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.
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%.
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.
Before the 2009-2010 season started, Devin Harris was coming off of an All-Star season and had the Nets’ front office looking like smart guys for getting rid of Jason Kidd and getting Harris and a pick in return. However, Harris was never really able to get things going this past season as his points per game, assists per game, shooting percentage, and PER all took a pretty big dip.
Where He Struggled
The Training Room
Harris only played in 64 games for the Nets, missing 18 this past season after missing 13 the year before (and 18 more three years ago), Harris’ playing style causes him to get banged up from time to time, but last year the timing of the injuries were especially tough. Devin missed the entire training camp due to injury, and then after playing in the first two games, Harris had to sit out the next ten. He just never looked right after missing training camp, and for a guy who relies on his speed and timing to get an advantage, that’s tough.
Getting To The Line/Failing To Draw Contact
During his breakout season two years ago, Devin Harris lived at the free throw line. Harris racked up a Free Throw Rate of .58, which was 3rd among guards (9th among all players) who played 40+ games and 20+ minutes (The NBA average was .27). Harris’ FTR in 2010 dropped to .44, and while that is still a pretty good number, Devin Harris struggled to adjust to the way the refs called his games. So Devin didn’t get as many calls, and that is fine. The problem however is that Devin never really adjusted, and his shooting percentage suffered because of it:
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.
This past season, Richard Jefferson had one of the worst years of his career. His 12.3 points per game was his lowest since his rookie year in 2001 (when he averaged just 24 minutes per game) and his PER of 13.18 was the lowest of his career.
Where He Struggled
Three Point Shooting
Richard Jefferson’s shooting percentage actually increased from 2008-2009 (43.9%) to last season (46.7%), but his shooting accuracy dropped from a few key locations, and his True Shooting percentage reflects that. This past season, Jefferson’s True Shooting percentage was 55.1% (Compared to 55.4% two years ago).
The most important location where Jefferson saw his shooting percentage drop from was the three point line. Jefferson’s 31.6% from behind the arc was the lowest of his career since the 2002-2003 season (and a steep decrease from his 39.7% clip last year).
Getting To The Rim
While Richard Jefferson’s three point shooting declined, his FG% on shots at the rim actually increased by a pretty wide margin. Jefferson went from 57% two years ago to 67.7% this past year. The problem though is that he wasn’t able to get to the rim like he used to. Jefferson’s attempts at the rim dropped from 4.0 a game two years ago to 3.1 last year. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but extrapolate that over the course of a full season, and that is a pretty big dip in attempts.
The reason Jefferson’s attempts are down is that he just doesn’t have the same athletic ability that he had in the beginning of his career:
In the above video, Jefferson grabs the rebound and brings the basketball up the court. Jefferson basically has an one on one situation here. In the prime of his career, Jefferson takes that ball to the rim strong, but instead he pulls it out. This forces him to pick up his dribble, and leads to a turnover.
