Analysis of Floor Positioning

With the addition of Bonzi, I'm proposing a linup of Rafer(or Head), Bonzi, T-Mac, Battier, and Yao. That's nothing new, but here I'm going to visually break it down, back it up with stats, and show why this works and where everyone must be positioned. I can do this for other linups too, but this is what I'm starting out with.



Everybody knows Yao is monster inside. He's arguably the best in the league in post domination with his array of hooks, up and unders, and power moves. He's also efficient with his short jumpers and turnarounds on the baselines. Some have argued that JVG needs to open Yao up more and let him hit the "automatic" jumpers from the top of the key or something. I disagree with this, and the evidence shows (www.nba.com/hotzones) that Yao is not efficient at jumpshooting around the court. He's best inside.

Shane Battier needs to be Yao's post entry passer from the same side as Yao, 3 pt corner area. Battier is smart and tall. If they stick the opposing PF on Battier, then it just clears up more space for Yao inside, and it draws away from the basket the opponent's strong rebounder. If they put the opposing SG on Battier and the PF on Bonzi, Battier will have even better looks at the kick out 3 pass from Yao.

Below is a list of the top 32 3pt shooters from the corners in the NBA according to their shooting %.
Rank--Team--Player--corner 3pt made/attempted--corner 3pt%--overall 3pt%

Code:

<table border="1" bordercolor="" width="0" bgcolor="">
<tr>
<td> 01 </td>
<td> Phi </td>
<td> Kyle Korver </td>
<td> 51/96 </td>
<td> 53.1 </td>
<td> 42.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 02 </td>
<td> SAS </td>
<td> Brent Barry </td>
<td> 31/60 </td>
<td> 51.7 </td>
<td> 39.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td> [B]03[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Det[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Rip Hamilton[/B] </td>
<td> [B]41/83[/B] </td>
<td> [B]49.4[/B] </td>
<td> [B]45.8[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 04 </td>
<td> Ind </td>
<td> Stojakovic </td>
<td> 47/97 </td>
<td> 48.4 </td>
<td> 40.1 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 05 </td>
<td> Det </td>
<td> Billups </td>
<td> 33/68 </td>
<td> 48.5 </td>
<td> 43.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 06 </td>
<td> LAC </td>
<td> Radmanovic </td>
<td> 32/66 </td>
<td> 48.5 </td>
<td> 39.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 07 </td>
<td> Chi </td>
<td> Chris Duhon </td>
<td> 34/71 </td>
<td> 47.9 </td>
<td> 36.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 08 </td>
<td> Pho </td>
<td> James Jones </td>
<td> 41/86 </td>
<td> 47.7 </td>
<td> 38.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 09 </td>
<td> Dal </td>
<td> Jason Terry </td>
<td> 50/106 </td>
<td> 47.2 </td>
<td> 41.1 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 10 </td>
<td> Bos </td>
<td> Scissorback </td>
<td> 43/92 </td>
<td> 46.7 </td>
<td> 40.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 11 </td>
<td> NYK </td>
<td> Nate Robinson </td>
<td> 28/60 </td>
<td> 46.7 </td>
<td> 39.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 12 </td>
<td> Pho </td>
<td> Raja Bell </td>
<td> 80/172 </td>
<td> 46.5 </td>
<td> 44.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 13 </td>
<td> Ind </td>
<td> Sarunas </td>
<td> 25/54 </td>
<td> 46.3 </td>
<td> 36.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 14 </td>
<td> Atl </td>
<td> Joe Johnson </td>
<td> 55/119 </td>
<td> 46.2 </td>
<td> 35.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> [B]15[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Mem[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Battier[/B] </td>
<td> [B]54/118[/B] </td>
<td> [B]45.8[/B] </td>
<td> [B]39.4[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 16 </td>
<td> Mem </td>
<td> Bobby Jax </td>
<td> 53/116 </td>
<td> 45.7 </td>
<td> 38.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 17 </td>
<td> Sea </td>
<td> Earl Watson </td>
<td> 25/55 </td>
<td> 45.5 </td>
<td> 40.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 18 </td>
<td> Orl </td>
<td> Turkeyglue </td>
<td> 73/161 </td>
<td> 45.3 </td>
<td> 40.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 19 </td>
<td> Mil </td>
<td> Michael Redd </td>
<td> 57/126 </td>
<td> 45.3 </td>
<td> 39.5 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 20 </td>
<td> Tor </td>
<td> Mike James </td>
<td> 29/64 </td>
<td> 45.3 </td>
<td> 44.2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 21 </td>
<td> Bos </td>
<td> LaFrentz </td>
<td> 33/73 </td>
<td> 45.2 </td>
<td> 39.2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> [B]22[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Hou[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Rafer Alston[/B] </td>
<td> [B]30/68[/B] </td>
<td> [B]44.1[/B] </td>
<td> [B]32.7[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> [B]23[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Hou[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Luther Head[/B] </td>
<td> [B]51/116[/B] </td>
<td> [B]44.0[/B] </td>
<td> [B]36.1[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> [B]24[/B] </td>
<td> [B]SAS[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Bruce Bowen[/B] </td>
<td> [B]100/228[/B] </td>
<td> [B]43.9[/B] </td>
<td> [B]42.4[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 25 </td>
<td> Tor </td>
<td> Mo Pete </td>
<td> 98/224 </td>
<td> 43.8 </td>
<td> 39.5 </td>
</tr>
</table>

