Oct 12, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) shoots a three-point shot against Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports
There are a lot of important elements that come into play when evaluating the quality of shot selection, but mid-range, contested, pull-ups, early in the shot clock usually represent the intersection of each of those elements on the most negative end of the spectrum. The new SportVU categories have given us a fascinating new set of numbers to play with and for the first time we can actually filter by all those elements.
Daren Willman, at his site NBASavant, has combined the newly released SportVU data with play-by-play data from the past few seasons to give you an unparalleled amount of granular control when looking for statistics on specific scenarios. I went hunting in the numbers for last season, looking for mid-range shots that came after at least one dribble, with a defender four feet or closer and eight seconds or less elapsed on the shot clock. 14 players attempted at least 30 of those shots last season. They are graphed below by their frequency and accuracy.
No one took these head scratchers as often as Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry, who each averaged about seven such attempts for every 10 games the played last season. Both were surprisingly efficient given the narrow parameters. In fact the entire group was much more efficient than I expected. Perhaps these sorts of shots come more often from an unseen (to myself) advantage than I would have care to admit.
Also, can we stop and recognize the ability of Jamal Crawford to turn silliness into something special. He made nearly 60 percent of these shots, twisting the old adage to “garbage in, diamonds out.” The same can’t be said for Nick Young, Ty Lawson, and, that old punching bag, Russell Westbrook. Those three players attempted these possession-dashing shot fair less frequently than I expected but the results line up neatly with the eye-test.