"No No No, Don't Shoot" - The Byron Mullens Thread

[DY_nasty]

I'd much rather see Mullens take no three-pointers at all than keep pulling 5+ times every game. He's just nowhere near a good enough shooter for that.

He looks pretty good to me. I don't think the coach would have him shooting that many if he couldn't make them. I agree.... Mullens should be taking more close in shots. That's the coaches decision as well. I'm not sure looking at the Bobcat's offense that Dunlap knows what he's doing. Too many outside shots. The guards who hoisting up the most shots. Very little patience on offense. Mullens, MKG, and Haywood can all score inside. If I'm the coach, I'd be working that more.

yeah.. i'm sure the coach is in his ear telling him to shoot the ball from 30ft as soon as it touches his hands

[Johnlac1]

But he aint doing that pal. If you've seen the Bobcats games this year, Mullens is actually one of the few Bobcats sizing up his shots. He's passed off plenty of times when he could have shot. Mullens shot over 40% in preseason from 3-ball area, and has had one 6-10 game so far this year. Shooting 3s whenever possible is what many NBA teams are doing now. Unless he goes into a deep slump shooting threes, my strategy as a coach would have Mullens (and Gordon) keep shooting threes. When they have a good one. I haven't seen all the Bobcat games, but from the ones I've seen, I haven't seen Mullens take a bad one yet. Now Gordon, as good as shooter as he is, has hoisted a number of bad 3-balls. But again if he's got a good percentage shot from 3-area, let him shoot.

[Liver_Pooty]

But he aint doing that pal. If you've seen the Bobcats games this year, Mullens is actually one of the few Bobcats sizing up his shots. He's passed off plenty of times when he could have shot. Mullens shot over 40% in preseason from 3-ball area, and has had one 6-10 game so far this year. Shooting 3s whenever possible is what many NBA teams are doing now. Unless he goes into a deep slump shooting threes, my strategy as a coach would have Mullens (and Gordon) keep shooting threes. When they have a good one. I haven't seen all the Bobcat games, but from the ones I've seen, I haven't seen Mullens take a bad one yet. Now Gordon, as good as shooter as he is, has hoisted a number of bad 3-balls. But again if he's got a good percentage shot from 3-area, let him shoot.

Ive seen Mullens take 10-15 horrible threes thus far this year, but hey not all of them can be wide open.

[James Gatz]

Ive seen Mullens take 10-15 horrible threes thus far this year, but hey not all of them can be wide open.

That number may be a little high but I've seen him take some bad shots. That being said I want him to keep launching. We'll need him to go off some nights to win games.

[thruthefire]

The guys who shoot that often from three are great shooters. Mullens' shooting ability is much more Adam Morrison than great.

[Johnlac1]

The guys who shoot that often from three are great shooters. Mullens' shooting ability is much more Adam Morrison than great.

By no means do I think Mullens is a great shooter. However he has an excellent stroke and overall, preseason and reg. season, has shot well from threes. Even a lot of misses looked good as he shot them. Last year Mullens took a lot of long twos and made only a little over 40% of those shots. This year he stepped back a few feet. If he makes close to 40% of his threes, the effort is well worth it.

[Johnlac1]

But he aint doing that pal. If you've seen the Bobcats games this year, Mullens is actually one of the few Bobcats sizing up his shots. He's passed off plenty of times when he could have shot. Mullens shot over 40% in preseason from 3-ball area, and has had one 6-10 game so far this year. Shooting 3s whenever possible is what many NBA teams are doing now. Unless he goes into a deep slump shooting threes, my strategy as a coach would have Mullens (and Gordon) keep shooting threes. When they have a good one. I haven't seen all the Bobcat games, but from the ones I've seen, I haven't seen Mullens take a bad one yet. Now Gordon, as good as shooter as he is, has hoisted a number of bad 3-balls. But again if he's got a good percentage shot from 3-area, let him shoot.

Ive seen Mullens take 10-15 horrible threes thus far this year, but hey not all of them can be wide open.

Your definition of horrible must be different than mine. Unless it's to beat the clock, if a guy has a hand in his face or his feet aren't set, it's a horrible shot. I haven't seen all the Bobcats games, but I haven't seen Mullens force up any bad shots like I've described.

[HornetJail]

There have been a few unnecessary ones, but I think the problem isn't the threes, it's the lack of anything else. (Oh god, I sound like my mom when she talks about me playing video games)

[DY_nasty]

Your definition of horrible must be different than mine. Unless it's to beat the clock, if a guy has a hand in his face or his feet aren't set, it's a horrible shot. I haven't seen all the Bobcats games, but I haven't seen Mullens force up any bad shots like I've described.

Some people have much more broad definitions.

Taking shots from outside of 25 ft. Taking shots as soon as it touches your hands. Taking shots early in the shot clock. Ignoring open teammates with better chances at scoring. Fading away on people that aren't blocking you flatfooted. Jab stepping 3 times then launching a 3. 0-3, and instead of going inside to get at the FT line or get an easy bucket to get going, launch MORE 3s. Not running the floor like a big should and heading to the corner instead. Set a screen then fade to spot where you want to shoot - not where your team expects you to be, then shooting. Launching 3s when there's no one to rebound.

I could go on.

[catch20two]

Mullens definitely need to rein it in a little. I would love to see a game where he shoot all 12 of his field goal attempts inside the paint or less than 17 feet from the rim just to see how efficient he can be.

[Johnlac1]

Your definition of horrible must be different than mine. Unless it's to beat the clock, if a guy has a hand in his face or his feet aren't set, it's a horrible shot. I haven't seen all the Bobcats games, but I haven't seen Mullens force up any bad shots like I've described.