I've set my own parameters to meet this list. Besides accuracy there needed to be minimum volume (at least 25 makes). The list makes sense to me. Some players are pure shooters (Mike James, Peja, Terry)while others are corner specialists(Battier, Bowen). Some great shooters (like Nash and Nowitzki) don't spend much time in the corners by design(so they don't make the list b/c of volume), while other great 3pt shooters overall are not as good at hitting them from the corners (like Eddie Jones).

Ray Allen is ranked 32nd in 3pt% from the corners (42.3%, 41.2% overall), does that mean Bruce Bowen (43.9% corners, 42.4% overall) is a better 3pt shooter than Ray Allen? Hell no. Ray Allen runs around screens, creates his own shots, and can shoot from all over the floor. Bruce Bowen cannot shoot the 3 anywhere except for the corners, but he understands the limits of his range and his game. He maximizes what he does well and doesn't shoot where he cannot hit well. That is why his statistical output in terms of 3pt% is better than Ray Allen.

Shane Battier is similar to Bruce Bowen and smart like him. Battier doesn't average 39.4% free 3pt land b/c he has some great range and just runs around swacking from everywhere. He works on his shot (the shortest 3ball spots) and shoots open kick outs. This is where he can excel as a Rocket on offense. The top 25 list can be divided up into 3 tiers in terms of volume. Battier is at the top of tier 2. I expect him to increase his shooting volume next year greatly because Yao and T-Mac (and now Bonzi) command double-teams. Especially if the opponents decide to put a 6'5" guard on Battier to keep their post defender in, Battier should definitely get more shot attemps. I want him to be the Rockets' Bruce Bowen.

The Rockets have Alston and Head, two guys who shoot the 3 ball well from the corners and straight away center, but suffer from the right-center 3 and left-center 3 positions. Luther Head from the corners and straight away 3 shot 66/154 for 42.9% last year. From right-center3 and left-center3 he shot 46/153 for 30.1%. Rafer Alston is the biggest culprit because he shot 52/120 for 43.3% combined from the corner 3's and straight center 3's, but his shooting from the right-center3 and left-center3 was 50/191 for 26.2%.

This is called shot recognition and the Rockets miserably failed at it last year. Good teams like the Spurs and the Mavs and the Suns have not only good shooters, but shooters who know where they are good at. 2 years ago, the Rockets had a strong collection of shooters (Mike James, John Barry, David Wesley, Scott Padgett, Bob Sura) who could nail the 3ball from all over
the court. Now they've let Wesley go and they lack shooters who aren't position specialists.

