The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

[Dice]

I've heard the theory many times on NBA games and from different analysis that the mid-range jump shot is the least effective shot in the game. Statistically, this is correct when you compare the overall league percentages compared to inside shots and 3 pt shots.

With that being said, I'd like to know why do you think the mid range jump shot is ineffective?

[JazzMan]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Because why not step out a little deeper, away from the defender, to get an extra point on a three point shot?

Defenders are more likely to contest a midrange jumper than a three-point jumper, anyway.

[The 24th Letter]

The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

It's the least efficient shot in basketball, it's also the mosh easily defensible as far as contesting...

With that being said when you have a Dirk, Durant who can create and hit them at a high clip it makes your offense that much harder to stop...and a big part of why aging players like Pierce and Kobe can still get to the cup..

One thing I do like about the game that has changed over the last couple of years is the decreased use of the heavily contested mid range jumper....hated seeing that shot...

[ojandpizza]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

I think a number of things contribute to it..

First of all rebounding. A three pointer forces long rebounds, which yields a much higher probability that a missed 3 will reward with an extra possession, while a made 3 will result in more points than a made mid-range... On the flip side, a close two point shot is much easier to make than a mid-range two point shot. Also causes the defense to collapse and be out of position to box out. Again often times resulting in second chance points or at least tip-outs...

Another thing is the zone defenses. A typical NBA big man can defend most free-throw line area shots from under the basket with their length and athleticism. Since they can stay within arms length of their man at all times they can basically stand in the lane and challenge jumpers. It's always a threat to have your shot blocked even if you have your man beat off the dribble.

Another thing is I feel that defenses try to force that shot, and smarter players won't take it. Most of the time you hear people say "so and so can't shoot" just give them that shot. I'll use guys like Rondo and LeBron for example. Those guys can shoot, they can hit an open mid-range jumper just as any other player can. But doing so deviates from the offense they are trying to run. Rondo might be a bad example lol.

Look at LeBron in the playoffs. He refused to take the open look. Why because it takes away from his drive and kick game, it doesn't make the defense work at all, no pressure on the defense. A quick pull-up is not effective playoff offense. His job as primary scorer and distributed is to get either himself or his teammates the best looks possible.. Can he hit that shot? Sure he's beaten teams the past two seasons in the playoffs with it, and put SA away with a few in the 4th in the last game 7.. But choosing not to take them puts his team in a better position to be more effective.. He takes and usually makes them when it's necessary. But taking that shot goes away from their game plan and let's SA dictate Miami's offense.

Take a good shooter and he'll do the same. Steve Nash is a great pull-up shooter. Routinely hitting those mid range jumpers in his Phoenix days.. But he didn't take them just because he got a look.. He only took the shots he wanted to take. Hell he would dribble circles around the defense until it was a look HE wanted...

Point is, you have to dictate the offense and flow to be effective and in control. Don't let the defense dictate what you do...

There are guys who will take a shot any time there is space. Guys like Kobe and Melo. Buts that's also the reason why they will either shoot their teams to wins or losses.

[Dice]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

I think a number of things contribute to it..

First of all rebounding. A three pointer forces long rebounds, which yields a much higher probability that a missed 3 will reward with an extra possession, while a made 3 will result in more points than a made mid-range... On the flip side, a close two point shot is much easier to make than a mid-range two point shot. Also causes the defense to collapse and be out of position to box out. Again often times resulting in second chance points or at least tip-outs...

Another thing is the zone defenses. A typical NBA big man can defend most free-throw line area shots from under the basket with their length and athleticism. Since they can stay within arms length of their man at all times they can basically stand in the lane and challenge jumpers. It's always a threat to have your shot blocked even if you have your man beat off the dribble.

Another thing is I feel that defenses try to force that shot, and smarter players won't take it. Most of the time you hear people say "so and so can't shoot" just give them that shot. I'll use guys like Rondo and LeBron for example. Those guys can shoot, they can hit an open mid-range jumper just as any other player can. But doing so deviates from the offense they are trying to run. Rondo might be a bad example lol.

