I've watched virtually every Sixer game so far this season, and consistently find myself thinking how deadly Carter-Williams could be if he developed a solid shot.
--
Michael Carter-Williams has already exceeded expectations
this season.
The fresh-faced point guard has demonstrated the ability to
run an NBA offense, which is a difficult transition for many young guards fresh
out of college to make, and he has consistently been able to get the ball to
his teammates in positions where they can score; a prerequisite to being a
successful starting point in the league. Carter-Williams looks like he knows what he’s doing with the ball in his hands, and
by all accounts the Sixers’ offense has been more effective with him running
it.
He has been better than decent defensively as well, where
his nose for the ball and ability to suddenly pop into passing lanes have him
leading the league in steals, and his length and sheer size have allowed him to
switch seamlessly onto other position players around the perimeter. Throw in
the fact that Carter-Williams has been a reliable rebounder from the guard spot
as well, leading all rookies with 5.7 boards a game, and you get the picture of
a pretty complete point who may very well shape the future of the franchise in
Philadelphia.
Carter-Williams’ surprisingly strong play so far this season
has worked to mollify the move that shipped fan-favorite Jrue Holiday south
last summer, and has the Philadelphia faithful eager to see just how good the
22-year old could be surrounded with some true talent.
Despite the promising play, Michael Carter-Williams is far
from a perfect player. There are some areas that he must make major improvements
in in order for himself and his team to truly capitalize on his sky-high
potential. One of the most pressing problems
that must be addressed is his outside shooting.
While overall he has been impressive offensively, mainly in
getting to the rim and creating opportunities for others, his outside shooting
has been an issue, and his improvement in that area will open up an entirely
new dimension of offensive options.
As it stands, opposing defenses respect Carter-Williams’
potential to drive the ball to the basket much more than they respect his
potential to pull up and hit a deep two or three-point-range shot, and with
good reason. So far this season, Carter-Williams is shooting a meager 27% on
pull-up opportunities (defined by nba.com/stats
as any jump shot outside of 10 feet where a player took 1 or more dribbles
before shooting) and scoring only 2.6 points per game on such opportunities.
Compare this to the 8.7 points his team nets per game off of his drives, which
when he finishes himself, he converts at a 39% clip, and it becomes exceedingly
clear why defenses play him for the drive.
His struggles shooting the ball make the defenses’ job a lot
easier, and severely limits what he is able to do on the offensive end. With a
respectable jump shot in his arsenal, defenses will have to stick closer to
Carter-Williams for fear of him pulling up, successfully, at any time. With his
game as currently constructed however, defenses don’t fear his pull-up
potential, and often opt to go under, rather than over, screens, daring
Carter-Williams to shoot. The defender playing off of Carter-Williams in these
situations eliminates several potential passes to the paint, or at least makes
them more difficult, and in turn prevents the offense from running at full
functionality.
In the video clip below, watch how far defenders play off of
Carter-Williams towards the top of the key. They’re giving him the space to
shoot, and cutting off some potential assist angels by dropping back off of
him.
If he could work to pull up his pull-up percentage to close
to a 40% clip then his effectiveness on the offensive end could expand
exponentially. Not only would the addition of a consistent shot increase his
own scoring, but it would force defenders to stick closer to him and would thus
open up new opportunities for others. He has already done well putting others
in position to score, as he is 17th in the NBA with 12.8 assist
opportunities per game, and with his defender sticking closer to him he could
become even better.
Carter-Williams’ development of a solid shot would work to
increase his own scoring and assist numbers, as well as likely add to the
scoring totals of his teammates.
“The Hyphen” as he has been dubbed, has been shooting
equally poorly on catch-and-shoot opportunities (29%), but considering how
often he has the ball in his hands (9th in the NBA with 87.5 touches
per game), the improvement of his pull-up seems more important.
It won’t happen overnight, but in order to compliment his
talents and fully maximize what appears to be sky-high potential, Michael
Carter-Williams needs to add a consistent shot to his already-impressive
arsenal. When he is able to do that, both he and his team will see big
benefits.
No comments:
Post a Comment