They could remedy this in two ways. First, Rafer and Luther and T-Mac too (injuries aside, he cannot shoot like he did from 3ball last year if the Rockets are to go far...I don't care that he still commands a double team...that's all good and the Rockets will always benefit from his play, but his 3ball must get better and return to form if the Rockets are going to win BIG) could improve. That is why I highligted Rip Hamilton. Rip improved and became the best 3pt% shooter in the NBA after not being a threat in the past. You can add the Suns in here too. I remember m_cable or someone else writing about how the Suns practice shooting 3's for hours upon end, just running up and down and shooting 3's. It's not just because of Nash's open looks that make them good, but also it's because they have a systematic way of improving shooting for players.

The 2nd remedy is improving shot selection, and I'm not just talking about open shots vs. tough shots. Look at Rafer's stats. Not only did he shoot the 3ball poorly from right-center and left-center, but also that's where he took the majority of his 3's! He took 191 3's from places where he couldn't hit and 120 3's from the places that he could. If Bruce Bowen spent the majority of his time jacking trey's from up top, he wouldn't be considered a 3pt specialist, and fans would be calling for his head.

I put the responsibility for improvement in 3pt shooting and shot recognition squarely on the Players and Jeff Van Gundy. With a return to health of Yao and T-Mac and the addition of Bonzi, there will be open treys. If they players continue to take 3's from places that they cannot hit, it will only be a recipe for failure. Good teams know to maximize their strengths in shooting and minimize their weaknesses. If JVG and the Rockets fail to do this, they will not be amongst the elite.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now I mentioned Bonzi and here is my justification for having him in the linup there instead of JHo. In terms of spacing, I would like Battier and Rafer/Head be on opposite corners, with Battier being the initial feeder on the near side. If the post needs to feed from up top, that is T-Mac land. I know Juwon can hit the mid-range jumper, but so can T-Mac. Bonzi will occupy the opposite FT elbow area from Yao. From there he will either take the mid-range jumper if sagged on (he was 23-44 last year from both elbows for 52.3%), cut to basket, or crash the weakside boards.

Offensive Rebounding is very important. It can tear a team's heart out if you can follow up your misses with extra chances. The Rockets are a good defensive rebounding team, but not on offense. Especially with Yao in the game, they only rebounded 26.2% on offense last year. This is because Yao is their best offensive rebounder (8.2%) and he's the one usually shooting.
Their guards rebounded worse last year than 2 years ago (mainly b/c Sura was out) and JHo is very below average at this, and when you have teams like the Mavs rebounding 33% of their own missed shots, you can see its importance.

Now one might ponder that Bonzi is a good rebounder for a guard, but he's no power forward. If you look at the statistics, you can see that Bonzi is a great rebounder for a guard, the best offensive-rebounding guard in the entire League. And Bonzi is even up there when it comes to ALL PLAYERS.

Rank--Team--Player--Offensive Rebounding %--OReb per game

Code:

<table border="1" width="100" >
<tr>
<td> 01 </td>
<td> Dal </td>
<td> Erick Ampier </td>
<td> 15.4 </td>
<td> 3.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 02 </td>
<td> Ind </td>
<td> Jeff Foster </td>
<td> 14.8 </td>
<td> 3.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 03 </td>
<td> Chi </td>
<td> Tyson Chandler </td>
<td> 12.8 </td>
<td> 3.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 04 </td>
<td> Cle </td>
<td> Z Ilgauskas </td>
<td> 11.6 </td>
<td> 3.1 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 05 </td>
<td> Atl </td>
<td> Zaza Pachula </td>
<td> 11.4 </td>
<td> 3.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 06 </td>
<td> Por </td>
<td> Joel Pryzbilla </td>
<td> 11.2 </td>
<td> 2.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 07 </td>
<td> Det </td>
<td> Ben Wallace </td>
<td> 11.0 </td>
<td> 3.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 08 </td>
<td> Orl </td>
<td> Dwight Howard </td>
<td> 10.9 </td>
<td> 3.5 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 09 </td>
<td> Mia </td>
<td> Shaq </td>
<td> 10.8 </td>
<td> 2.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 10 </td>
<td> Cha </td>
<td> Emeka Okafor </td>
<td> 10.4 </td>
<td> 3.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 11 </td>
<td> Was </td>
<td> Brendan Haywood </td>
<td> 10.4 </td>
<td> 2.5 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 12 </td>
<td> Den </td>
<td> Reggie Nutgrabber </td>
<td> 9.8 </td>
<td> 2.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 13 </td>
<td> LAL </td>
<td> Kwame Brown </td>
<td> 9.7 </td>
<td> 2.5 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 14 </td>
<td> Mil </td>
<td> Jamal Magliore </td>
<td> 9.6 </td>
<td> 2.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 15 </td>
<td> SAS </td>
<td> Tim Duncan </td>
<td> 9.0 </td>
<td> 2.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> [B]16[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Sac[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Bonzi Wells[/B] </td>
<td> [B]9.0[/B] </td>
<td> [B]2.7[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 17 </td>
<td> Sac </td>
<td> Kenny Thomas </td>
<td> 9.0 </td>
<td> 2.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 18 </td>
<td> LAC </td>
<td> Elton Brand </td>
<td> 8.3 </td>
<td> 3.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> [B]19[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Hou[/B] </td>
<td> [B]Ming Yao[/B] </td>
<td> [B]8.3[/B] </td>
<td> [B]2.6[/B] </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 20 </td>
<td> Min </td>
<td> KG </td>
<td> 8.2 </td>
<td> 2.8 </td>
</tr>
</table>