Look at LeBron in the playoffs. He refused to take the open look. Why because it takes away from his drive and kick game, it doesn't make the defense work at all, no pressure on the defense. A quick pull-up is not effective playoff offense. His job as primary scorer and distributed is to get either himself or his teammates the best looks possible.. Can he hit that shot? Sure he's beaten teams the past two seasons in the playoffs with it, and put SA away with a few in the 4th in the last game 7.. But choosing not to take them puts his team in a better position to be more effective.. He takes and usually makes them when it's necessary. But taking that shot goes away from their game plan and let's SA dictate Miami's offense.

Take a good shooter and he'll do the same. Steve Nash is a great pull-up shooter. Routinely hitting those mid range jumpers in his Phoenix days.. But he didn't take them just because he got a look.. He only took the shots he wanted to take. Hell he would dribble circles around the defense until it was a look HE wanted...

Point is, you have to dictate the offense and flow to be effective and in control. Don't let the defense dictate what you do...

There are guys who will take a shot any time there is space. Guys like Kobe and Melo. Buts that's also the reason why they will either shoot their teams to wins or losses.

Excellent points. Your last point of guys like Kobe and Melo being players that take the shot when there is space. How does Michael Jordan factor into that? Was he also the type of guy that shot his team to wins and losses as well? Considering(at least from my opinion) he's the best mid-range shooter I've seen play.

[AlexBrady]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Players don't get the necessary four years of college experience anymore. So this is one of the fundamental aspects of the game that's been lost over time along with boxing out.

Hal Greer, Lou Hudson, Jerry West, Sam Jones, Bill Sharman, and many more used to be able to dribble at full speed and instantaneously pull up for mid-range jumpers.

The problem with 'talking numbers' to your players is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. If they get forced into the mid-range areas, they sub-consciously believe they will miss.

[ojandpizza]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Excellent points. Your last point of guys like Kobe and Melo being players that take the shot when there is space. How does Michael Jordan factor into that? Was he also the type of guy that shot his team to wins and losses as well? Considering(at least from my opinion) he's the best mid-range shooter I've seen play.

I agree with you on that. I think he's the best I've witnessed as well. Especially when you factor in all the different ways he could hit it. Off the dribble, off a couple jab fakes, fade-a-ways, post ups, moving without the ball.. Etc etc.. He was the ultimate mid range weapon... Well, pretty much the ultimate everything haha..

I think I would consider him one of those guys who would take the shot anytime he had the space. When you're as good of a scorer as he and even Kobe, more times than not you shoot your team to the wins not the losses..

But then again I don't think in Jordan and Kobe's case it's always just taking what the defense gives them. I think a lot of times that's the midrange look they wanted anyways. Jordan was just so good at making the defense think he wanted something else.

Plus Jordan was good at finding other ways to score when he was off. Very good at drawing the foul and getting his points at the line or using free throws to find his rhythm.. Not many times would you see him just keep throwing up shots on an off night.. Which was rare for him to have anyways lol

[Dice]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Players don't get the necessary four years of college experience anymore. So this is one of the fundamental aspects of the game that's been lost over time along with boxing out.

The lack of the mid-range game is even worse is college because of the short three point line. I know they extended it but ever since college implemented the 3 pt line, to me it immediately died.

[Dice]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Plus Jordan was good at finding other ways to score when he was off. Very good at drawing the foul and getting his points at the line or using free throws to find his rhythm.. Not many times would you see him just keep throwing up shots on an off night.. Which was rare for him to have anyways lol

There was two times I saw Jordan throw up shots on an off night.

The first time was his first game back after the first retirement in 1995. Jordan went 7-28 against the Pacers that game and you could tell that rust was there. I'd like to give him a pass on that one since he didn't play competitive ball in over a year. But he should have known that even though he's Michael Jordan, stepping on the court after a years absence is not gonna be the same.

