As we pointed out yesterday, as of January 22, the NBA had made 44.7 percent of its 100,607 shots. Atlanta’s Josh Smith has made 44.8 percent of his shots this season. Through that lens, Smith appears to be a normal NBA player, but Smith is far from normal. He has a game that drives people crazy.
Smith arrives at his forgettable overall shooting efficiency by being very efficient near the basket and the worst volume shooter in the NBA away from the basket. So far this season, Smith has made more than 62 percent of his shots close to the basket, which is a value significantly higher than the NBA average. It’s also higher than Tim Duncan’s 60 percent and Dwight Howard’s 61 percent
While it would be unfair to label him the worst jump shooter in the NBA, it is probably fair to claim that he is the worst active jump shooter in the league. Most guys — Tyson Chandler, for example — who can’t shoot 17-footers don’t make a habit of trying anyway. Smith does.
As of January 22, Smith was 80-for-297 (27 percent) outside of 7.5 feet, and 178-for-287 (62 percent) inside that distance. He spends too much time doing stuff he’s not good at. The notion that Smith has more midrange attempts than Al Horford and Lou Williams is simply ridiculous.
27% from 8+ feet out. Atrocious. Sunday, Josh took as many 3-pointers as Kyle Korver.
