I think another thing to consider between a shooter (Boki?) with a pretty shot, and a chucker (Griffin) with that ugly line drive, is what happens to their misses. A shot with nice arch and touch should land softly and stay at the hoop even on a miss. A hard flat shot that misses is very likely to bounce back out to the 3pt line and start an opponents fast break. I really hate to see Griffin shooting 3's but its mostly because it negates his rebounding ability which is probably his best and most natural contribution to the Rockets. As for the airball thing... nobody here doubts Boki can shoot when he's in practice, but until he proves he can shoot under pressure in a game he really is Langhi number 2.
Hmmm.... When I was a kid in grade school, an "A" was considered "excellent." So, I guess today, a "C" is considered "excellent" because not many kids get "A" anymore? Could it be that some of those kids aren't putting in the work necessary? You've just confirmed my statement. Your standards has been lowered. And you guys wonder why the league in in bad shape? Because of this kind of thinking. By the way, there are players that do shoot close to 50%. So, it's not "hardly anyone" like you claim. But, it's just sad that a lot of kids today think that 40% is good? http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_regular_season_leaders/LeagueLeadersFGPQuery.html (49 players above 45%). No, Francis is not on that list.
DavidS, I get curves in my classes so it is in fact impossible for a 'C' to be excellent. That's what you have to do by today's standards. Curve it to see who is excelling at the moment and who is not. Every year is a different year with different players, coaches, schemes, rules, etc. You can't just compare numbers today to numbers 20 years ago. I mean, 40 years ago Wilt could average 40 a game. Could you say he could do that now? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing is certain....there's no way to know for sure without being able to test it (which is impossible). The reason there is a curve is to account for ever changing variables. Being better than everyone else around you does in fact qualify for excellent because quite honestly there is no way to test past instances by todays standards (unless you know how to excel faster than the speed of light to bring Bird into the NBA today while still in his prime).
And I don't think anyone will agree that 40% FG% is 'good.' You could say its more acceptable than it was 20 years ago, but even by todays standard that is below average (just take all the players that shot 250+ times last year and you'll see that it falls well below average). The only way it would be good is if 90% of the shots taken were 3-pters.
Sorry, but bad shooting, is bad shooting. You can "curve it" to make is seem better all you want. It's still just an excuse.
The game is different now. Most of the players from the old days wouldn't even be able to get their shot off in the current NBA. It was lot easier to shoot a higher percentage when you didn't have to worry about guys like Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnet blocking your shot.
Hell I don't think Larry Bird Shot 50% in from the field Anone shooting 50% from the field is 90% of the time a POST PLAYER People say shooting is down . . .. I don't think so Rocket River
When Boki shoots airballs, is he usually open, or is he trying to shoot over a defender? Fatigue is certainly a factor in shooting, but being unaccustomed to shooting over long defenders can certainly force uncharacteristic airballs. I know when I switched to playing with better players it took awhile for me to adjust angle/speed of release to compensate for the quicker & more athletic defenders.
Yes he did. Over 49%. So did Jordan. So did George Gervin. So did Benard King. So, did Marrice Cheeks. So did Bobby Jones. So did Kevin Johnson. Alex English. These guys were not "Post Players." By the way, the great Post Players didn't shoot just over 50%, they shot 55% or higher. But, that's because they are "post players." As time goes on, Yao Ming should reach 50% to 60%. He's already at 49%. But, that's expected for a 7+ footer.
Larry Bird's career FG% is 49.6%. Michael Jordan - 49.7%. Best single season FG% by a gaurd: 1) Lewis Lloyd 52.4% 2) Maurice Cheeks 52.3% 3) Magic Johnson 52.0% 4) John Stockton 51.5%
Total BS!!!!!!!!!! Are you saying that TM and KG are playing all the teams at once? You're also focusing on individual athletic talent as well. "Athletic talent" can be outsmarted. Especially when you use team work. Rotate the ball to the open man. Heard of that? TM and KG are only two guys. They can't be everywhere at once. The best would still have found a way to hit their shots over the length of the season.
That's true. Look at Yao Ming. He shot 70% and that % drops in the NBA. So you do have to adjust your standards. Even from year to year. Things change. Just ask all the dinosaurs and Cowboys. 50% isn't the standard anymore for various reasons even if we don't like it.
Exactly what I'm thinking. He's not used to the speed and length of the defenses over here yet. Everytime I play and shoot airballs, its because 1. I have no confidence, 2. Great defenses sticks to me and gives me no spacing to shoot, so I would have to rush my shot.
NO. Because Yao has already adjusted to the "old standard" Above 50%. Could it be his work ethic in fundamentals shooting/post moves? Uh, yes. The 70% was an illusion. Different league. He was just that much better than the competition. Simple. Just wait until next year. Yao's FG% will grow to 54-55%.
Eddie Griffen shoots a lot better then 40% from 2pt range, 40% is his overall fg% which includes 3's. Also even Peja didn't shoot 40% on threes last year it is not easy.
Shot Clock, people are forced to take more shots, including bad ones, instead of waiting for the best one. How come in baseball, hitting .300 or more is considered very good? Why is it so hard to hit .400. This isn't school, it's sports.
BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's part of the problem! Someone is getting it!!!! This realated to the dependence on althetic ability and the "ISO game" versus team work.
No. That's wrong. That would completly nullify the reason to keep a 2 point FG%, while keeping the 3pt FG% separate. And even if that were true, he still takes more 2 pointers than 3s.
Many athletes feel that the hardest thing to do in sports (of the normal things that one does) is to hit a baseball. Not only that, once you hit it there are 9 players that could conceivably field the ball and throw you out. Hitting .400 has always been difficult to do. Hitting .300 has always been considered good.
