Westbrook haters/Rondo Lovers Come, Rejoice!

[franklin]

Yesterday we looked at ShotScore, a new method to identify the NBA’s best scorers. You can read the full piece here, but in a nutshell, 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...

Here is the bottom five:

Lowest ShotScore, 2012-13 season
1. Monta Ellis, -159
2. Greg Monroe, -134
3. Ramon Sessions, -130
4. Russell Westbrook, -127
5. Ricky Rubio, -115

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.

https://www.grantland.com/blog/the-...g-blanks-the-players-with-the-worst-shotscore

 

[BTP]

Point Per Play/Possession is superior to this.

 

[BTP]

The thing why I think this stat is fishy is that it doesn't account for assists and free throws. Westbrook ist someone who getts to the free throw line very often(around 7 times a game) to complement his above average finishing at the rim(the display in that graphic is errorous or the categories badly comprehended that one could suspect cherry picking)
So Russell's game is all about getting to the foul line and if he can't get there he goes to the rim or passes the rock(He's got very strong assist numbers). Shooting from further than that is simply an attempt to keep defenses honest which he has to do.

 

[franklin]

The thing why I think this stat is fishy is that it doesn't account for assists and free throws. Westbrook ist someone who getts to the free throw line very often(around 7 times a game) to complement his above average finishing at the rim(the display in that graphic is errorous or the categories badly comprehended that one could suspect cherry picking)
So Russell's game is all about getting to the foul line and if he can't get there he goes to the rim or passes the rock(He's got very strong assist numbers). Shooting from further than that is simply an attempt to keep defenses honest which he has to do.

It's a useful tool for developing a player's game and coaching around holes in it, not as a pure player-to-player comp.

Did you notice the part about Foye in a three way tie for worst shooter inside 7.5 feet? It's always nice to have a stat to back you up when you think Foye should never drive, and it's a nice tool for coaches to temper egos with.

 

[BTP]

It's a useful tool for developing a player's game and coaching around holes in it, not as a pure player-to-player comp.

Did you notice the part about Foye in a three way tie for worst shooter inside 7.5 feet? It's always nice to have a stat to back you up when you think Foye should never drive, and it's a nice tool for coaches to temper egos with.

See this is where I think it's really errorous. basketball reference has way better shooting segments than this one. And you completely neglect fouls. While with Foye this isn't the case, the only thing this shows me about Foye is that he shouldn't settle for floaters and short range step backs or whatever his move may be there. So what's his task?
1) Improve handles to keep plays alive when the lane isn't open at the basket.
2) Focus more on corner shooting and backdoor cuts to mix into that.
3) Don't settle for open long 2s when you pump fake 1 dribble just inside the arc to free yourself from the closeout defender. Extend the dribble, wait for the rotation and make the pass to collapse the defense.

But you know for these advices I just use this chart
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/f/foyera01/shooting/2013/
which contains much better shot segmentation and has way more detail than a silly shot chart which is uncorrelated from free throws.
So if bballreference would add a statistic WHERE the shooting fouls occur on the court, that would be gold and truly remarkable. Right now I can only see how many free throws I get, not where. I simply have to add eye check to verify that and be like: Yeah Rose is getting mostly fouled prematurily in a midrange area when he's beaten the defender. At the rim he's getting way less calls he would deserve but also tries to avoid contact to finish less contested and maintains balance. When hit though it's safe to say: FOUL(which he getts not very often)
You know that would be a good statistic.