Strrrrrrrretch...

[JimBreuer45]

Am I the only one who liked how we looked with Budinger at the 4 in Toronto? It wasn't necessarily Bud, but rather how we spread the floor. Maybe we need to find a true "Stretch 4" since we have a PG who is more of a rebounding threat than a 3-pt threat. I'd love for this team to add more shooters this offseason (Bjelica, Russell?).

Just a thought. . .

[Klomp]

Am I the only one who liked how we looked with Budinger at the 4 in Toronto? It wasn't necessarily Bud, but rather how we spread the floor. Maybe we need to find a true "Stretch 4" since we have a PG who is more of a rebounding threat than a 3-pt threat. I'd love for this team to add more shooters this offseason (Bjelica, Russell?).

Just a thought. . .

I think this has been the case all season. While not all of them have extended the range to the 3-point line, Bennett, Garnett, Payne and Hummel could all be considered stretch 4s.

[moss_is_1]

We just need to have more reliable shooters, more then anything. Rubio, Lavine, Wiggins, Dieng, and Pek arent' guys that are consistently going to hit 3's or mid-range shots. Having everyone being a threat will open up the offense a lot more.

Of course a good stretch 4 can pull away bigs from the paint which opens things up as well.

[PZiv]

Bjelica yes. Russell no.
I'd take Russell only if Rubio is somehow to be traded, but since that won't happen no point in hoping we draft D'Angelo.

[AQuintus]

I actually looked into the numbers a bit for a Reddit post yesterday:

I just looked up the numbers (long-2s (15-19 ft) vs. 3s) for all of the team's perimeter players:
Wiggins: 2pt =33.1% (.66 PPS) 2.5 FGA, 3pt = 32.1% (.963 PPS) 1.6 FGA.
LoBro: 2pt = 66.7% (1.334 PPS) 0.6 FGA, 3pt = 37.5% (1.125 PPS) 0.5 FGA.
LaVine: 2pt = 36.3% (0.726 PPS) 1.4 FGA, 3pt = 36.1% (1.083 PPS) 1.7 FGA.
Martin: 2pt = 45% (0.9 PPS) 4.5 FGA, 3pt = 40.4% (1.212 PPS) 5.0 FGA.
Hummel: 2pt = 48.3% (0.966 PPS) 0.9 FGA, 3pt = 32.4% (0.972 PPS) 1.0 FGA.
Neal: 2pt = 46.5% (0.93 PPS) 2.4 FGA, 3pt = 35.5% (1.065 PPS) 2.8 FGA.
Rubio: 2pt = 39.4% (0.788 PPS), 3.0 FGA, 3pt = 25.5% (0.765) 2.3 FGA.
Shabazz: 2pt = 33.3% (0.666 PPS) 0.7 FGA, 3pt = 39.2% (1.176 PPS) 1.3 FGA.
Budinger: 2pt = 31.6% (0.632 PPS) 0.7 FGA, 3pt = 32.4% (0.972 PPS) 1.9 FGA.
Bennett: 2pt = 29.5% (0.59 PPS) 1.6 FGA, 3pt = 29.4% (0.882 PPS) 0.3 FGA.
So, basically, everybody on the team should be shooting more 3s and less long 2s. The only 2 exceptions are Lorenzo Brown, who should really just be shooting more in general, and Rubio, who should really be shooting less in general (at least until his ankle is fully healthy).'
Edit 2:
I think Hummel's numbers especially really highlight the big problem with this team's offense. He's shooting a ridiculously high (probably unsustainable) percentage from long-2, and a relatively low percentage from 3, and yet he's still more efficient when shooting from 3.

Our current shooters may not be the best*, but they should all pretty much be shooting more 3s and less 15-19 footers than they do.

*Another post I wrote suggests that it may be a problem with the team's system more than the players themselves:

Not just Brewer. Thad Young went from a 29% 3-point shooter on 1.4 attempts per game here to a 51.5% shooter on 1.9 attempts per game in Brooklyn. Mo went from 34.7% on 4.1 attempts to 34.9% on 7.1 attempts.
Brewer went from 19.5% on 1.7 attempts to 30.8% on 3.8 attempts.
Edit:
All 3 also saw a pretty significant increase in TS%.
Brewer = .484 to .536
Mo = .511 to .541
Thad = .491 to .561

Edit:

At the same shooting efficiency, if each of those guys took one less long-2 and one more 3 per game, the team would go from a league-worst 14.7 attempts per game to a league average 24.7 attempts per game, and the team would score an extra 2.1 points per game (from a -7.9 point differential (3rd worst in the league) to a -5.8 point differential (5th worst)).

[Calinks]

The system sucks buttocks. I mean, it actually probably is pretty good if you have really good players who can make the long two's but my guess is that its a bit antiquated. We need the three ball, a lot of it. Look at that Jazz, without three's we would have been dead. The shooting from deep has to go up significantly. Not saying we have to be the Rockets but we really need to cut out he long two's.

