Mirotic is 8th on the Bulls in 3 point percentage. Why is that?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/chi/stats/?sort=nba.stat_type.12

Guys that have higher 3 point shooting percentages on the Chicago Bulls than Mirotic.

Gasol - 46.2
Dunleavy - 40.9
Brooks - 38.6
Snell - 37.8
Butler - 37.2
Hinrich - 34.5
Moore - 34.2
Mirotic - 31.7
Mcdermott - 31.7
Rose - 28.3

Mirotic is tied for 8th on the team in 3 point shooting percentage. Lower than Hinrich (gasp!)

Explain this. 31.7 isn't a good 3 point shooting percentage. Only Derrick is lower.

 

Some of Mirotic's poor shooting from the three point stripe probably has to do with him making the adjustment to playing at the NBA level. I agree, shooting 31.7 from three is not ideal.

Why do you care though? Mirotic is still third on the team in efficiency:

And while 31.7% from three isn't ideal, it certainly seems like its enough to make opposing teams guard him (opening up other players). Did you see this number crunching: http://triangleoffense.com/features...t-be-the-key-to-the-chicago-bulls-postseason/.

Interesting stuff.

 

Yeah, I don't have a problem with Mirotic scoring 13 points on 10 shots going 1-10 from the field.

13 points on 10 shots is terrific.

His efficiency is so good because of the free throw attempts. But I think teams are getting wise to his eyebrow fake outside the 3pt line so he may not get to the line so easily.

Case in point, last night he had 4 free throws. Though the refs didn't seem to call many fouls.

 

I don't have a problem with Niko.

Is it safe to say that Niko isn't a very good 3 point shooter? (he can get better of course)

---

That was a good article. I find it interesting that the article does not mention defense in any way.

Two of those three guys in the frontcourt can't feed of Mirotic's brilliance while sitting on the bench.

 

Right. There isn't a direct line between showing that Mirotic makes Noah/Gibson and Gasol better and the conclusion that he should get more playing time. I do think, though, that the numbers inform the answer to whether we should care about Mirotic's meager 3pt percentage. He's a good enough shooter to make people guard him, and that opens up other opportunities.

 

We all realize that the Bulls starters (that's minus Mirotic) built up an 11 point lead before Mirotic entered the game in Q3. The lead was as high as 14.

 

The rationale for using a stretch 4 is well known at this point. If the Bulls go down this road, they are followers, not innovators.

At some point, defenders will stop guarding him as a serious threat behind the 3 point arc if he shoots a low enough percentage. I'm not sure what that exact number (looking for some articles if anyone has any to share) but Niko has to be close to it.

http://stats.nba.com/leaders/#!?PerMode=Totals&StatCategory=FG3_PCT

Dirk is the prototype at the position and he drains 38.1% of his threes.
Patrick Patterson hits 36.8%
Kevin Love hits 36%
Ryan Anderson hits 33.8%
Draymond Green hits 33.9%
Milsap is at 35.8%
Ilyasova is at 38.4%

Its hard to find one of the leading stretch 4s in the league that is a poorer 3 point shooter than Mirotic.

Just something to keep in mind before we build a franchise around a guy. At some point, the best way to defend him may be to say "shoot it Niko." At the very least don't overplay the three.

Something for him to work on and for us to keep an eye on at the very least.

And yes, the TS% of 55.6 is nice! Pau is at 55.1 and Gibson is at 54.8 so those guys are all in the same ballpark. Niko creates more space though. And is really good at getting to the line and is a good FT shooter.

But, to this point, he does not appear to be a very good three point shooter. And, if you believe the man widely considered to be an expert in NBA defense, he needs to work on his defense. If you believe this man is an idiot, then pay it no mind.

 

I'm fairly confident Niko's 3pt shooting % will go up as he gains experience.

He really needs to be able to do it from SF because we need a starting SF. He's pretty much able to do the same things he was last night from the SF position. Last night he was guarded by Joe Johnson, who's playing out of position at SF (he's been a SG his whole career).

If he really is so good, he should be able to beat out DunVP.

 

Dunleavy is 10th in the entire NBA in 3 point shooting at a sizzling 40.9 percent. Mirotic is going to have to do an awful lot of improving to come close to that number.

I think Mirotic does lose a lot of value playing the three. All the stretch 4 benefits go away. On the other hand, the front office created a logjam of very good players who are all deserving of minutes so I guess someone either has to not play or someone has to play out of position.

 

I'd be happy with a 35% 3pt shooter who scores 20+ points per game over a 41% 3pt shooter who scores less than 5 points per game 33% of the time.

 

That's true, although there is a benefit to having a low usage guy out there among high usage guys that creates space for the high usage guys and makes the D pay if they cheat. You can't have a starting lineup of 5 20 point scorers. Or maybe you can, but I can't remember seeing one. There is only one ball.

In the Bulls starting lineup, the high usage guys are Rose, Gasol and Butler. I'm cool with Dunleavy in his current role. He's not a MVP of any type, just a good role player. And a very good 3 point shooter this season.

 

I'd prefer a high usage capable guy out there who can get the hot hand, regardless of who else is out there.

Nothing wrong with all 5 guys touching the ball and it doesn't matter who takes the shot as long as it's a really good shot.

 

Eugene Fama would be proud!

My take is that NBA scouting is efficient, but not instantly efficient. Niko is still a wild card to many teams, although that decreases over time. Also, bringing a guy off the bench like that does alter what the D has to do mid-game, which is tricky.

It will be interesting to see how teams decide to guard him in the playoffs once they truley game plan for him and see him over the course of several games.

While the space creation is a plus with Niko at stretch 4, I do get concerned that the Bulls highest volume 3 point shooter (Rose) and one of their other guys that shoots a lot of threes (Niko) are average to poor 3 point shooters. That has to catch up to you eventually.

 

He sure looks like he has range and a decent shot. It will fall, given enough attempts to get used to the deeper 3pt line.

 

And the teams likely guard the established stretch 4s in the list I provided in a similar fashion (respecting the 3). If anything, Mirotic should have a bit more space on his 3 attempts since he is more dynamic with the pump fakes and drives than many of those guys.

And the other guys still have higher 3 point percentages.

We'll see in a couple years where he's at from the 3 point shooting percentage long term. He's a rookie so improvement is certainly possible / probable.