HoopData.com provides an assortment of terrific and convenient stats, including shooting and assist data based on distance. They distinguish shots/assists at the rim, not at the rim but inside of 10 feet, between 10 and 15 feet, between 16 and 23 feet (long twos), and three-pointers. I took some of this information yesterday (before the Philly game) and created some charts from it, with some comments. Because what I am interested in here is depicting both shot distribution and efficiency, I have accounted for the extra point awarded on a made three-pointer by multiplying the “made”, “assisted”, and “assists” rates for threes by 1.5. I'll refer below to shooting % on threes as "effective" percentages. So if a player makes 1/3rd of his threes, the charts will depict this as him effectively shooting 50% on those shots. Some may not like that choice, but I think it makes sense. One other note: in the charts below the blue color essentially corresponds to misses, the red color corresponds to unassisted makes, the green color corresponds to assisted makes, and the yellow line corresponds to assists to teammates. Everything is per 48 minutes (with, again, the 1.5x adjustment for makes/assisted/assists on threes). Below compares the average NBA player and the average Rocket player. From this, we see that the Rockets get more shots at the rim than the average NBA player, though they do not make proportionately more of them. The Rockets are only 27th in the league in FG% at the rim (56.7% versus 60.6% for league average). Another feature that can be observed from these curves is the Rockets, as a team, like shooting threes, and they dislike shooting long twos. From an efficiency stand point, this looks to be a smart strategy as the Rocket effectively shoot 51% on their 3-point attempts but only 38% on long twos. The league as a whole shoots better on 3s (eFG% is 53%) and only 39% on long twos, but they attempt more long twos. Point Guards Now, I’ll break it down by position, starting with point guards: We see here that the scoring-oriented Brooks excels as a 3-point shooter, making effectively 59% of them. No other player on the Rockets is as adept at getting his own shot from the perimeter, which is reflected by the red color showing up more prominently in his chart. Brooks gets a lot of shots at the rim, which in itself is impressive for a player of his small stature and slight build, but his conversion rate of 50% is below average at his position (the average NBA PG hits 56% of his attempts at the rim). His assist rate is less than the average PG for all ranges shows here. The midrange game is where I see Brooks improving over the next few years. His size will always limit him at the basket, but as he improves his sense of pace with the dribble and gets more comfortable taking the pull-up jump shot, we should expect see more shots coming in the 10-23 feet range. Even though there’s no chance he would be able to match his 3-point efficiency with these midrange jumpers overall, the ability to generate such a shot on a consistent basis will make it more difficult for opposing teams to defend the Rockets. We can see that Lowry shoots less than the average PG at all ranges except at the rim. I expected Lowry to be a better midrange shooter for the Rockets, but he’s actually taken more 3s and shot them more effectively (eFG% of 44%) than he has midrage shots. He is by no means a good 3-point shooter, but he’s hit enough of them to be a threat. Lowry’s assist-rate on 3-pointers leads the team by far, and is well ahead of the league average for PGs. In fact, Lowry is 5th in the league in assists for 3-pointers per minute among players who’ve gotten significant minutes, trailing only Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Jameer Nelson, and Jason Williams. Not shown here is rate of drawing fouls and getting to the line, something Lowry is particularly good at for his position. Swing men (SG/SF) The much maligned Trevor Ariza beats out the average NBA swing man in scoring at the rim, though the conversion rate is only 56% versus 60%. Ariza attempts a lot of threes, and shoots 45% on them (effectively) compared to 53% for the average swing man. Ariza will attempt long-twos, but he shoots only 31% on them compared to average 39% for his position. The Rockets rarely run plays for him shooting off of screens which means that a vast majority of the shots he gets from the long-two range are unassisted, so the results should not surprise. One positive I’ll make note of is Ariza’s assist-rate on shots inside of 10 feet eclipses the other two Rockets swing men and is above average for his position. Battier’s chart is interesting to look at. He takes almost no long twos in the Rockets offense, acutely aware I’m sure that these are typically low efficiency shots. The majority of the points he generates from the field come on assisted 3-pointers. He shoots the three at a slightly-above average clip for his position, though considering virtually every one of his attempts is assisted I expect him to shoot it better than he has. The Rockets will occasionally run a post up play for him when he’s being defended by a smaller guard, and at times he takes it upon himself to drive to the basket and get a shot up. He’s not especially effective at either, but it does help for him to be a more active participant on offense. Chase Budinger is a gun-slinger who is 13th in the league in 3-point shots attempted per minute, though his conversion rate is just average for his position. Unlike Ariza or Battier, Budinger will frequently use screens to free himself for long twos, and he hits a very healthy 50% of his shots from that range. At the rim, we know that Budinger has the size and athleticism to finish well in traffic, but he’s only converted on 51% of them compared to 60% for players at his position. Budinger seems to have a good feel for the offense and handles the ball fairly well, but he has not distinguished himself as a passer. Part of that might be due to his quick release. If he gets the ball and he has any daylight he’s shooting it, which limits the number of “system assists” he may otherwise get. Bigs (PF/C) Finally, charts for the “bigs” (PFs and Cs): What distinguishes Scola is he takes almost twice as many shots (per minute) from the 16-23 foot range than any other Rocket, with almost all of them being assisted. Scola