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

Elden Payton · Post #241 » by **Elden Payton** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:24 am

Our whole team drifted out of games last year but Mullens was definitely a culprit.

Mullens last season was the best type of rookie to have imo, he was a player who had a history of being a big time recruit and made the mistake of declaring too early, despite this he was pretty solid in college being the Big Ten Sixth Man winner. 8/5 in 20 minutes with pretty decent defense.

By being the best type I mean that he has been a part of a professional organisation for two seasons and although he rarely played he spent two years with Durant and Westbrook and trying to score on Ibaka in practice.

Mullens will be good for us though I'm not going with any crazy predictions on his future, I think he can definitely be a 15/9 player with 40% from three, he definitely needs to get his fg percent up to 46+%.

doc.end · Post #242 » by **doc.end** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 3:16 pm

He was already one rebound shy of that in pre-season. As he missed some games, the last game helped a lot in rebounds though - on the other way, he had much better fg% (around that 46% if i am not mistaken) before that game as well.

Elden Payton · Post #243 » by **Elden Payton** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:02 am

I mean in the regular season when the big boys come out to play.

I think the problem he will have is that shooting at such a high volume will equate to a couple of stinkers which will cause his percentage to plummet.

Post #244 » by **fatlever** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 7:01 pm

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/1 ... s-out.html

“He rebounds with more grit and positioning,” Charlotte Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap said. “He’s gone from a guy who’d be labeled kind of soft to not soft at all.”

“Rebounding – it’s obvious,” Mullens said of his improvement. “Having more energy, staying more alert on the rebounds.”

“My team relies on me for defensive rebounds,” Mullens said. “Coach has a lot of confidence in me; I know he does.

“I don’t want him getting on me. It’s just been a big change this year and everyone can see it.”

“As he matures, he’ll learn what to do when his game is not going along the perimeter,” Dunlap said. “He can post up and make a little jump hook. He’s just realizing that.

“He’s got another level in him. He’s got the potential to be one of the better players in this league.”

Johnlac1 · Post #245 » by **Johnlac1** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 10:49 pm

I see a lot of Bobcat fans were whining about Mullens last game where he made 6 out of 10 threes. It's for sure he won't be able to hit that percentage on a consistent basis, but if you can make forty percent of threes, you're doing extremely well. Making 6 out of 10 from 3-point range is like making 9 out of 10 from two point range. Last year he averaged 9 and 5 with rotten defense. This year he's averaging about 17 and 8 with a higher shooting percentage. His onball defense is still subpar, but it's improved. But the Bobcat fans still hammer him mercilessly. He's still only 23, can now hit 3s with a decent percentage, is much improved, but he just can't win.

Post #246 » by **BigSlam** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:07 pm

Johnlac1 wrote:I see a lot of Bobcat fans were whining about Mullens last game where he made 6 out of 10 threes. It's for sure he won't be able to hit that percentage on a consistent basis, but if you can make forty percent of threes, you're doing extremely well. Making 6 out of 10 from 3-point range is like making 9 out of 10 from two point range. Last year he averaged 9 and 5 with rotten defense. This year he's averaging about 17 and 8 with a higher shooting percentage. His onball defense is still subpar, but it's improved. But the Bobcat fans still hammer him mercilessly. He's still only 23, can now hit 3s with a decent percentage, is much improved, but he just can't win.

We already have guys who can shoot 3's. BG, Turtle, Sessions (I'd like to Say Hammer, but.....).

We don't need more guys shooting 3's. Especially not 7 footers with a good body and athletic ability.

What we also don't need is a 7 footer hanging out on the outside and not helping on the boards because he is too busy trying to leak out for a cherry picking fast break.

What we do need is a big to play in the post on offense, get us easy baskets when we need them and help our other bigs (Haywood and Biz) on the boards and to stop hanging them out to dry.

Johnlac1 · Post #247 » by **Johnlac1** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:19 pm

Like I said, Mullens just can't win.

Post #248 » by **fatlever** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:22 pm

slam,

you have to at least admit that mully is improved, right?

as for cherry picking... are you saying mully is hanging around the perimeter on the defensive end waiting to leak out? if so, i'll keep an eye on that tonight. that can't happen when he is our leading rebounder.

on offense, i dont have much of a problem with him hanging around the perimeter. we dont have a true low post big man. so we might as well use mully to pull a big defender away from the basket freeing up space for guys like kemba, sessions and MKG to attack the paint. mully makes it harder for teams to pack the paint against us.

SWedd523 · Post #249 » by **SWedd523** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:25 pm

I have no problem with him jacking the threes as long as he's making them. If he's going to shoot 60% for the game, then keep firing big fella. Space it out so MKG and Kemba can do their dribble drive thing. My issue is when the shot isn't falling, he kind of fades away on offense. I'd like him to be able to score reliably well from the block so he can get back into the groove of getting his shot to fall.

