Nope.

Before that game, the Pels were 5th in the league in FGM per game in the Restricted Area, averaging 20.5 FGM on 66.7% shooting. That game they made 21 FG in the RA on 80% shooting.

Taking nothing away from Okafor, who played excellently. But the Pels had been getting into the paint and converting even when they lost. Did Okafor help boost that? Yes. Was it a glaring problem before? No

quote:
That's what give our shooter open looks, which is why we shot 42% from 3 in that game

Nope.

Before that game, the Pels were leading the league in 3PM at 16.8. They were shooting a very good 36.6% on the season as a team. Over the last 4 years, that would rank 6th, 11th, 12th, 6th in the league over a full season.

Before that game, the Pels were 2nd in the league in Catch and Shoot 3s with 32.7 per game and hit those at 42.7%, good for 6th in the league

Before that game, the Pels took 18.8 WIDE OPEN 3s per game, good for 9th in the league, and hit them at 46.7%, good for 3rd in the league.

Before that game, the Pels took 19.8 OPEN 3s per game, good for 1st in the league, and hit them at 31.6%, good for 19th in the league.

The one thing they did more of? They took 13 Corner 3s and 18 Above the Break. Corner 3s are the best jump shots you can take from a pure math/shot value perspective and those % are usually higher for a variety of reasons. Normally, they take Above the Break 3s almost 3 times as much as Corner 3s.

The question to tease out is why. Is that because Okafor was playing so well? Or was it Nuggets breakdowns? Or something else the Pels did? Tough for any of us to say.

Bottom line, system offense ain't the problem. On the whole, they get good shots, they convert them at good rates. Zion will help because he's going to be a force. But they're already doing many good things on offense.

quote:
Defensive confusion. With a completely new group of players, constant lineup changes and a new defensive coach, it's not surprising that the beginning of the season has featured confusion and poor rotations. Team defense is about knowing what your teammates are going to do and trusting them to do it. We were much improved in our last game, but lets see if we can continue to progress.

Yup.

This post was edited on 11/2/19 at 12:53 pm