hits 41% from this range, which is slightly better than what the league average PF/C will shoot (40%) from that distance. Scola has a relatively slow release, and consequentially when defenders rotate to him he’ll try to pump fake them and then either draw the foul, go around them, or pass back out to a 3-point shooter. He lacks the ability to put the ball on the floor and then pull up from midrange, which can limit his options when defenses close in on him quickly. Within 10 feet, Scola has an effective post game, resulting in above average efficiency. His primary weapon is a right-handed hook shot, and his secondary weapon is a right-handed scoop shot. He’ll turn left now and then, but will invariably turn back the other way to get a shot off with his right hand. He doesn't have a turnaround jumper or face-up game out of the post in his repertoire. Chuck Hayes shoots almost exclusively around the basket, and I can only recall him attempting one jump shot in his entire NBA career. I was actually surprised to see that Hayes shoots more often at the rim than Scola. Per-minute, his rate of shot attempts at the rim has actually gone up over twice as much since last year. Chuck hits on only 48% of these shots, however, well below the 63% that the average PF/C will convert. Hayes does have a higher assist rate for shots at the rim than any other Rocket big and is fairly above average amongst NBA bigs (which isn’t bad, considering none of the players he typically plays with are great finishers). He slips bounce passes to cutters out of the high post better than any other player on the team. Hayes also has an above-average assist rate for 3-pointers. I think he’s especially good at tracking down offensive rebounds and quickly passing out to an open 3-point shooter before the defense recovers. This season, Carl Landry has emerged as not only the Rockets best inside scorer, but one of the best interior scorers in the league. Per-minute, Landry is third in the league in field goals made inside of 10 feet. He is the only player on the team whose FG% at the rim significantly surpasses the average at his position (69% for Landry, 63% for the league average big). Landry’s assist-rate is easily the lowest on the team and is bottom 20 league wide, but I'd that has as much to do with his potency as a scorer as it does with any lacking court sense on his part. One area where Landry has actually regressed compared to his first few seasons is shooting from the 16-23 feet range. He’s shot only 30% on them this year (average for bigs, again, is 40%), compared to previous years where he was close to 50%. David Andersen was brought in to be a floor-spacing big, and he appears to have satisfied that role well enough. Rick Adelman likes to pair him with Carl Landry, which probably contributes to his lack of scoring at the basket (and, likewise, contributes in part to Landry’s inside scoring). Andersen shoots a good percentage (over 45%) from 10-15 feet and 16-23 feet, but he has struggled on his 3-point shot (he shoots them for an effective 41% conversion rate, which is very poor). I expected Andersen to be used more in the high post, in the role Chuck Hayes often finds himself in, but the Rockets don’t seem to run that set with him very often. This is strange to me, because he seems to have a versatile offensive game from midrange compared to our other bigs. I’m hoping that in time he becomes a more potent shooter/passer from this position.
good info...i agree brooks needs to continue to improve his midrange game, but i dont think i've ever seen him take a foul. At least not recently, can't remember the last time i saw it....i know having a 160lb point crash into a center can't be great for his health, but i think he needs to do it at least once, maybe twice a game. Get some freebies out of it and give the defender something to think about. They all know he avoids contact and is always going to float it right before the contact or go around the contact and flip a layup with an outstretched arm...too predictable.
Good Find. Chase would be alot more effective if he shot less threes. He could be a starter in the NBA if he's a little more efficient. Then again, defense could also get him a job as a starter if he works at it. Just look at Ariza.
I still he needs some sort of passing game to be effective especially if he wants to start with a player like Brooks
Excellent read, durvasa. I'm always comparing Scola's and Landry's games, they being two of my favorite Rockets, and I was surprised by the %'s comparing them at the 16-23 foot range. I know that Luis did well from that range, but honestly believed Carl to be better from that distance than he is. Much has been made of his midrange game, but clearly that's more of Scola's bread and butter, that and his far different post game, the post being where Carl makes his living. It's what makes them such a nice tandem at the 4. They are so different and both effective at what they do the most of on offense. What hurts both of them, in my opinion, is the lack of a true center. Both struggle on offense when playing that position, and both suffer from not having a 5 who's also an offensive threat. In other words, both would be more effective with Yao. From what you've seen, would you pick one over the other to play next the the big fella?
Very interesting. Reflects a lot of things about each player. See Lowry doing the extra pass for that 3s while Brooks don't, or Scola taking out the ball to the shooters while Landry can't do it. Etc, etc.
Chase is a Rip Hamilton type offensive player. Needs his looks off screens and within the mid-range and every now and then some spot-up threes.
Battier is a better fit on a team like the the Timberwolves or with any low-post threat from the 2-3-4-5 spot.
Brooks does his damage when he looks to score first with no low-post threat. He is better on a team like Golden State, NY, Dallas. A deep, quick pusher and can dish it back out to floor spacers. 1-2-3-4 spots. Beat his man down the floor, to the rim with nobody in the paint and shooters all around him.
Earlier in the season, Adelman made an offhand comment that Landry was our best low post scorer. I remember at that time, we were all scratching our heads, thinking Landry's strength was his midrange game, and Scola was our only low post threat. Now we can see that Adelman knew what he was talking.