Now the ranking list above needs to be interpreted correctly. Even though Shaq gets a lower % of offesive boards than say Dwight Howard, I'd argue that Shaq is a better offensive rebounder because he spends more time with the ball in has hands. You have to view the list above and keep in mind that some players are primary scorers with less O-rebounding opportunity. Some players play away from the bucket (KG) and other players never are an option on Offense and can just attack the boards on offense for putbacks and focus soley on that (Ampier, Foster, Chandler, Nutgrabber). Whatever the case my be, this is all of their statistical output. And according to the % of offensive rebounding, that list is accurate in terms of statistically having the 20 best. The list is also interesting that it shows how Shawn Marion is an overrated offensive rebounder. Even though he's near the top at 3.1 per game, it's because of the Suns' pace that he gets so many more opportunities, and it
became very evident during the Western Conference Finals against the Mavs that the Suns were overmatched in all rebounding departments.

And look at Bonzi Wells sitting there at number 16, the only guard in amongst PowerForwards and Centers. And through the argument out the window that Yao's O-Reb at 19th will hurt Bonzi's productiveness, because Bonzi played last year about 1/3rd of the time on the court with Kenny Thomas, who is 17th is O-Rebounding %, which means I expect Bonzi to do the same here, especially if the Rockets play him right.

Bonzi is brute force below and can totally out muscle most guards for not only points, but also grabbing huge boards. I also believe that he's quick and strong enough to get his fair share of rebounds if other teams decide to put their PF on Bonzi. And not only that, but as I mentioned above, putting a slow PF on Bonzi would mean a SG would be on Battier, and that's even
better for Shane b/c it he would need less space to shoot over a guard from the corner 3 when the guard is trying to recover from collapsing against Yao.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

All in all, I am very pleased with the acquisition of Bonzi Wells. I disagree with those who argue the Wells-James debate in the sense that they are different players that fill different needs from the Rockets. They don't compete with eachother in that sense. The Rockets still need James' 3pt shooting, and Luther, Alston, and T-MAC all need to step it up next year from 3ball land.

 

Bruce Bowen can only shoot from the corner and he still does it, attempting over 220 shots from the corners and very few elsewhere. I know defenses prep for it, and so that's why the Rockets need to have better balance in 3-pt shooting. Their guys need to improve at hitting in all 3pt zones (or get players that can). But they also need to recognize that if their 3pt disparity from zones continue, they cannot feed into it. Rafer cannot be allowed to shoot 3's from spots where he is 26%! It's understandable every once in a while, but to shoot the vast majority of 3's from your weakest shooting zone is counter-productive.

 

The hotzones stats only go back 3 years, so I can tell what Bonzi has done since 2003 in terms of 3pt shooting.

