Can He Bounce Back? Is a new series here at NBAPlaybook, and in it we will be looking at players that had a rough 2010 and determine whether or not it was a fluke or a start of a trend.
Chris Douglas-Roberts is a real interesting case. Where most of these “Can He Bounce Back” posts, we are looking at guys who had down years after strong years before that. CDR had a down 50 games or so after 30 strong games. In the first 23 games that he played (over the course of the team’s first 32 games), Douglas-Roberts scored 16.3 points per game and over his final 44 games (over the course of the team’s final 50 games) he only scored 6.4 points per game.
A while back, I looked at some of the worst free throw shooters in the NBA and tried to identify what the problem was with their forms. Well, it occurred to me that I never took a look at the good free throw shooters in the NBA. Well, today I am going to take a look at some of the best free throw shooters in the NBA and their forms and picking out the similarities in each of them (sort of what I did with the three point contest last season).
The shooters we are going to look at today are:
Steve Nash – 93.8%
Dirk Nowitzki – 91.5%
Ray Allen – 91.3%
Chauncey Billups – 91.0%
When breaking down a free throw, there are four key aspects to take a look at in my opinion. The feet, the elbow positioning, the release, and the rhythm of the shot.
Every week, we will be looking at a common NBA myth and try to prove or disprove it. Today, we will be looking at the following myth:
“Monta Ellis & Stephen Curry Can’t Play Together”
Background
Whether or not Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry can play together has been a topic of conversation for Golden State fans for quite a while. Even Monta Ellis himself has been flip flopping on the issue. Last offseason, Ellis said they couldn’t play together:
-Q: You wouldn’t want to give it a shot?
-ELLIS: I just want to win. That’s… not going to win that way.
-Q: Why not?
-ELLIS: It’s different when you’re trying to compare me and Stephen, when you’re trying to go back to when me and BD were playing, it’s a different situation. You’ve got a nine-year veteran who’s been in the game, who understands the game, knows how to play the game, and he’s a big body… You can’t put two small guys out there and try to play the 1 and the 2 when you’ve got big 2 guards in the league. You just can’t do it. OK, yes, we’re going to move up and down fast, but eventually the game is going to slow down. You can’t do it.
“When I made that comment, I wasn’t knocking him,” Ellis told AOL FanHouse. “I wasn’t bashing him. It was based off of what me and the Warriors were going through at the time. It had nothing to do with him. ”Like I told him this summer, we can do it. We did it last year. I see now that I have to play the two (shooting guard). I have to play the bigger guards, and I’m cool with that.”
Yesterday we took a look at how guards use footwork on the outside to creating scoring opportunities. Today, we are going to look at how the big men do it. In my opinion, good footwork on the inside just might be more important than footwork on the outside. The reason being that big men are so reliant on their post game to get their shots off, and this is really a series of pivots, pump fakes, and jab steps.
On the inside, footwork is important when setting up hook shots, when executing a drop step move, on up and under moves, and when a post player faces up. We are going to look at each move individually with some of the best post players in the league showing us how it is done.
The Hook Shot
The hook shot is reliant on footwork, because if you don’t time your steps correctly, have the proper feet position, or turn in the correct direction, you aren’t going to have a pretty move. Someone who is very effective with the hook shot is Pau Gasol.
Gasol makes the catch in the post, and it is obvious by the way his defender is playing him that he is trying to keep him out of the middle. This is because Gasol likes to take that hook after making a move to the middle, however, he can hit the hook shot with either hand, and that is what makes him so tough to defend.
In my opinion, good footwork is something that gets taken for granted when watching the NBA. Good footwork is key for a NBA player because it is what players use to create space without using their dribble. Both big men and guards use footwork to put themselves in better position to score, even if they do it very differently. Today we are going to look at how players use good footwork on the outside to create open looks and scoring opportunities.
On the outside, there are a few different ways that guards can use footwork to get themselves an open shot (or a drive to the lane). Footwork is important in just about every aspect of the game on the outside, whether it be a player jab stepping with the basketball, a shooter squaring up their body when catching and shooting, or a ball handler hitting a step back jumper. In each instance there are a few different players who really succeed at this aspect of the game:
Pivot Moves
In the NBA, you don’t see many players utilize the pivot move too effectively (on the outside), but one player who does is Kobe. You often see Kobe using fantastic footwork to spin in and out of trouble and get himself in position where he can get shots off.
On this play, Kobe Bryant pump fakes getting Kenyon Martin up in the air. Most players are content jumping into Martin’s body, drawing the foul and getting the two foul shots. Not Kobe. He is going to try and find a way to pivot out of the play and find a way to get the shot off. On this particular play, Kobe’s left foot is established as his pivot foot.
My Favorite Sets is a weekly series looking at some of my favorite plays from the 2009-2010 and breaking them down using FastModel’sFastDraw program, and then showing you what it looks like live.
