The mid-range jumper: Important for shot creators, not so important for spot up shooters

I'm not. I think you are assuming that Morey is against a 12 foot jumper. He's not. LMA doesn't shoot 3's and I guarantee you Morey wants him here. So how do you explain that?

I am not arguing against a statistical approach. Only that basketball isn't as simple as you make it. Yes you want easy lay-ups. And yes, right after that you want open 3 point shots from the corner. But that doesn't mean the ability to hit a 12-15 foot jumper is unnecessary. It's still an important shot, and I think that's what you are failing to grasp.

 

Where are you getting all this? DM never said he wanted LMA on the team, all of those are just rumors. Also the Rox was on record last year saying all they really wanted players to do was take 3s and shots at the rim. If they really thought the mid range was important why will they eliminate it from their offense entirely?

 

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Have you ever played organized basketball?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem

 

I dont think you know what an ad hominem attack is.

Dude just said no offense practices a 10-15 ft jumper. Anyone who has played organized ball knows that is not true.

 

Its a nice shot to have to make the offense less predictable, but my guess is that Morey would rather see his team not taking many of them. Sprinkle a few in to keep the defense guessing, but he wants the overwhelming bulk of points to come from layups/dunks, free throws, and 3s.

 

Are you saying Morey would rather a player take a semi-contested 3 pointer rather than a uncontested 12 foot jumper?

Because I would not agree with that. I would bet the eFG% on the 12 foot jumper uncontested would be higher.

In any case, a team that doesn't have at least one guy with a mid-range game is asking for a world of hurt. That was our team last year, and one of our big weaknesses. All we have is driving and corner 3's, and that's not terribly hard for a great defense to create problems for. Elite teams have guys who can hit a midrange jump shot. You look at the Spurs, Heat, Mavs - basically the teams that have won all the last championships - they all have guys who have stellar mid-range games. Wade/LeBron, Duncan/Parker, and of course the king of the mid-range - Dirk a Dirk.

Scola was key in our offense - he was the release valve when there wasn't many other options. Having a 4 that can hit from mid-range is invaluable - especially on this team. I'd go as far as to say that LMA would be far more effective than Kevin Love from an offensive perspective. We have enough 3 point shooters to punish defenses for packing in the paint. What we lack is a 4 who can hit that 15 foot jumper near the FT line when the defense is overplaying the drive and kick-out 3 and creating empty space on the wings.

 

Of course, on any given possession he'd rather we take a shot with a higher expected value.

But, if the offense could be designed in a way to generate uncontested 3s or uncontested 12-footers, which would he prefer? The former.

 

I would caveat that by saying uncontested corner 3's. But yeah, the only problem is that NBA defenses know our offensive strategy and adjust to it.

 

How worse off would mid-range shooting would be if players forgo practicing them? The mid-range shot is part of EVERY spot up shooter's practice routine. The value of practicing the mid-range shot, contested or not, is comparable to golfers practicing bunker shots or trick shots, neither of which are ideal shots, but are essential part of practice when the margin of wins or losses on average is a couple of shots.

It's an asinine argument to give the opponent an unnecessary advantage by not practicing the mid-range shot.

 

Good points. I agree you want players to be comfortable taking the shot if it presents itself in the offense and there isn't a better option.

 

This article really discusses the importance of minimizing mid range shots more than anyone has, the Rox have become one of the better offenses in the league despite not being incredibly efficient mainly because they minimized mid range shots:

http://hoopspeak.com/2012/12/houstons-offense-a-combination-of-great-shot-selection-poor-shooting/

Sweet Lou and whoever can talk about playing organized bball all they want like it means something on an internet forum, but facts are facts. The less mid range shots your team has the better the offense is.

 

The mid range shot is not intrinsically a bad shot.
Championship caliber teams has historically had prominent mid range shooters as a regular part of their arsenal.

List of most recent NBA champions, to name a few

Miami Heat: Bosh
Dallas Mavericks: Dirk
Lakers: Kobe
Celtics: Pierce, Garnett
Spurs: Duncan
Pistons: Rip
Bulls: Jordan
Rockets: Guess who
Lakers: Worthy, Kareem
Pistons: The Microwave, Dumars, Edwards
Celtics: Bird, Mchale, Parish, DJ

and so on.


The things Harden has been working on this off-season: "“(I’ve been working on) some post-ups, mid-range game, so just some more things I learned from last year that can help me this year to be a better player.” http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/spring/sports/rockets-all-star-harden-hosts-youth-basketball-camp-in-the/article_2d7bcf5c-0947-11e3-9079-0019bb2963f4.html

 

The notion that you have to have a guy that specializes in shooting the long 2 ball is ludicrous. Be logical here and think about spreading the floor. One player spotted up in each corner and a big in the paint leaves two players to troll the arc. Now if the D effectively denies the 3 ball, they are overplaying the arc. The higher efficiency play is for the ball handler to dribble drive, not throw it to some spot up kong 2 shooter who specializes in shooting the long 2 at about 45%. Look at the shot charts people. The best midrange spot up shooters, guys like Garnett, Aldridge, Scola, and Patterson, dont even hit 45% most of the time. Everybody in the league knows the long 2 is the worst shot in basketball and every defense in the NBA is happy to give up that shot with just token pressure to knock the already low percentages down a couple three more points.

Any spot up 3-pt shooter that is a good enough shooter to play significant minutes in the NBA can always step in to a long 2 shot with just as effective a shooting percentage a so-called long 2 shooting specialists.

Midrange jump shot attempts lead the way in lottery team shot attempts.


THE LONG TWO-POINT JUMPER IS AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE ABSOLUTE WORST SHOT IN BASKETBALL.

 

Unless you're shooting the midrange like Bosh (55%+) it should not be your "bread and butter". Midrange shots should only come when the defense actually gives them to you, by leaving the midrange open while running at 3 point shooters and packing the paint.

 

When you get the ball 15 feet from the basket and you are wide open - it's usually because the defense is giving you that shot. It's giving it to you because it doesn't want to give up a lay-up or a 3 pointer.

So what do you do? You take the shot and MAKE it. Because if you can't hit a wide open 15 foot jump shot you aren't going to have an easy time beating that team. Period.

You can't run an offense that doesn't have the ability to hit that shot because it won't go far into the playoffs. Why? Because the defense is more intense - and in the playoffs, you take whatever open shot you can get. And if the defense doesn't have to guard a 15 foot jump shot, then heck, their life is that much easier. They just pack it in and let you take it, and only worry about 3 point shooters.

 

Except if you don't have anyone on your team that can hit that shot with consistency, who is going to take it?

 

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