Don't understand the complaints on his rebounding. He's at 8.3 so far this season and I'd be ecstatic if he could keep that number going for the remainder of the season.

Has he been back-and-forth on his defense? Without a doubt. But he's improved and is showing more effort. In fact, he's probably shown as much overall improvement as anybody else on the team (so far).

Post #250 » by **fatlever** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:42 pm

no dobut, the effort has improved on the defensive side of the ball.

now he needs to learn what is a good shot and what is not a good shot. and secondly, as swedd mentioned above, when the shot is not falling he has to find other ways to impact the game offensively. he needs to get to the line.

Post #251 » by **BigSlam** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:57 pm

fatlever wrote:slam,

you have to at least admit that mully is improved, right?

Has he? Or is it just that he is getting more burn so far this season? Check out his per 36 stats last season Vs this one.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/pla ... eby01.html

He is averaging 1 more rebound than he did last season.

He is taking 8 - EIGHT - three point attempts per game this season.

He is averaging 1 less block per game.

as for cherry picking... are you saying mully is hanging around the perimeter on the defensive end waiting to leak out? if so, i'll keep an eye on that tonight. that can't happen when he is our leading rebounder.

He's not our leading rebounder. Haywood is:

And if Mully was, it would only be because:
A. Our other bigs suck (Biz, Tyrus)
and
B. Haywood only plays limited mins (he already boards 1 more per game in 7 less mins per game)

on offense, i dont have much of a problem with him hanging around the perimeter. we dont have a true low post big man.

That's just it. Mully COULD be a low post player. It's not like he doesn't have the skill set for it.

mully makes it harder for teams to pack the paint against us.

Not when he is hitting on only 33% of his three point attempts on EIGHT (again, think about the number) attempts per game. It's not like he is Ray Allen out there. Opposing bigs can still afford to sag off him.

Before last games 6/10 explosion, he was hitting on 2/14.............or 14%

Post #252 » by **BigSlam** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:57 pm

Johnlac1 wrote:Like I said, Mullens just can't win.

Ya, he can. He could start by playing smarter.

Post #253 » by **BigSlam** » Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:59 pm

fatlever wrote: he needs to get to the line.

He has taken 24 three point attempts so far this season and 44 field goal attempts total.

Guess how many free throw attempts he has taken this season?

Post #254 » by **Diop** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:21 am

BigSlam wrote:He's not our leading rebounder. Haywood is:

And if Mully was, it would only be because:
A. Our other bigs suck (Biz, Tyrus)
and
B. Haywood only plays limited mins (he already boards 1 more per game in 7 less mins per game)

#FreeDiop

HornetJail · Post #255 » by **HornetJail** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:56 pm

I hoping last night was some kind of wake up call telling Mullens if he can't get his shot to fall, he can be a factor inside. 14 boards is some legit stuff. We aren't winning many games where he goes 2-10 from distance and grabs three boards. Mullens was a legit big last night.

Kilo Graham · Post #256 » by **Kilo Graham** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:05 pm

BigSlam wrote:
fatlever wrote: he needs to get to the line.

He has taken 24 three point attempts so far this season and 44 field goal attempts total.

Guess how many free throw attempts he has taken this season?

Exactly. Plenty of bigs are good shooters but one dimensional guys aren't as useful. Steve Novak doesn't get to the line, Nowitski does. I'm not saying it's their only or even most important difference but it's a decent yardstick for how hard a player is going in the paint.

Eoghan · Post #257 » by **Eoghan** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:12 pm

Whether we like it or not, this team pretty much goes as Mully goes. He needs to be our volume shooter b/c out of all starters, he's the only one that can space the floor with his shooting. His defense and rebounding is much improved vs last year. Like others have said, he really needs to learn how to get to the free throw line when his shot isn't falling.

DY_nasty · Post #258 » by **DY_nasty** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 9:04 pm

BrotherDave wrote:Whether we like it or not, this team pretty much goes as Mully goes. He needs to be our volume shooter b/c out of all starters, he's the only one that can space the floor with his shooting. His defense and rebounding is much improved vs last year. Like others have said, he really needs to learn how to get to the free throw line when his shot isn't falling.

He's not our only volume scorer this year. Gordon, Kemba, even Sessions can put points up if need be. Reggie and JT aren't afraid to shoot either. He needs to chill - and remember that he's only worth his time on the floor when he's willing to rebound, get inside, and play something closely resembling defense.

thruthefire · Post #259 » by **thruthefire** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 9:51 pm

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.

Johnlac1 · Post #260 » by **Johnlac1** » Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:01 am

thruthefire wrote: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.