Yesterday’s post about Derrick Rose’s assists got me thinking about where the Bulls were shooting the ball from last season. Fortunately, 82games.com provides a Sortable NBA Team Shooting Stats page. I’ve used their data to create my own tables so that I can highlight the Bulls’ league rank and compare the team’s raw numbers to the league leaders.
82games.com stats legend
Att = Percentage of team’s shots from that range
Ast = Percentage of shot attempts that were assisted
Pts = Points per game
And1 = Opportunities, not conversions
Three-pointers
Thoughts: The Bulls used the three-pointer efficiently…but not very often. Long distance shots weren’t a big part of the Chicago offense last season. And, unless John Salmons and Jannero Pargo co-impersonate Ben Gordon, the Bulls will probably see an all-around drop in threes this season, particularly in terms of shooting percentage. Question: When a team doesn’t spread the floor, how does that affect their ability to score at the basket?
Two-pointers
Thoughts: The Bulls were strictly average in terms of shooting two-pointers. That’s pretty bad news considering the fact that the two-point shot was the primary component of the Chicago offense. But what do you expect from a drive-and-kick scoring system that lacks inside scoring? Unless Vinny Del Negro has expanded his playbook or management pulls the trigger on an in-season trade, these numbers aren’t likely to change much and the Bulls will remain a jump shooting team.
Inside shots
Thoughts: Only five teams had their inside shots blocked at a higher rate than the Bulls. Maybe that explains their (relatively) dreadful inside shooting percentage. Well, that and the fact that their bigs have trouble finishing around the basket. Of course, as I mentioned, the Bulls didn’t shoot many threes, which meant that opposing teams could clog the paint and focus on protecting the rim. At any rate, the Bulls desperately need to improve in this area if they want to improve as a team. Good thing Tyrus has been practicing the 15-17 foot jumper…
Miscellaneous shots
Thoughts: More middle-of-the-pack numbers…except for And1s. I never would have guessed the Bulls were almost in the top ten in that area. And here’s a bad omen for you: Ben Gordon led the team with 38 of those And1s. Derrick Rose was second with 35. Tyrus and Joakim had 22 each.
I’m suprised at how much we TRIED to score inside. We were 14th (middle of the pack) in the nba in attempts inside even though we obviously suck at converting (24th). but i’m pleased to think that vinny was still trying to play the right way.
i always think of the bulls as a drive and kick team or sometimes it looks like a three man weave on the top of the key. i would have thought we ranked in the bottom 5 in attempts inside and top 5 in three point attempts.
but we didn’t attempt to shoot the three at all (24th). that’s weird considering we shoot a good percentage and have no inside game. i don’t want the bulls to chuck up 3’s, but we should probably be attempting at least a middle of the pack amount of 3’s.
anyway, we shoot the mid-range shot i guess. meh
Speaking numbers from 82games.com, these ones seem pretty stunningly bad…
http://www.82games.com/0809/0809CHI2.HTM
Ouch. (Thanks to truehoop for pointing this out, at least to me.)