this end. He'll pull down around 4-5 defensive boards per 36 minutes.
WEAKNESSES
Jumper Streakiness
His perimeter jumpers are aesthetically fine but the rate at which they go in isn't always stable. LeVert's three-point percentage in 2020-2021 was 32.6%. He followed that season up with a 32% clip that served as yet another below-league-average mark. The scalability of his off-ball value is shaky as a result.
Scoring Inefficiencies
Caris finds himself having some cold zones within the arc as well and on the whole, is not an efficient scorer. His skill, size, and length point to him being a reliable finisher at the basket.
Unfortunately, by not being the strongest guy nor the bounciest, LeVert fell below 59% at-the-rim in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. He did up these to the very low 60s his next couple years but he still leaves some points on the table around the rim.
The Michigan product will also burp up some heavily contested shots in the lane. Little floaters and those short-range jumpers he has such an affinity for become bad shots when a defender is right there. Caris should look to have some more discipline in these spots and kick the ball out if need be.
Caris can have problems at the charity stripe. He's never had an 80%+ season at the line until 2020-2021 (back below it in 2021-2022). LeVert's form is alright and he gets there a decent amount but fails to convert at a high clip.
Defensive Limitations
Caris' defensive profile is littered with some high points and some low ones. Point-of-attack work falls into the latter category. He was in just the 37th percentile defending pick-and-roll initiators in 2021-2022 with that rough screen navigation.
He has to guard down a position oftentimes due to his thinner build. Opposing twos/threes can bump him off his spot with relative ease. Consequently, he's stuck getting a lot of backcourt assignments rather than more closely-sized wings.
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Players Appearing Here – Check Out Their Profiles
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- Zach LaVineOpens in a new tab
- Bradley Beal [PATREON]Opens in a new tab
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