Jim Eichenhofer wrote an article recently stating the importance of outside shooting to opening up things for the bigs. Its been a common theme for writers and media members around the league to point out the Pels supposed lack of 3-point shooting, and how Demps failed to acquire any outside threats over the offseason. I simply do not think that narrative is true for this Pels squad.
Eich mentioned that the league average last year was 35.8%. Based off of that number, above average shooters from last year on the Pels include Clark (37.4), Crawford (38.9), Cunningham (39.2), Moore (37.0), Cousins (36.1), and even Rondo (37.6), not to mention Miller who had a successful campaign overseas.
Holiday was also a very solid shooter with the Pels at around 39% before his extensive leg issues. With his first training camp and preseason in what feels like forever, he should be able to raise his % back up to his normal 38-39% that he is clearly capable of. Another year removed from his injuries and a free bill of mental health should make him a valuable asset once again on offense.
Ramon Rondo is obviously an area of focus. Its no secret that Rajon Rondo was a very bad 3 point shooter during his years in Boston; however, since he left Boston he has quietly become a consistently solid shooter from deep. While last year alone is not a very large sample size, since he left Boston, Rondo has shot 36.7% from 3 on 357 attempts. Thats almost the same amount of attempts as Kyle Korver had last season, so its clearly a large enough sample size to conclude that Rondo is at the very least a league average 3 point shooter at this point in his career. Sure, he's not a garners a whole lot of respect around the league for his shot, but if he is hitting the open ones teams will be forced to adjust mid-game.
Moving to the role players, Moore should also continue to settle into his role with the Pels. He shot 45% in his final year with the Bulls, and then shot 37% in his first year with the Pels. I would expect him to settle somewhere close to the mean at around 39%. Miller was a career 35% shooter in the NBA and a 40% shooter in Europe. Considering the severe spacing issues of the Pels team he played on, we should expect a rise in his shooting closer to the 40 mark than the 35. Clark showed what he could do from the outside last year, and he was an outstanding shooter in college. Shooting is his main skill, and he should continue to thrive in those situations. Crawford and Cunningham are the interesting players to look at. Cunningham has always been a nice jump shooter,but last season was the first season he expanded out to the 3 point line. He's an extremely hard worker, so last season probably won't be an outlier season, but at the same time some regression could be expected. Crawford on the other hand only played 18 games with the Pels (and somehow shot 95 3's). He shot 38.9% but had never shot higher than 34% prior to last season. If the end of last season was just a hot streak, he's replaceable.
All things considered, the Pels are in a position to give these guys more wide open shots than almost any other team in the league because teams can't leave Davis or Cousins in order to guard any of these guys. Writers want to make a big deal over gravity, and its important, but both Cousins and Davis are very willing passers. If these were one-dimensional bigs then, sure, you would want elite shooters on the outside for gravitational purposes in order to free up the bigs. Luckily for the Pels, both bigs, specifically Cousins, have the ability to find open shooters. Last year the Pels were 8th in wide open 3 point shots (6+ feet) according to nba.com. With the addition of Cousins, we should see that number rise into the top 3. If the Pels can hit the wide open 3, and it appears 7-8 players on the team can do so, they'll be very tough to beat. Based on the numbers, I believe they will.
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Originally Posted by luckyman
