2014-2015 Season Reviews: The Quietly Impressive Alexis Ajinca

B+. <a href=. . . OFFENSE

B-. Alexis Ajinca’s defense actually saw a decent increase, even if it was overshadowed by his offensive numbers. Ajinca’s defensive rating went down from 108.1 last year to 104 this season. His job on the boards and blocking shots stayed about the same as they were last year, however he did a much better job playing defense without fouling, averaging over a foul less per game. The advanced numbers give a little bit more info on his defense. Opponents averaged fewer points in the paint and second-chance points per game with Alexis Ajinca in the game this year than in 2013-2014. Those numbers are not a drastic difference, however overall his numbers on the defensive end all saw an increase, even if minimal. He did a better job keeping opponents from easy points in the paint and did a solid job at using his size to box out opposing bigs and making shots tougher for the opposing team’s post up bigs off the bench.  . . . DEFENSE

OVERALL . B+. To put is simply: Alexis Ajinca is going to make a lot more money this offseason because of his play. When the Pelicans needed a bench big to step up, he was the guy. A lot of people (including myself) saw <strong><a href=. .