Comments on: The League’s Best Shooters

By: Capm

Capm — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:09:35 +0000

I’m sure you guys saw this already: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-100309. Two things: 1. He came to the exact same conclusion of Nash being the GOAT shooter. 2. Apparently John Hollinger gets his takes from basketballfreeforall!

By: grover

grover — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:02:54 +0000

Just wondering, how does the comparison look if we remove shots at the basket – i.e. layups and close shots?

It feels as though Nash attempts many more layups than Allen, due to his role as plucky point guard. Surely layups would not come under the category of “pure shooter.” Is my assumption borne out by the data?

By: Phil Londen

Phil Londen — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:45:24 +0000

Good point, Charlie. The fact that he does all those things so well is simply just another feather in his cap.

By: Phil Londen

Phil Londen — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:44:43 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Michael. Couldn’t agree more about how he is taken for granted.

By: Michael Schwartz

Michael Schwartz — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:10:42 +0000

It’s amazing how much we often take Steve Nash for granted, but he certainly has been one of the best shooters of this or any era.

By: Charlie

Charlie — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:25:48 +0000

Steve Nash as a point guard has a host of responsibilities greater than his scoring to worry about; Allen is allowed to mostly focus on shooting period. IMO Nash’s shooting is even more difficult because of his focus which has to cover so many facets of the game.

By: Phil Londen

Phil Londen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:03:57 +0000

Thanks for the comment, t. The contested shots issue is definitely interesting but is nearly impossible to objectively analyze using the statistics that are publicly available.

By: Phil Londen

Phil Londen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:54:49 +0000

The usage argument is interesting. Ray Allen is a career 25.0 percent usage and Steve Nash is a career 21.2 percent usage. So their usage is in the same ballpark but with Ray having to should a heavier burden. The talent argument is interesting as well as Steve has on the whole probably had better teammates than Ray but I’d say it is relatively close. Having good teammates allows you to get easier looks as it keeps the opposing defenses honest. Thanks for the comment, Zeiramsy.

By: Phil Londen

Phil Londen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:46:27 +0000

Thanks, Adam. I corrected the typo you pointed out.

By: Phil Londen

Phil Londen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:45:21 +0000

The point about the Celtics’ bigs (mainly KG) setting illegal screens is valid but only affects Ray Allen’s last couple of shooting seasons and incidentally his peak shooting season occurred in Boston. Coincidence?