Our need for offensive efficiency. Who stacks up?

[Veteran_Picksetter]

We are last in the league when it comes to points per shot attempt: 1.09. The leading team averages 1.31(OKC).

We need more of the following qualities:

The ability to put the ball in the basket
The ability to draw a foul and hit free throws
The ability to make a 3-point shot. We are dead last in the league there as well.

I took the time to calculate the pps of some draft prospects. 3 pt.% is shown for players with any semblence of ability in that area. I'm not sure if espn.com had regular season-only stats or full season stats....

Bigs PPS
-------------------------
C Zeller 1.75
A Davis 1.68
T Zeller 1.56
Leonard 1.49
Sullinger 1.47 (40% 3pt., 16-40 for the season)
T Robinson 1.34 (50% 3pt., 7-14 for the season)
Henson 1.17
Drummond 1.16

Possible "Stretch 4" bigs
----------------------------
Sullinger(?) 1.47 (see above)
T Robinson(?) 1.34 (see above)
Terrence Jones 1.32 (32.7% 3 pt.)
Perry Jones 1.22 (30.3% 3 pt.)

Wing players
-----------------------------------
Kidd-Gilchrist 1.46 (25.5% 3 pt.)
Beal 1.39 (33.9% 3 pt.)
Jer Lamb 1.33 (33.6% 3 pt.)
Barnes 1.24 (35.8% 3 pt.)

PGs (late edit)
---------------------------------
Damian Lillard 1.58 (UNREAL for a point guard) 40.9% 3 pt percentage.

[Veteran_Picksetter]

What do I take away from this?

Sullinger offers the best balance of interior efficiency and outside shooting ability(at least on the college level).
Harrison Barnes can hit from long range but suffers in other areas.
Given his physical gifts, Andre Drummond is disappointing.
John Henson is just more of what we already have.
Maybe we ought to take a hard look at drafting Beal/Lamb and one of the Zellers if there's a trade-down.

[SWedd523]

There are truly only two (and a half) things that can help with our lack of efficiency.


1. A true alpha male and #1 scorer. Either a wing who can put the ball on the floor and beat his man and/or draw double teams, or a big man who can average 20+ a night on high percentages
2. A team full of guys who can space the floor and hit the three at a 35%+ clip
half. A pass first PG (like Marshall) who can set up every teammate in their sweet spot/comfort zone



Most teams have at least one of those. Good teams have multiple. We have none and never really have. That's why we've never been a team that scored much or won many games.

[Veteran_Picksetter]

There are truly only two (and a half) things that can help with our lack of efficiency.


1. A true alpha male and #1 scorer. Either a wing who can put the ball on the floor and beat his man and/or draw double teams, or a big man who can average 20+ a night on high percentages
2. A team full of guys who can space the floor and hit the three at a 35%+ clip
half. A pass first PG (like Marshall) who can set up every teammate in their sweet spot/comfort zone



Most teams have at least one of those. Good teams have multiple. We have none.

I keep coming back to Sullinger and whether or not he can be that alpha male on the pro level.

I should have included Damian Lillard! :

1.58 points per shot. UNREAL for a point guard, even if it was against mid-majors.
Also, 40.9% 3 pt percentage.
Drafting a point guard would be highly unpopular, but he appears to have the characteristics that our previous point guards didn't.

[Veteran_Picksetter]

I keep coming back to Sullinger and whether or not he can be that alpha male on the pro level.

I should have included Damian Lillard! :

1.58 points per shot. UNREAL for a point guard, even if it was against mid-majors.
Also, 40.9% 3 pt percentage.
Drafting a point guard would be highly unpopular, but he appears to have the characteristics that our previous point guards didn't.

And he can actually dunk on you in the half court.....Wouldn't that be refreshing from a PG??

[SWedd523]

I'm a huge fan of Lillard

[Veteran_Picksetter]

I'm a huge fan of Lillard

I'm going to edit him into the original post. A little Kevin Johnson and Baron Davis in his game???

[DashGlobal]

Really like Lillard. Although 4apg is not good for a PG.

But he makes up for that with his scoring ability.

To bad we drafted Kemba last year....

[Chef]

Really like Lillard. Although 4apg is not good for a PG.

But he makes up for that with his scoring ability.

To bad we drafted Kemba last year....

what does drafting a combo guard last year have anything with going after a point this year? (just trying to kick the hornets..err bobcat's nest)

[Veteran_Picksetter]

Really like Lillard. Although 4apg is not good for a PG.

But he makes up for that with his scoring ability.

To bad we drafted Kemba last year....

If we are done with DJ, we are going to need another PG. Lillard is a long 6'2", and he dunks on people. So he might offer enough vertical presence to guard some 2's and play alongside of Kemba when he(Lillard) is not playing next to Henderson.

I think Kemba has the passing ability to become a traditional PG. And he had better, because he can't shoot all that well. He couldn't even shoot well against college competition.

Of course, I'm saying maybe draft a PG if we have 2 picks, and then perhaps get a Wing or a Big with the other pick.

Lillard and a Zeller??

Lillard and Barnes?? That gives you a much-needed 3-point shooting boost, and Lillard provides the alpha male attack mode that Barnes does not.

[Whiz Kid]

I actualy like Lillard. He can really score efficiently. I don't think the problem is the point guards we already have. He could possibly be someone we could build around considering the fact that basically everyone on the roster right now is expendable. We really dont NEED anybody currently on the roster so we shouldn't draft based upon who we have, we should draft based on who IS GOING to contribute immediately. I think Lillard could be a good start in the rebuilding process. (I still want Anthony Davis though)

[Veteran_Picksetter]

I actualy like Lillard. He can really score efficiently. I don't think the problem is the point guards we already have. He could possibly be someone we could build around considering the fact that basically everyone on the roster right now is expendable. We really dont NEED anybody currently on the roster so we shouldn't draft based upon who we have, we should draft based on who IS GOING to contribute immediately. I think Lillard could be a good start in the rebuilding process. (I still want Anthony Davis though)

Thank you! Yeah, I think a lot of us--myself included--get a little too attached to whoever is already on the team. This might be the most expendable group comprising an nba roster in the last 35 years.

[Whiz Kid]

Yeah. If anybody was a true keeper on this team we wouldnt be in the situation we're in now. Biz and Kemba are expendable but can still be given a chance because of their age and experience. Other that those two...everyone can go.