The phrase numbers never lie is used a lot when referring to basketball statistics, but is this always the case? Whenever I see a player that scores 25-plus points in a game, the first thought that pops into my head is “Wow, that player had a great game, but how many shots did he have to throw up to get those points?” There are guys notorious in the NBA for being prolific scorers, but with a shooting percentage in the mid 30s. These players aren’t exactly what we would call efficient.
Whenever Kevin Durant has a 30-plus point game, it usually comes at a high shooting percentage. For example, on November 8 against Detroit, Durant scored 37 points in 44 minutes of action. Durant went 9-for-15 from the field (60 percent) and 2-for-3 from three-point land (67 percent). He also totaled eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
But then we have players like Rudy Gay, who had a stat line of 29 points, 10 rebounds and four steals on November 11 against the Rockets. Gay had a respectable stat line without a doubt, but all that recognition goes out the window when you dwell a little deeper into the statistics and see that he took 37 shots to amass 29 points.
After seeing both of those performances, it made me question: How many players actually getting quality minutes this season already have more shots than points? [Eds. note: There were other players — like New York’s Tim Hardaway Jr. — who could’ve made this list. But we’re sticking with these five as the numbers from these talented guys genuinely shocked us.]
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JRUE HOLIDAY
111 shots for 105 points
As a Sixers fan, I have a soft spot in my heart for Jrue Holiday, but unfortunately he finds his name on this list. Holiday hasn’t had a game where he’s made over 10 shots this season and finds himself shooting 37 percent this season. I’m not sure if Holiday’s trying to get accustomed to a new situation in New Orleans with all his new teammates, but he’s certainly pressing.
One of his ugliest performances came in his most recent game, a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last night. Holiday had a total of seven points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field for a whopping 18.2 field goal percentage. His worst outing of this season came on November 5 against the lottery-bound Phoenix Suns, where he shot 1-for-7 from the field (14.3 percent) for a total of three points in 25 minutes. Jrue Holiday was an All-Star last year, so seeing these poor percentages from him is surprising, especially since he’s crept into the top NBA point guard conversation in the past year or so. It’s especially disappointing when two of his worst performances are against teams that are expected to be basement dwellers this season.
This is the only season in his NBA career that he’s had more shots than points so far. As an All-Star point guard, you want to be in the conversation with the Chris Paul, not the Brandon Jennings. Unfortunately for Holiday, he’s creeping into the later with his struggling shooting to begin this season.
RUDY GAY
160 shots for 154 points
Well, what a surprise, so nice of you to join us, Rudy! Unlike the famous football movie, usually people are screaming Rudy during the course of a game for a bad reason. Rudy Gay is notorious for throwing a bunch of shots up while scoring a large amount of points, so his spot on this list should have been reserved. Rudy Gay has had only two performances where he has made over 10 shots in a game, but he has a 30-point performance and two 20-plus point performances under his belt already this season.
Already discussed was his most recent outing in a loss to Houston, where he scored 29 points on an absurd 37 shots. Gay also had a three-game skid where he didn’t shoot over 30 percent from the field while going 6-for-23 (14 points), 4-for-14 (18 points) and 3-for-10 (13 points) respectively. Gay is shooting a career-low 35 percent from the field this season, which is a relative surprise because a lot of journalists expected Gay to have a great shooting season because of his offseason eye surgery. Something seems off because 160 shots for 154 points isn’t even in the basement department of efficiency.
TYREKE EVANS
81 shots for 62 points
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It seems like forever ago that Tyreke Evans joined Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and LeBron James as the only players to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists during their rookie campaign. The former Rookie of the Year is shooting 32 percent from the field and has a 14 percent accuracy from deep that even has Dwight Howard wondering if he can shoot the trey ball better than Evans. Tyreke Evans was thought to be a huge FA signing by the new-look New Orleans Pelicans, but he’s been nothing as advertised. The Kings may actually look smart for once by letting Evans walk.
Evans has had two performances this season where he has made zero shots. The first game was on November 1 against Orlando, where Evans shot 0-for-7 for a total of… zero points. The second game was on November 10 where Evans shot 0-for-3 for, you guessed it, zero points. However, in both games Evans didn’t play over 20 minutes. In the Pelicans loss last night to the Lakers, Evans played a season-high 31 minutes. How did he fare? Evans shot 4-for-13 from the field (31 percent) for 11 points and a +/- of -21. Minutes or no minutes, Evans is consistently hoisting up more shots than points, which should be a concern for a Pelicans team that looks to become relevant again. Tyreke Evans shooting is making someone like Rudy Gay look efficient, which has to be a scary sight for New Orleans.
Keep reading to see which former MVP and high draft pick made the list…
DERRICK ROSE
96 shots for 88 points
The Return hasn’t taken off from the runway yet, much to the chagrin of Chicago. Derrick Rose’s return from his ACL tear is well documented and so are his struggles this season. Even if I give Rose a pass for his struggling opening act, I can’t exempt a former MVP from this list, injury or not. On October 29, the whole world watched as Derrick Rose played his first meaningful basketball game in over a year against the world champion Miami Heat. The world also watched Derrick Rose struggle mightily as he went 4-for-15 from the field (26.7 percent) and 1-for-7 from deep (14.3 percent), scoring 12 points. The five games since then haven’t been much better, as Rose has yet to shoot better than 40 percent in a game this season. Rose also has launched more than 20 shots in a game twice, but not making more than eight shots in either of those games. Rose is pressing, as everyone knows. I have to assume that this trend won’t continue to scale this way. However, right now Rose has taken 96 shots for only 88 points, which places the former MVP on this list.
ANTHONY BENNETT
21 shots for five points
The Cleveland Cavaliers shocked the world when they selected Anthony Bennett with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. But Anthony Bennett is shocking the Cavaliers right back with his horrendous play so far. Hell, I bet I could knock down more jumpers than Bennett has so far with half-decent looks. As if the Cavaliers don’t have enough issues already with a 3-5 record and all the baggage Andrew Bynum brings along, Bennett has made only ONE shot this season so far, while taking 21 of them. That lone shot was a three pointer in a game where he shot 1-for-5, which is actually his best shooting performance of the season so far.
I don’t like taking shots at Bennett, but being the No. 1 overall pick comes with this territory. Most people agreed that Bennett was a stretch as the No. 1 pick and he’s done nothing so far to disprove this notion. While Bennett still has a whole season to improve his .05 shooting percentage, the beginning has been one to forget. (And you can also add a sore right shoulder to the equation.) The only positive thing about shooting .05 from the field is that Bennett can literally only go up from here. He’s at the lowest point of his extremely short career, making any half-decent game look like the comeback story of the year for Bennett.
What do you think?
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