Some people have much more broad definitions.

Taking shots from outside of 25 ft. Taking shots as soon as it touches your hands. Taking shots early in the shot clock. Ignoring open teammates with better chances at scoring. Fading away on people that aren't blocking you flatfooted. Jab stepping 3 times then launching a 3. 0-3, and instead of going inside to get at the FT line or get an easy bucket to get going, launch MORE 3s. Not running the floor like a big should and heading to the corner instead. Set a screen then fade to spot where you want to shoot - not where your team expects you to be, then shooting. Launching 3s when there's no one to rebound.

I could go on.

Mullens passes up shots to to teammates with better chances of scoring? That's a good one. Virtually every Bobcat player other than MKG or Biyombo pass up open teammates. Walker's whole rookie consisted of hoisting up bad shots while teammates were open. Gordon's a tremendous shooter when he has a good shot, but he's an unconscionable gunner. Sessions is hardly better. Walker is now learning what's a good shot and what's a bad shot. Mullens has averaged a "whopping" 12 shots a game so far this year. He should be averaging more shots. Open your eyes. Mullens has the best scoring potential of anybody on the Bobcats.

[thruthefire]

Mullens has averaged a "whopping" 12 shots a game so far this year. He should be averaging more shots. Open your eyes. Mullens has the best scoring potential of anybody on the Bobcats.

You can't be serious.

[thruthefire]

Last year Mullens took a lot of long twos and made only a little over 40% of those shots. This year he stepped back a few feet. If he makes close to 40% of his threes, the effort is well worth it.

Well, yes, obviously. But that's the point -- he won't shoot ~40 percent while taking seven three-pointers per game. Hell, he has enough trouble shooting 40 percent from the field!

BTW, according to Hoopdata, Mullens shot 35 percent from 16 to 23 feet, and 27 percent from 10 to 15, last season.

[HornetJail]

Mullens has averaged a "whopping" 12 shots a game so far this year. He should be averaging more shots. Open your eyes. Mullens has the best scoring potential of anybody on the Bobcats.

You can't be serious.

This wouldn't be a problem if 7 of them weren't 3s. In no way should he jack up 7 attempts a game from three. To put this into perspective, when J-Rich led the league in both 3s made and attempted with us, he averaged 7.3 attempts from 3. He was scoring upwards of 20ppg on 41% for distance, not the 11.6 on 29% from deep Mullens is averaging.

[Kilo Graham]

Mullens has averaged a "whopping" 12 shots a game so far this year. He should be averaging more shots. Open your eyes. Mullens has the best scoring potential of anybody on the Bobcats.

You can't be serious.

This wouldn't be a problem if 7 of them weren't 3s. In no way should he jack up 7 attempts a game from three. To put this into perspective, when J-Rich led the league in both 3s made and attempted with us, he averaged 7.3 attempts from 3. He was scoring upwards of 20ppg on 41% for distance, not the 11.6 on 29% from deep Mullens is averaging.

yeah, there's no way he continues shooting this many a game throughout the season. at least i sure hope there isn't...

[Johnlac1]

Yeah, Mullens is not a superstar...is that some sort of shock? He's now approaching average. When he joined the Bobcats last year, he was in the bottom ten percent. He's still a young, developing player who can get a lot better. I'm not the only one to say that...you can go on a number of bb websites and read the same evaluation of Mullens from bb writers. His coach thinks the same thing. Name another player his size with that kind of youth, athleticism and shooting ability. Do you think Dunlap would let him shoot threes if he didn't think he could make a respectable percentage?

Last year the Bobcats only had one player who could shoot threes, Carroll, and he was too slow to play more than a few minutes. This year the 'Cats have Gordon and Mullens. Gordon is a proven 3-pt. shooter, and Mullens is coming on. If Mullens can eventually hit a respectable pct. from three, that makes the 'Cats that much better. They just beat Dallas and have won two games so far this year. Last year they won seven. Mullen was a big part of that win over Dallas with 14 rebounds. You Mullens haters lack the capacity to analyze talent and look ahead. I guess for a lot of people the glass is always half empty.

[Kembastockton]

Johnlac1, I agree with you, but at the same time even if Mullen can hit a respectable percentage he still needs to be able to dominate inside. If he can learn to do both then he will be a superstar eventually, but if he can't then eventually he is going to have to be relegated to zone buster off the bench.

I think most people here understand Mully's potential. I just don't think they value that type of center. I think most people would perfer if Mully concentrated on dominating the post instead of lighting it up from deep.

[MBash721]

one thing people are missing about Mullens standing out at the 3 point line is that he opens up space and driving lanes for Kemba, Sessions, and MKG.... if he's always down in the low post, that takes away room for those guys to operate

would we like some balance between Mullens standing at the 3 point line and getting the ball in the post? Yes.

but if he can knock down open jumpers at a good rate where defenders have to respect him, it really helps our guys attacking the basket.

I'm more focused on the other parts of Mullens' game. I hope he puts as much effort to defense and rebounding (especially crashing the offensive boards) every game as he did last game vs Dallas

[fatlever]

i am completely OK with mully shooting a lot of 3s provided:
1) he plays defense and rebounds
2) when his shot isnt falling he looks to get to the line and/or post up
3) he takes the shots in the flow of the offense

[thruthefire]

If Mullens can eventually hit a respectable pct. from three, that makes the 'Cats that much better.

Once again, thank you, Captain Obvious. It won't happen unless he drastically cuts his number of attempts.