Today we are going to look at some of my favorite lob plays that took place over the past season. Lob plays are important, because baskets are really hard to come by in the NBA, so if you can get a backdoor lob at the rim, you take advantage of it. Not only that, but a perfectly run lob play can get the crowd going or take a crowd out of it, depending on where you are playing.
Welcome to NBA Mythbusters where every week, we will be looking at a common NBA myth and try to prove or disprove it. Today, we will be looking at the following myth:
“Dwight Howard Has No Post Game”
Background
This has been something that has hung over Dwight Howard’s head ever since he entered the NBA as a raw young center coming out of high school. Anytime that Dwight Howard has a bad game on the offensive end, you hear all the snickers and comments about Dwight Howard only being effective on the defensive end.
This became a big topic of discussion during the Magic’s most recent playoff series against the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were able to use Kendrick Perkins to play single coverage on Howard, and that caused him some troubles. The fact that Howard had two 30 point games during the series or the fact that Perkins might be one of the best one-on-one post defenders in the NBA seemed to go forgotten as everyone seemed to bash Howard’s offensive abilities yet again.
Can He Bounce Back? Is a new series here at NBAPlaybook, and in it we will be looking at players that had a rough 2010 and determine whether or not it was a fluke or a start of a trend.
After a strong 2007-2008 season with the Wizards (shooting 39.8% from the three point line), Roger Mason established himself as one of the best three point shooters in the NBA for the San Antonio Spurs in the 2008-2009 season. Mason was the guy who the Spurs looked to in any situation when they needed a three pointer. In nearly 400 attempts (394 to be exact) Mason knocked down 166 for a shooting percentage of 42.1%. Mason, who started 71 of 82 games also was able to reach career highs in assists and rebounds as well.
2009-2010 was a completely different story however. Mason saw his number of minutes decrease significantly as the Spurs started to give his playing time to George Hill. After playing over 30 minutes per game in 2009 (30.4), Mason didn’t even reach 20 minutes per game in 2010 (19.2). Despite the steep decline in minutes, Mason didn’t really see his usage take a hit, as it dropped from 18.91 to 17.21. That means the Spurs were still using him in a similar manner as they did two years ago and it showed when you see he got up 264 threes while only playing under 20 minutes a game. The problem? He only made 88 of them for a shooting percentage 33.3%.
Throughout of the offseason, I will take a look at teams that most people will think are contenders and look at an area where they struggle. I will then offer up my opinion on how their weakness can be improved on so they can take the next step…today, we are going to look at the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Charlotte Bobcats surprised a lot of people by making it into the playoffs last year winning 44 games and earning the 7th spot in the East. Despite being swept by the Orlando Magic in the first round, it was a successful season especially considering this was the first playoff appearance in team history.
The Bobcats got to the playoffs on the strength of their defense. According to both Hoopdata.com‘s defensive efficiency and Synergy Sports’ points per possession, the Bobcats were the top defense in the league last year. According to Synergy, the Bobcats gave up just .87 points per possession.
It was the offensive end where the Bobcats struggled. According to Synergy, their offense was ranked 22nd in the league with just .92 points per possession. If Charlotte wants see their offense to improve, they really need to try and get out in transition more, where the Bobcats really excel. The Bobcats were ranked 1st in terms of points per possession scoring 1.23 points per every possession the Bobcats got out and ran. However, they didn’t run much. According to Synergy, transition plays account for just 12.1% of their offense. The Bobcats also had the sixth worst pace in the league, creating just 92.9 possessions per game (average is 95.1).
When run correctly, a fast break is really tough to defend in the NBA. Even the teams who are the best at stopping the break allow more than 1 point per possession on fast break opportunities, according to Synergy (The Miami Heat were the best team at stopping the break, and they allowed 1.05 PPP on 51.5% shooting over 1050 possessions). The fact that the fast break is so difficult to stop is what makes it so important. If you can get a stop in transition, not only are you taking an almost guaranteed two points off the board, but you are killing a team’s momentum (If you are on the road, you immediately take the home crowd out of the game as well). There are a couple of different ways that you can stop the fast break, but it starts with fundamentals:
Getting Back Into The Paint
The one thing you are taught when in high school or college is that to stop the fast break, you must first put your head down and book it to the paint and then turn and face the oncoming offense. When you run back to the paint, you are going to beat the basketball there more often than not, and getting in front of the basketball gives you a better chance of stopping the basketball:
The Orlando Magic are ranked 4th in defensive points per possession (according to Synergy), and that is due to the fact they all run to the paint when getting back on defense. In the play above, J.J. Redick doesn’t even look towards the basketball as he gets back on defense, he just runs to the lane, turns around, and then locates the basketball. Because he beat the basketball to the lane, he is able to square up the play, wait, and take the charge.
