Small Ball - Not really

The present game is referred to by many as small ball - but its far from that. Its really the 3 ball era. Consider the following facts.
- In 2000-01 the percentage of shots that were taken from less than 10' was .441 - in 2015-16 it was .451
- In 2000 01 the percentage of shots that were taken from 10'-<3p was .390 - in 2015-16 it was .265
- In 2000-01 the percentage of shots that were taken from 3p range was .170 - in 2015-16 it was .285
      The shift to the 3 point game has come totally at the expense of the medium range (!0' <3p shot).
      The percentage of shots taken in the under 10' range is just about the same.

  Below links are stats for centers and center forwards in 2015-16 and 2000-01 with additional conditions as listed.

   

http://bkref.com/tiny/BYmJs
The average weights for the 2015-16 players was 262.5 lbs


  http://bkref.com/tiny/manU2
 The average weights for the 2000-01 players was 243.8 lbs - without Shaq's 325 lbs, the average drops down to 227.6 lbs.

    The present game is certainly not small ball.

   swish

 PS - Here are the numbers for the 1990-91 centers plus their average weights. The breakdown on the percentage of shots taken at various distances was not available until 2000-01

  http://bkref.com/tiny/8zz3h

     Average weights - 242.7 lbs


  swish

Fat ball?

gyso wrote:Fat ball?

Sorry - Sullinger didn't make the cut.

swish

Nice analysis Swish. I wonder if the mid range game might be ripe for exploitation, i.e. defenses give this shot up to agree to shut down inside and 3 pt shots.

This is just another reason why the Cs need center who can score inside. Sullinger was not too bad when he would stay inside and was able to play more than just 4 full speed minutes at a time even though he was not really the height of a center.

Zeller can score inside, but sometimes does not even play. Johnson is not a low post threat and neither is Olynyk. Hope that Horford can attack the inside.

Shamrock1000 wrote:Nice analysis Swish. I wonder if the mid range game might be ripe for exploitation, i.e. defenses give this shot up to agree to shut down inside and 3 pt shots.

  Shamrock

  Here are some numbers to ponder when dealing with shot location priorities - based on the 2015-16 season.

  0-3' - Average shooting percentage = .624 x 100 shots = 124.8 points
  3-10                                          = .396 x 100 shots = 79.2 points
  10-16                                        = .405 x 100 shots = 81.0 points
 16 <3p                                       = .398 x 100 shots = 79.6 points
   3p                                           = .354 x 100 shots = 106.2 points


Clearly the layup & dunk and the 3 point shot give the biggest bang per shot.

Any one of those 13 centers mentioned above could be a great addition to the Celts

   swish