One of the main reasons from what I have seen why the NBA's scoring has gone down is due to the lack of a general mid range game of its's players. Dunks and three point shots dominate the airwaves in the NBA for the last 6 years, since MJ's second retirement). Most of the shots made in the league today are finishing shots in the lane(dunks, lay ups, etc.), or long range(long jumpshots, threepoint shots) In the past, the development of a player's mid range game(12-18 feet away from the basket) was one of the player's key requirements to be able to score effecitively in the NBA. To be honest, the last great mid range player was Michael Jordan, and that was when he retired in 1998, not the Michael Jordan that came back and played for the Wizards in the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons. A few players in today's NBA have mid range games, but not the extent as players in the past have 1. Kobe Bryant 2. Tracy McGrady 3. Kevin Garnett 4. Paul Pierce 5. Steve Nash 6. Latrell Sprewell 7. Sam Cassell Alot of the players coming into the league today are no where complete basketball players. Many may be exceptional in one area, but severely lacking in another. Reasons why the NBA level of talent is not as good as it once was. 1. Not many players either stay in college long, or play college at all, which limits their knowledge of the game, in which they have to play catch up once they make it into the NBA. 2. Not many take the game of basketball seriously, they play only for the money, which is secured due to guaranteed contracts. 3. Athletic ability and showmanship is stressed, not sound, fundamental play. Mid Range Game consists of(10-18 feet) Pull Up Jump Shots off the Dribble Running Jumpshots off the dribble Floaters off the Dribble Fadeaway Jumpshots(Face up off the dribble and in the post) Running Hooks off the dribble Here is a list of some players that had great mid range games(1960-2000) Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson Adrian Dantley Alex English Ricky Pierce Rolando Blackman Chris Mullin Mitch Richmond George "Iceman" Gervin John "Hondo" Havlicek Michael Jordan Earvin "Magic" Johnson Larry Bird Julius "The Doctor" Erving Oscar "Big O" Robertson Isiah Thomas Bob McAdoo Jerry West Elgin Baylor What do you think are some other reasons?
Rip Hamilton has a sweet mid-range J....you left him off your list of current players I'm not too sure Dr. J had much of a mid-range J, or any J for that matter...From what I've seen, he was medicore from the perimeter.... Anyway, I'm gonna write an article for this site within the next couple of months that examines the effect of the 3pt shot on the mid-range game...but yeah, i think the 3pt line is one reason why players can't shoot the mid-range anymore..
Zone Defense. That's the answer you're looking for, it's just plain cut down the whole idea and actual offense, imagine how much the Kings and Mavericks would be shooting if not for that.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">1. Kobe Bryant 2. Tracy McGrady 3. Kevin Garnett 4. Paul Pierce 5. Steve Nash 6. Latrell Sprewell 7. Sam Cassell</div> McGrady?? The list is more like: Rip Hamilton Sam Cassell Chris Webber Ray Allen Michael Redd Allan Houston Kobe Bryant Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki Tim Duncan Kevin Garnett Michael Finley Mike Bibby Peja Stojakovic Andre Miller (that's all he hes) Marquis Daniels, his whole game is based on the mid-range J Joe Johnson his whole scoring game is mostly based on the mid-range J Laterll Spreewell Paul Pierce's is okay but not that good. Zach Randolph
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">McGrady?? The list is more like: Rip Hamilton Sam Cassell Chris Webber Ray Allen Michael Redd Allan Houston Kobe Bryant Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki Tim Duncan Kevin Garnett Michael Finley Mike Bibby Peja Stojakovic Andre Miller (that's all he hes) Marquis Daniels, his whole game is basedo n the mid-range J Joe Johnson his whole scoring game is mostly based on the mid-range J Laterll Spreewell Zach Randolph Paul Pierce's is okay but not that good.</div> Glenn Robinson Shareef Abdur-Rahim Rasheed Wallace Richard Jefferson The list goes on...
unfortunately it's style over substance right now, flash gets all the attention....a nice mid-range shot isn't going to make it on the highlights of Sportscentre, nor is it going to get you on the covers of magazines or videogames just take Stockton and Malone...hall of fame players that never got their due of attention especially not from magazines or newspapers and they certainly will never get their own videogame players know this, in order to make yourself known you have to get yourself known on tv, etc
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">I'm not too sure Dr. J had much of a mid-range J, or any J for that matter...From what I've seen, he was medicore from the perimeter....</div> word,Doc and God Shammgod came from the same school of jump shootin'. Doc had anything but a nice midrange J...his jumper was bout as broke as broke could be.
Actually, I don't think the shooting is poor at all, when players are actually getting good looks most shots are falling, but IMO the shooting is worse nowadays because the defense is a lot better. It may not seem that way but when I look at the help defense now compared to maybe 10 years ago, it has really improved thus causing missed shots and turnovers. The midrange game has been less and less because star players can drive the lane and other players think they can do that too, but they mostly have to dish because of help defense.
They lost of reasons for poor shooting..but the biggest IMO is the overall lack of fundamentals and the over reliance on the one-on-one type game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">McGrady?? The list is more like: Rip Hamilton Sam Cassell Chris Webber Ray Allen Michael Redd Allan Houston Kobe Bryant Steve Nash Dirk Nowitzki Tim Duncan Kevin Garnett Michael Finley Mike Bibby Peja Stojakovic Andre Miller (that's all he hes) Marquis Daniels, his whole game is based on the mid-range J Joe Johnson his whole scoring game is mostly based on the mid-range J Laterll Spreewell Paul Pierce's is okay but not that good. Zach Randolph</div> I'd have to disagree. Many of those players are pure shooters, who rely way more on the three-point shot than the mid-range. Peja, Houston, Jesus; they're three point shooters, regardless of if they can hit the mid range or not. I'd have to say that Sam Cassell, Kobe Bryant, and Paul Pierce have the best mid-range games. The whole T-Wolves squad has great mid-range, but even during his Milwaukee and New Jersey days, Sam was able to break down the D giving himself open looks within the arc. Kobe's mid-range game is probably the closest to Jordan's when it comes to style. It doesn't mean that he's near him in ability and percentages, but most of his mid-rangers consist of off-balance catch-and-shoot's, plus he's also got a nice fadeaway, not nearly as dominant or deadly as MJ's but he's better than anyone in the league at it. The Celtics run their offense through Pierce, often times feeding him on the left or right block as he posts up on his defender. Once he receives the ball, he turn to face the defender and knocks down the shot, often times fading away.
well like Dre said, the lack of fundamentals and over reliance of the one-on-one type game really plays a big factor in this issue. Players today do not play with the competitiveness that they played through the past generation. No one ever takes time to learn the fundamentals, basics and team-concept, instead they try all that And 1 play
I think the media highlights 3 point shots and Dunks. So guys want to shoot one or the other nothin in between. Whenever I see a wide open player take 2 steps back from an open midrange to shoot a 3 I get flusterd. When was the last time you saw a midrange shot on sportcenters top 10?
I see it when its KG or Duncan, they show their mid-range J's, and also Webber's. Kobe also get's some jumper highlights when he does some nice fakes and stuff, game 2 of Lakers vs Spurs I saw some mid-range J highlights of Duncan and Parker.
