Rajon Rondo Jump Shot Tracker

[Triple M]

So, I was reading this article that I came across at the CelticsBlog Forum and what I found interesting was the opening paragraph.

Shooting coach Mark Price says don't expect things to change over night and don't expect miracles. But he says by the time the playoffs come around in April, you should expect Rajon Rondo to shoot the ball better than he ever has before.

Now I don't have the exact numbers in front of me but I do distinctly remember Rondo's jumper showing a steady climb over the season last year. The closest thing to numbers I have is from this article at TrueHoop Network @ ESPN. However, the number he shows don't breakdown jump shots from other various non close shot variations.

A peek at NBA.com's hot zones reveals he has made 127 of his 205 shots at the rim. Everywhere else on the floor, however, he is a miserable 23 of 85. That's right. According to NBA.com, Rondo has hit a total of 23 buckets not at the rim, all season. He has played 1100 minutes over 35 games, so that's about one made jumper per 48 minutes played. And even though he is being left open game after game, he's still taking it to the rim again and again -- as reflected in his 205 shots at the cup, compared to 85 from elsewhere. Nevertheless, he's a great player. With the right shooting coach, and some real dedication on his part, he could be insanely good.

So, again it is tough to differentiate how much of the 85 shots were actually jump shots but nevertheless we can see he shot a dismal 27% for the first 2 months of the season.

In Mid January is when I'll say I started noticing some signs of life to Rondo's jump shot. I wish I had hard numbers to show.

2008-09: 43% of Rondo's shots were jumpers; .375eFG%

Which shows an improvement over what he was shooting in the first 2 months. However, it is hard to determine with accuracy how much that improvement actually was.

Which brings me to this year. So far he this season he is shooting 9-24 on Jumpers.
@ Cle, 1-3
Made 21-ft Jumper
Missed 18-ft Jumper
Missed 17-ft Jumper

vs. Cha, 1-1
Made 16-ft Jumper

vs. Chi, 1-2
Missed 22-ft Jumper
Made 21-ft Jumper

vs. NO, 1-3
Missed 16-ft Jumper
Missed 10-ft jumper
Made 14-ft fadeaway Jumper
*Note CBS has him 2-6 on jumpers, but I'm not sure if I would consider floating jump shots as actual jump shots.

@ Phi, 2-2
Made 16-ft Jumper
Made 13-ft Jumper

@ Min, 0-5
Missed 16-ft Jumper
Missed 16-ft Jumper
Missed 16-ft Jumper
Missed 17-ft Jumper
Missed 20-ft Jumper

vs Phx, 1-3
Made 19-ft Jumper
Missed 21-ft Jumper
Missed 29-ft Jumper

@ NJ, 2-4
Made 18-ft Jumper
Made 19-ft Jumper
Missed 20-ft Jumper
Missed 28-ft Jumper

vs. Utah, 0-1
Missed 19ft jumper

It is a obviously a small sample size and the one game in Min skews it a bit at most I think we can agree his form looks improved.

[GuyClinch]

Well - I don't think its crazy to assume if his jumper is better so should he free throws. The sample size is small yet but its something that's pretty easy to track. But with all due respect to Price - if you could fix jumpers in one summer the NBA wouldn't have dozens of athletic brick layers.. Everyone on message boards loves to throw around how "easy" it is to improve one's jumper but in the real world it happens slowly or not at all..

Usually poor shooters end up finding a few spots they can shoot from - like a Shawn Marion..

[Wolves2011]

you can track Rondo jumpers for the season here.

http://www.82games.com/0910/09BOS1.HTM

[you can also look at past seasons.]

It would be nice to see monthly numbers, but I haven't found them anywhere.

[Wolves2011]

Well - I don't think its crazy to assume if his jumper is better so should he free throws. The sample size is small yet but its something that's pretty easy to track. But with all due respect to Price - if you could fix jumpers in one summer the NBA wouldn't have dozens of athletic brick layers.. Everyone on message boards loves to throw around how "easy" it is to improve one's jumper but in the real world it happens slowly or not at all..

Usually poor shooters end up finding a few spots they can shoot from - like a Shawn Marion..

Rondo's biggest problem on both jumpers and free throws in the past was his elbow.
[and yes I know there were problems with fingertips, follow threw etc, but the elbow was the biggest.]

In the past it "flew open" rather than being under the ball. So his shots weren't just long or short but also went left or right.

If you watch him now (when focusing) his elbow is under the ball, not flapping like a birds wing. When he misses its much more often long or short.

[ParticleMan]

That's encouraging. His form does look better, though sometimes he reverts. Hopefully it's a matter of confidence and consistency.

If he can shoot 50% on open jumpers we've got a steal at 11 million. i'm pulling for him.

[Triple M]

you can track Rondo jumpers for the season here.

http://www.82games.com/0910/09BOS1.HTM

[you can also look at past seasons.]

It would be nice to see monthly numbers, but I haven't found them anywhere.

I don't really trust 82games.com methodology as they include some non-jump shots as jump shots. However, they show Rondo is shooting more % of jumpers this year and that he is shooting earlier in the shot clock.