(01-02-2021, 09:49 PM)RDB Wrote: He actually has a higher shooting percentage on drives and on shots <10 ft this year v. last year and the passes from drives are almost exactly the same.
Shooting from inside 10 feet is not what I spoke about. It's about finishing at the rim, which requires him to explode past or elevate above whatever defender there may be to get to a lay-in or dunk.
Last season he was finishing at a rate higher than 75%. This season it's just 62%. Or to put it another way, last season he only failed to convert about 25% of the time, but now it's half again higher up to 38%. That creates doubt and can entice you to look for other options.
Of course, the numbers can't tell us why. It can be lots of factors. Less quickness to get past the defender (physical). Lack of explosiveness to finish (physical). Different decision-making (mental). Poorer outside shooting on 3s to keep defenders from playing the drive and sagging off (skill). And it can be a mix of all of that.
(Also, he's having to start a drive even more this year, because his shooting behind the arc is so bad.But he's not ending drives as often at the rim. So his shot attempts that are neither at the rim, nor 3s, are way up from 30% of his attempts to 42%. That mid-range stuff can't be helpful to the spacing, or the offense.)
But regardless of why, it's a fact that the end result on his drives is not what it was last year, and that then has a ripple effect.