The second time I saw Jordan 'gunning' when he was off was Game 7 of the 1998 ECF against the Pacers. That was probably the first noticeable time I thought Jordan almost lost the game for them. I also had this funny feeling that he was also trying to freeze out Toni Kukoc in that game since he was the hot hand. But I'm not too much into conspiracy theories so I digress.

[DamnYanks2]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Should be titled The Mid range- jumpshot: the least effective shot for Eric Bledsoe.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Hal Greer, Lou Hudson, Jerry West, Sam Jones, Bill Sharman, and many more used to be able to dribble at full speed and instantaneously pull up for mid-range jumpers..

Including on breaks when they had numbers on their side...

Do you actually find this to be fundamental?

or is it fundamental for the fact these players of old did it?

[ehh]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Including on breaks when they had numbers on their side...

Do you actually find this to be fundamental?

or is it fundamental for the fact these players of old did it?

Well it is technically fundamental for 3-on-2 situations. For 2-on-1's you generally want the ball handler going all the way to the rim if the D reacts towards the other offensive player in transition.

All the drills you do in practice that relate the 3-on-2 the ball handler is taught to stop at the FT line and make a decision. If the D sags off you pull up for the J. If a guy filling the lane is left open you make the pass. The last thing you want in a numbers situation is the ball handler to dribble into the lane where there's 2 defenders and 2 teammates filling the lane. Hell, I don't even know if it's still taught that way, but that's the way it was for every coach/camp/drill I did growing up.


The mid-range jumper is becoming a pretty interesting subject. On one hand it makes complete sense that it's the least efficient shot in basketball. There really is no debate there IMO.

But at the same time may also be the most important shot in basketball because you aren't winning a title without an effective mid-range scoring threat. Great defenses will certainly shut down the paint and driving lanes in the playoffs and most will also do a good job of limiting three point looks. That leaves post ups (which have been a giant LOL in the NBA for over a decade) and mid-range stuff.

It's pretty clear that players and teams (in the US at least) have been phasing out the mid-range game for the last decade. Reckless drives to the hoop and an enormous increase in charging fouls make it pretty obvious. It's funny, not NBA related, but three years ago Kemba Walker carried UConn to a title because his mid-range game became absurd. He could always get to the rim with relative ease, then his 3PT shot became reliable so eventually teams focused on him so heavily that they'd pressure the ball to take away his 3PT shot and the whole team would collapse into the paint when he put the ball on the floor. That left the mid-range game to become his bread and butter and he killed teams there in March/April 2011

MJ dominated the latter part of his career, granted it was a different NBA then, from the mid-range. Dirk killed Miami in 2011 with his mid-range game for a ring. Hell, you can argue it's the least efficient but most impossible aspect of offense to defend. Paul Pierce has lived there is whole career with his old man game.

Guys like Kobe and Melo settle for it too often because their shot selection has always been suspect and they've always forced shots. Those two must lead the league the last decade in forced two-point jumpers. Melo also barrels his way into traffic trying to get to the rim far too often. So moral of that story, Melo - like Kobe - could use better shot selection, not just in the mid-range. It speaks more to their shot selection as a whole than the efficiency of the mid-range jumper itself.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Good post ehh, I actually mistyped there, I meant I say didn't have numbers on their side....I saw this often watching 60's-80's ball..also the corkscrew chest to chest mid range jumper that was prominent especially in the '60's-70's..

I guess I am just saying that I am glad the game evolved past that...

[AlexBrady]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

Good post ehh, I actually mistyped there, I meant I say didn't have numbers on their side....I saw this often watching 60's-80's ball..also the corkscrew chest to chest mid range jumper that was prominent especially in the '60's-70's..

I guess I am just saying that I am glad the game evolved past that...

What do you mean by that?

[23]

Re: The Mid-range jumpshot: The least effective shot in the NBA

This statement means nothing without acknowledging lack of fundamentals and a ton of rule changes to proceed it.

Its just crazy how parts of the game are all of a sudden treated like its a bad thing alhough the game itself has changed and not necessarily for the better.