[Hoopdata] Missed Bucket List

Hayesfan · Jan 15, 2010

Thought this was interesting.. cause I know we think the Rockets are the only ones that blow so many layups...

http://www.hoopdata.com/recent.aspx?aid=115

I got a request last night from Patrick Hodgdon of Howlin' T-Wolf, a Minnesota Timberwolves blog on the ESPN TrueHoop Network, on Twitter last night:

Great idea. Well, I don't have the power to check the all-time record but how about this year's record? That I can do.

Patrick asked the question before the game went double and triple overtime so there's a good chance the missed layup total was more than he bargained for. When it was all said and done, the Rockets missed 19 at rim shots (layups, dunks, and tip ins) last night against the Timberwolves. This is just one of the many rough outings the Rockets have had at the basket. As height deprived as they are, they rank at the bottom of the league when it comes to converting chip shots around the bucket. Last night's performance, however, was not their worst outing to date and they have actually missed plenty more gimmes before. We will get into that later.

To answer Patrick's question, I dug up the worst at-rim shooting performances of the year and compiled a list of them below.

5. New Orleans Hornets 85 - Chicago Bulls 96

Date: 12/26/2009

NOR at-rim: (6 - 24) 25.0 percent, 18 missed

The Hornets may not have missed more than the nineteen that the Rockets missed last night but the sheer putridity of their shooting percentage demanded attention. By my count, this is the worst at-rim field goal percentage on the year. As I mentioned earlier, the Bulls have an excellent defensive post presence. Hornets center Emeka Okafor, normally a 66 percent shooter at the basket, went ofer on his four attempts at the rim and Chris Paul missed his two attempts as well. Remarkably, Okafor, Paul, Peja Stojakovic, Devin Brown, and James Posey missed all ten of their shots.

4. Houston Rockets 84 - San Antonio Spurs 92

Date: 11/29/09

HOU at-rim: (17 - 41), 41.5 percent, 24 missed

The Rockets missed more in this regulation game than the three-overtime slugfest in Houston last night. This particular one was all on Chuck Hayes. The 6-6 center, who was the focus of a superb article by Jonathan Abrams, missed all eight of his shots around the basket. Missed 'em all. Two of them were blocked after a back-to-back meeting with Tim Duncan's hand. It's not all bad, though. Last night, Hayes redeemed himself by playing 50 minutes while never geting blocked once the entire night.

3. Chicago Bulls 85 - Oklahoma City Thunder 98

Date: 1/4/10

CHI at-rim: (24 - 53), 45.3 percent, 29 missed

The Bulls missed more shots at the rim than the normal team attempts on any given night. Just stunning. Granted, when you take a league-high 53 shots at the basket, you're gonna miss your fair share. The Bulls were assisted on only 9 of their 24 field goals there so most of them likely came off of penetration and offensive rebounds. The Thunder only blocked 9 of the 29 misses which leaves 20 that were straight up errant. As I noted earlier this year when I profiled the Thunder, they allow a ton of shots at the basket but teams find little success in actually converting the chip-ins. This game serves as a microcosm of the Thunder squad.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves 77 - Dallas Mavericks - 89

Date: 11/29/09

MIN at-rim: (8 - 31), 25.9 percent, 23 missed

Quietly, the Mavericks protect the basket about as well as any other team -- just ask 7-foot Ryan Hollins. The Minnesota center got blocked on every one of his four shots at the rim. He got blocked by Erick Dampier. He got blocked twice by Dirk Nowitzki. And to make matters worse, he got blocked by 6-4 Jason Kidd. But he wasn't the only one who struggled there. Ryan Gomes, Sasha Pavlovic, Oleksiy Pecherov, and Damien Wilkins combined for 0-12 on layups, dunks, and tip-ins on the night.

1. Chicago Bulls 80 - Boston Celtics 106

Date: 12/12/09

CHI at-rim: (11 - 36), 30.6 percent, 25 missed

The Celtics and Bulls both defend the basket as well as anybody but Bulls got absolutely worked in this one. This was a team effort for both squads. Eight different Celtics registered a block and of the 10 Chicago players that took a shot, only center Brad Miller escaped swat-free. Think about that. The Chicago Bulls normally shoot 55.4 percent on shots at the basket which ranks them the third lowest in the league so this doesn't come as a huge surprise. Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng surely skipped over their Mikan drills in practice (do they still do those anymore?) as they combined for a horrid 5-25 on shots at the rim. The team's 25 missed shots ranks as the second highest total on the year but unlike their dud against Oklahoma City, they only made eleven all night. Just a horrible performance all around.
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[Hoopdata] Missed Bucket List

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