NBA PM: What About Shumpert’s Shot?
So Iman Shumpert can’t shoot, right? The Knicks first-round pick hit only 40.6% of his field goals in his final collegiate season, and even though he made over 80% of his free throws, Shumpert’s 27.8% mark from 3-point range seems to be a sticking point for most local fans.
Outgoing Knicks president Donnie Walsh defended his final decision with the team, not just by citing Shumpert’s playmaking ability, defensive prowess or size (he is a 6-6 point guard after all), but by pointing to his perceived weakness: shooting.
“He shot the ball extremely well,” Walsh told ESPN.com’s Chris Sheridan of Shumpert’s workout with the Knicks. “Some guys you see, and you can tell right away they can’t shoot and they’re going to have to learn form. He has good form, he was hitting shots.”
There is a rather convincing argument that the Knicks can insulate themselves from Shumpert’s shooting woes.
First, he won’t be taking 14.1 shots per game, as he did in his final season at Georgia Tech. Even if he does average more than 20 MPG as a rookie, Shumpert has to defer to Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, Chauncey Billups, Toney Douglas and possibly even Shawne Williams (if he returns) and Landry Fields on the offensive end.
Furthermore, the Knicks aren’t hurting for shooters. Douglas made 38.9% of his 3-point attempts last season—which happens to be the same mark Billups has for his entire career—and Williams ranked among the best in the NBA by hitting 42.9% of his shots from beyond the arc.
In fact, Williams hit only 31.2% of his 3-pointers in his only collegiate season at Memphis and never really established himself as a perimeter shooter until he played alongside Stoudemire. Fields, likewise, made only 33.7% of his 3-pointers as a senior at Stanford, but made 39.3% as an NBA rookie. It’s not a stretch to assume Shumpert’s 3-point percentage could improve in the NBA given the certainty that opposing defenses will be drawn to the Knicks’ All-Stars.
So if you’re concerned about Shumpert’s shooting, just remember that the only threes he’ll probably be taking will be wide open. And as far as perceived weaknesses go, Shumpert’s really aren’t such a big deal when considering his perceived strengths.
The most-intriguing aspect of this new addition is how he’ll fit with Douglas—a 6-2 combo guard that excels at defending point guards but struggles to create for others offensively. If this pair comes off the bench together—a big “if” considering Fields struggled toward the end of the year and could be in danger of losing his starting spot—Shumpert could play the point on offense while defending shooting guards on defense.
The reason two distinct camps are forming over Shumpert’s potential goes back to the seemingly endless debate: production vs. athletic ability.
There’s no denying that Shumpert’s collegiate career is at odds with his performance at Chicago’s pre-draft camp. Until that workout, Shumpert was simply the best player on a 13-18 team. In fact, Georgia Tech was a sub-.500 team for two of Shumpert’s three seasons.
The only time the Yellow Jackets enjoyed any success during Shumpert’s tenure occurred during his sophomore season, but that all came to an end with a nine-point loss to second-seeded Ohio State in the NCAA tournament. Shumpert played all but one minute, in what turned out to be the biggest game of his amateur career, and scored just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting. He did have eight boards and four steals in the game, but that’s of little consolation to Knicks fans who were hoping to add an impact player in this year’s draft.
Shumert’s final game didn’t go much better. Georgia Tech lost to Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament back on March 10 as Shumpert made only four of 14 shots to finish with 12 points. Again, Shumpert had four steals in that game as well, but some would argue that he was cementing himself as an all-promise, no-production player.
Everything changed when Shumpert got to Chicago.
He jumped 36.5 inches in the air flat footed before running and registering a maximum vertical of 42 inches. Shumpert weighed in at 222 pounds (only 6.5% body fat), and stretched his arms six feet, ten inches apart. He even completed 18 bench press repetitions, which bodes well for him maintaining his 5.9 RPG average from his final year in college.
And, as Walsh said, he shot well when the Knicks worked him out. Maybe that won’t calm all the fears of New York fans—many of who would have preferred more-proven commodity like Chris Singleton—but how many of them drafted Reggie Miller? If Donnie Walsh is telling us the guy has a nice stroke, maybe we should believe him.
{AUTHOR_BOX}Disappointing NBA Draft? Not From a Ratings Standpoint
ESPN pulled in a 2.5 overnight rating, which is the highest the NBA Draft has received since 2007—the year Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were the first and second picks respectively.
This year’s draft received a nine percent boost from last year.
The top markets were as follows: Cleveland (5.6 local rating), Salt Lake City (5.0), San Antonio and Indianapolis (4.6 each) and Chicago (3.9).
Mount Mutombo, Line 1
Bismack Biyombo received the honor of becoming a Charlotte Bobcat Thursday night, but that’s not the only reason he was beaming.
It turns out the Congolese big man took a phone call from the region’s most-identifiable basketball player.
“He said that I just have to enjoy the day because it happens just one time in your life,” Biyombo told NBA.com’s Kevin Scheitrum about his phone call from Dikembe Mutombo.
“[The call] meant a lot,” former Temple and 76ers center, as well as Biyombo’s former teammate in Spain, Marc Jackson told NBA.com. “Let’s just think: Two months ago, nobody had heard of this kid… In a matter of two weeks, he’s blown up, and the world has seen him. This is icing on the cake for him.
“But just getting a phone call from Dikembe—this is a hero,” Jackson added. “In America we hear so much about Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Jim Brown. To him—to them—Dikembe was so much more than those athletes were to us Americans.”
Mutombo told Biyombo that they will speak again, according to Scheitrum, but surely nothing will replace the thrill of hearing that distinctive voice on the other end of the phone for the first time.
“It’s just incredible to be here,” Biyombo said. “You’ve been draming about being here. You’ve been working every day, and I think this is the right time I should be here.”
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