It's the law of average. They will shoot a higher % for a few games, then low % for the next few. Nothing surprise there.
come on now... behave yourself ... I was at the game last night and JVG's offense got the guards some wide open looks - they just couldn't hit Ryan Bowen did though
Exactly.... You can call it a "correction". If i remember correctly for about a 10 game strecht right when mike james came on board we blazin hot on the %'s. in contrast we are now frigid cold on the %'s. and you end up with comfortably warm shooters when an entire season plays out.
It's gotta be the fatigue and the fact that this is the oldest team in the league. The shooting slump is too long to be explained by the law of average.
Well..before it was only Yao who ran out of gas at this time of the season...now it's the whole team...
As I posted on the other thread: Originally posted by snowmt01 Wide open 3s in game are not really high percentage shots. How many games we complain the players couldn't knock down open 3s? At some points we should recognize a team couldn't live or die with those 3s. We need some players to drive to the basket or dump it down to Yao when those "wide open 3s" are not falling. =========================================== Agree with you. Also agree with this: The "making the shots" part is CRUCIAL and CENTRAL to the whole system that JVG designed for this team. The WHOLE idea is for our shooters to be snipers, and make those shots to make teams pay for doubling T-Mac and Yao. Otherwise, you see the results. (tigermission1) =========================================== So, are they contradictary? No. IMHO, it's up to JVG making adjustments in the games. First, our shooters should take "wide open 3s," AND some players from time to time drive to the basket or dump it down to Yao. This is more a game-time call. Well, when TMac is not himself (knee problem, etc.) Sura not in shape, and MikeJ... Did I name all our "drivers?" Can we say the other way -- If our drivers can't drive, our shooters must take AND make "wide open 3s." Well if those "wide open 3s" are not falling, we lost to the teams playing better. That's it, folks.
LOL.....you beat me to it Willis... I would have to say its just a mental thing. You have a game where you miss your shots and you begin to over analize things, you become hesitant to shoot, begin to measure the shot....you lose your natural rhythm and start to miss more....and thats why they call it a slump. Now why this spreads to your entire back court is a mystery.... Shooters usually will shoot themselves out of this type of slump so I wouldn't be to worried about it...
Whatever. These are wide open shots. It's time to bench someone. Why take more outside shots. Flat out silly. Your big man is 8-14 or whatever and the guards continue to heave 3's. It's absurd. And Yao leaves with 4 minutes to be replaced by more crappy shooting guards. Van gundy, what are you thinking. They are so wide open they should at least set up a little closer. Is there some rule you need to be behind the 3 point line. hit the shots or go inside. It's not brain surgery. The stats were clear. Attack inside.
except for Yao and Bowen ... Yao was a monster last night and should have gotten TWICE as many touches they could not stop him.(period)
Guys, Our perimeter players have been guarded pretty well these last few games. The lack of an additional post threat on our roster right now means defenders can "cheat" and run a 3-2 zone. I'm not so sure that we've faced a 3-2 zone that much, but there has been more help defense on the perimeter since Juwan's been out. But fatigue and age are factors to be considered as well. -P1st, S2nd
I don't think that the guards are in a "shooting" slump per se because they are all streaky shooters to begin with and streaks tend to run hot and cold. Their biggest weakness on this team is still at the one - Sura is not a true PG and James is not a starter. This impacts the offense far more than a lot of people care to admit because if you carefully watch them on offense, you can see the disjointed and disorganized level of play. It's too late to fix this for the season but somehow they will have to upgrade the PG spot in the off season in order to get to that next level.
Nyquil - That's some funny sh*t!! Anyway, I check "other" in the poll because I also believe it's fatigue. But the fact that no one could make a layup on the many, many drives the guys did make to the basket in my opinion was less about fatigue and more about choking a little due to the tension everyone felt following the debacle with the Hornets!! JVG is right when he says this team is not mentally strong enough to not take a weak team for granted and to finish out close games against the top teams. It seems like if we're not blowing people out it's tough for us to win. This why quarters 2 and 4 have become so critical for us. We did well in the first quarter against the Suns, but our shooting went bad in the 2nd. If not for our defense we would have been blown out by the 3rd. Instead of making them pay when we had a small lead, we choked with turnovers, and yes, lots of misses shots, next thing you know, we're down 11 and the games basically over!! That whole scenario was an almost mirror image of what happened against the Spurs.
The chief reason IMO is that this is a jump shooting team. They live or die at the perimeter. When their chief perimeter guy T-Mac isn't shooting well for a while, it affects everybody. Without penetration and a significant low post game to fall back on, perimeter shooting is easier to be disrupted by losses, streaks, defense, injuries, fatigue... that's the price to pay for walking with only one leg - easy to fall.
Defenses have been charging at the shooters. This started with the Boston game. Quicker guard teams cause us problems, Boston exposed that and it's been happening ever sense. Are back courts isn't very quick. Getting Juwon back should help relieve the backcourt some I would think.
Hey, glad we only traded JJ for Wesley straight up and we have that young guy who shoots for a high percentage with fresh legs, who can slash to the basket to come in and spell TMac.... Uh no we don't. No more Hack a Malone.
