As if we needed yet another statistic in the NBA, we have the ShotScore – a Grantland writer’s method to identify the game’s best scorers.
… the method compares the actual point yield of an individual NBA shooter against an estimated tally of what an average NBA shooter would accrue from that exact same set of shots. This is a useful way to evaluate shooting because unlike field goal percentage, it accounts for where on the floor the shooter is most active and factors that in to the analysis. Midrange shooters are compared against the NBA’s average midrange production, etc.
While I’m not completely on the new stats bandwagon, I’m supporting ShotScore because…
Even though we love to blast Rajon Rondo because “he can’t shoot,” there are a few point guards more deserving of that rep, prominent floor generals who actually fail to create points at above-average rates, from both the inside and the outside. Rondo, believe it or not, can actually makes shots at rates above league averages. In fact, in the last few seasons, he has made his elbow jumper at elite rates, partly because he’s left open and partly because he is an improving shooter.
Most of our knowledgeable readers would have to agree that Rondo’s shooting has improved steadily over his career. If only he could get the FTs to fall more consistently.
So the moral of this story is – if you want to blast a point guard for lack of shooting ability, pick on Ricky Rubio, Ramon Sessions or Russell Westbrook.
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