From the corners: 14/41 + 28/70 + 8/33 = 50/144 for 34.7%
From straight away 3: 2/3 + 0/3 + 1/2 = 3/8 for 37.5%
Elboy 3's: 6/22 + 8/20 + 1/9 = 15/51 for 29.4%

Either by design or...well, I just don't think Bonzi himself believes in his 3pt ability..so he doesn't take them. These are stats for 3 years, so that's 193 games for him and 203 trey attempts.

So Bonzi has take 1 three point attempt per game over the last 3 years. The vast majority of treys come from the corners, and he averages about 35%. It's not bad, but it's not great.

I don't think one would classify his 3pter as a weapon, anymore than one would talk about Yao's deep jumper. It's something that they can do in emergencies, but would rather not because they don't do it well and they do other things much better.

 

Under the same parameters of being in the top % and also having at least 25 makes, here is the list for top elbow 3pt shooters. Noticable missings: league 3pt leader Rip Hamilton and of course Bruce Bowen can't hit here either, and guys like Dirk and Arenas are great shooters with high volume, but they just didn't make the cut. I'd still argue that Dirk and Arenas are better 3pt shooters from the elbows than say Matt Bonner...but these are the hard stats...it does show though that you can say Ray Allen takes similar shots to Arenas, and Ray Allen is still up here, so I'd argue that Ray Allen is a better 3pt shooter from the elbows (right-center and left-center)

By the way, I don't have these lists; I gather the data from various sources and make the charts myself,it can contain errors, but I think my info is pretty good. I'll do a straight away 3 pt chart later. I can separate the elbows, but I got lazy.

Rank--Team--Player--Elbow3's attempt/made--Elbow3pt%--Overall3pt%

Code:

<table border="2" bordercolor="" 

width="0" bgcolor="">
<tr>
<td> 01 </td>
<td> Pho </td>
<td> Leandro Barbosa </td>
<td> 51/100 </td>
<td> 51.0 </td>
<td> 44.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 02 </td>
<td> Pho </td>
<td> Steve Nash </td>
<td> 121/269 </td>
<td> 45.0 </td>
<td> 43.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 03 </td>
<td> Tor </td>
<td> Matt Bonner </td>
<td> 65/145 </td>
<td> 44.8 </td>
<td> 42.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 04 </td>
<td> Chi </td>
<td> Ben Gordon </td>
<td> 101/226 </td>
<td> 44.7 </td>
<td> 43.5 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 05 </td>
<td> Atl </td>
<td> Tyronne Lue </td>
<td> 37/83 </td>
<td> 44.6 </td>
<td> 45.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr> 
<td> 06 </td>
<td> Det </td>
<td> Chaucy Billups </td>
<td> 121/275 </td>
<td> 44.0 </td>
<td> 43.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 07 </td>
<td> Pho </td>
<td> Raja Bell </td>
<td> 109/249 </td>
<td> 43.8 </td>
<td> 44.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 08 </td>
<td> Tor </td>
<td> Mike James </td>
<td> 97/222 </td>
<td> 43.7 </td>
<td> 44.2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 09 </td>
<td> LAL </td>
<td> Brian Cook  </td>
<td> 26/60 </td>
<td> 43.3 </td>
<td> 42.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 10 </td>
<td> Mil </td>
<td> Charlie Bell </td>
<td> 38/89 </td>
<td> 42.7 </td>
<td> 42.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 11 </td>
<td> Mem </td>
<td> Mike Miller </td>
<td> 104/250 </td>
<td> 41.6 </td>
<td> 40.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 12 </td>
<td> Dal </td>
<td> Jason Terry </td>
<td> 101/245 </td>
<td> 41.2 </td>
<td> 41.1 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 13 </td>
<td> Sea </td>
<td> Ray Allen </td>
<td> 185/451 </td>
<td> 41.0 </td>
<td> 41.2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 14 </td>
<td> Mem </td>
<td> Bobby Jax </td>
<td> 69/169 </td>
<td> 40.8 </td>
<td> 38.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 15 </td>
<td> Mil </td>
<td> Bobby Simmons </td>
<td> 50/123 </td>
<td> 40.7 </td>
<td> 42.0 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 16 </td>
<td> Uta </td>
<td> Deron Williams </td>
<td> 63/155 </td>
<td> 40.6 </td>
<td> 41.6 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 17 </td>
<td> NYK </td>
<td> Nate Robinson </td>
<td> 28/69 </td>
<td> 40.6 </td>
<td> 39.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 18 </td>
<td> Was </td>
<td> Antawn Jamison </td>
<td> 91/226 </td>
<td> 40.3 </td>
<td> 39.4 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 19 </td>
<td> Mia </td>
<td> James Posey </td>
<td> 57/142 </td>
<td> 40.1 </td>
<td> 40.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 20 </td>
<td> SAS </td>
<td> Manu Ginobili </td>
<td> 54/133 </td>
<td> 40.1 </td>
<td> 38.2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 21 </td>
<td> LAC </td>
<td> Sam I Am </td>
<td> 50/123 </td>
<td> 40.1 </td>
<td> 36.8 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 22 </td>
<td> Bos </td>
<td> LaFrentz </td>
<td> 60/150 </td>
<td> 40.0 </td>
<td> 39.2 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 23 </td>
<td> Chi </td>
<td> Nocioni </td>
<td> 50/126 </td>
<td> 39.7 </td>
<td> 39.1 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 24 </td>
<td> GSW </td>
<td> Derek Fisher </td>
<td> 59/149 </td>
<td> 39.6 </td>
<td> 39.7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 25 </td>
<td> Pho </td>
<td> Eddie House </td>
<td> 80/204 </td>
<td> 39.2 </td>
<td> 38.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 26 </td>
<td> LAL </td>
<td> Vujacic  </td>
<td> 40/102 </td>
<td> 39.2 </td>
<td> 34.3 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 27 </td>
<td> Cha </td>
<td> Matt Carroll </td>
<td> 34/87 </td>
<td> 39.1 </td>
<td> 38.9 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> 28 </td>
<td> Sac </td>
<td> Bibby </td>
<td> 129/332 </td>
<td> 38.9 </td>
<td> 38.6 </td>
</tr>
</table>