[minimus]

Am I the only one who liked how we looked with Budinger at the 4 in Toronto? It wasn't necessarily Bud, but rather how we spread the floor. Maybe we need to find a true "Stretch 4" since we have a PG who is more of a rebounding threat than a 3-pt threat. I'd love for this team to add more shooters this offseason (Bjelica, Russell?).

Just a thought. . .

I think this has been the case all season. While not all of them have extended the range to the 3-point line, Bennett, Garnett, Payne and Hummel could all be considered stretch 4s.

I see Gallinari playing best basketball in career at 4. That's the level of talent I want to see if we speak about stretch 4. AB, Payne aren't ready for starter role. Bjelica could be logical choice.

Numbers of Mo Will, Brewer suggest that our bench is not so good.

Also I believe that part of the problem is not only shooters. It is combination of outdated system, rookies mistakes and lack of quality shot creators. Shot creators are able to break down defenses with individual skills. Martin and Rubio aren't good at slashing or creating shot opportunities. So it is one of the reason we need Russell.

[AQuintus]

Rubio aren't good at slashing or creating shot opportunities.

WTF?

[minimus]

Rubio isn't good at slashing or creating shot opportunities.

WTF?

WTF??? Are you serious??? Rubio is one of the worst finishers at rim, he can't hit pull up jumpers consistently. Yes, he hits open man with unbelievable passe and he executes half court offense pretty well. But he is one of the worst shooters in NBA history. At the same time we see GSW, POR, ATL, CLE, MEM examples where PG is able to create shot opportunities not only by using passing skills, but also by attracting defense focus. We can call Flip's system obsolete, but Rubio inability to keep defense honest and open things for others is part of the problem as well. And we clearly lack shot creators like Russell.

By saying this I should admit that I'm big Rubio's fan. I'm against any trade with Rubio. Luckily, we have opportunity to improve, balance our roster better this summer.

[AQuintus]

Yes, he hits open man with unbelievable passe and he executes half court offense pretty well.

And this is all that matters. He's elite at creating shot opportunities for the team, even if he's bad at finishing the opportunities that he creates for himself.

[minimus]

Yes, he hits open man with unbelievable passes and he executes half court offense pretty well.

And this is all that matters. He's elite at creating shot opportunities for the team, even if he's bad at finishing the opportunities that he creates for himself.

I think there is a confusion. We should understand the difference and importance of both shot creating and execution. How many fancy passes does Ricky make every game? And how many accurate passes does he make every game? How many fancy passes did give us a win? But I remember two clutch 3pts that RR nailed this season.

[AQuintus]

With Ricky on the court this year, the team scores 1.048 points per possession. With Ricky off the court, the team scores 1.026 points per possession. That's the difference between being tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 26th ranked offense and having the 17th ranked offense.

There really shouldn't be any doubt that Rubio's passing makes the offense better.

Edit:

Those are NBAwowy.com's numbers for Rubio. 82games.com's numbers are even more flattering. 107.6 points per 100 possessions on (tied with the Bulls for the 10th ranked offense) and 103.2 points per 100 possessions off (the 24th ranked offense).

[minimus]

With Ricky on the court this year, the team scores 1.048 points per possession. With Ricky off the court, the team scores 1.026 points per possession. That's the difference between being tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 26th ranked offense and having the 17th ranked offense.

That's the difference between starting unit with proven PG on the floor and awful second unit with rookie SG who has been asked to play PG.

[Killboard]

With Ricky on the court this year, the team scores 1.048 points per possession. With Ricky off the court, the team scores 1.026 points per possession. That's the difference between being tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 26th ranked offense and having the 17th ranked offense.

There really shouldn't be any doubt that Rubio's passing makes the offense better.

Edit:

Those are NBAwowy.com's numbers for Rubio. 82games.com's numbers are even more flattering. 107.6 points per 100 possessions on (tied with the Bulls for the 10th ranked offense) and 103.2 points per 100 possessions off (the 24th ranked offense).

And that is half of the story. In the other side the difference is probably bigger.

[Takingbaconback]

Sam Dekker would be a good fit for this offense.

[Klomp]

Sam Dekker would be a good fit for this offense.

He would, but he's not a top-5 pick and he won't be there in the 2nd. Also, he's not a 4.

[AQuintus]

And that is half of the story. In the other side the difference is probably bigger.

Defensively:

NBAWowy.com: Ricky On = 1.056 Points per Possession (Tied for 16th with Dallas), Off = 1.127 Points per Possession (Last, by far. 29th ranked is 110.6)

82games: Ricky On = 103.6 Points Per 100 Possessions (11th ranked team), Off = 113.7 Points Per 100 Possessions (Last)

[Takingbaconback]

Sam Dekker would be a good fit for this offense.

He would, but he's not a top-5 pick and he won't be there in the 2nd. Also, he's not a 4.

Why isn't he a 4?

[Klomp]

Why isn't he a 4?

Because he's a 3.

[Takingbaconback]

Why isn't he a 4?

Because he's a 3.

It could change with his height soon. He was 6'7" last season, and he was measured at 6'9" in June.