Edit:
So to make this post Rockets related, it's evident from the list that there are no Rockets who are great at making the elbow 3pter. I'd take that even further by saying the Rockets are actually terrible at hitting the elbow 3pter.

Last year they were 235/789 as a team from the elbows 3pters for 29.8%
And they were 232/609 from the other 3 zones (corners and straight) for 38.1%, which is quite nice. 56.4% of their 3pt attempts come from the zones where they shoot the worst. And add to that, their best elbow 3pt shooter was David Wesley, and now he's gone.

2 years ago, the Rockets were a much more balanced 3pt shooting team. They shot 36.4% from the elbows 3pter in 2004. Maybe this is where Steve Novak, John Lucas III, and Scotty the Body can step in.

If JVG and the Rockets' system forces them to take most of their 3pters from the elbows, then they somehow must do better. As I stated earlier, Rafer, Luther, and T-Mac must improve from there, or they have to take less elbow shots.

The Spurs are a balanced 3pt threat from all over the court. They run inside out through Duncan. I don't see why the Rockets should not emulate the Spurs 3pt attempts. Last year the Spurs took 611 treys from the elbows shooting a solid 35.8%.

But the Spurs were still able to take 735 shots from the corners(edit: i mistakenly wrote elbows) + straight away treys. They shot 41.2% from those 3 zones combined. Now they shot better than the Rockets across the board. However, they shot more 3pters from their best zones and less from the worst (the elbows). The Rockets did the exact opposite of the Spurs even though their good zones were the same as the Spurs.

So I don't buy the argument of not being able to proparly assert yourself in position to take those shots. I also don't buy they bad defense argument. Both players don't have to park at the corners. 1 rotates in and the other out to maintain defensive floor balance. The Spurs are a great Defensive team and limit transition buckets, yet they are still a lot more shots from the corners than the Rockets do.

This is a failure of coaching. The Rockets must shoot better, but they absolutely need to recognize that they're current spacing is disadvantageous. I really hope they can reverse this terrible trend of last year.