Surviving By The Lost Art

[Marcos_Beck]

[center]SURVIVING BY THE LOST ART[/center][/color]

The most important mid-range shot ever, performed by the greatest of all time.

CHICAGO, IL: Let me ask you a question. Think about it and answer honestly before continuing to read that article: what's in your opinion the worst shot in basketball? Can you build an effective offense around it?

If you answered "mid-range", think again.
At least, that's what the 2016-2017 Chicago Bulls are teaching us.

Look at this numbers:

CHICAGO BULLS 2016-2017 STATISTICS
POINTS PER GAME	112,8	2nd
ASSISTS PER GAME	22,1	5th
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE	.484%	4th
TURNOVERS PER GAME	11,5	1st
THREE POINT PERCENTAGE	.341%	26th

How in the world an offense that shoots a mere 34% from deep, arguably the most important shot in basketball today because of the space it creates and the extra point it's worth, produces the 2nd best point per game average in the league, and is ranked 4th overall in field goal percentage? Why aren't teams able to punish Chicago for zoning them as hard as possible?
So many questions arise, and there's only one answer to all of them:
The lost art.
Yes, the mid-range game is carrying Chicago's offense all the way to greatness. By zoning them, teams are exposing heart of their defense, and Chicago's players have taken full advantage of it, knocking down jumper after jumper after jumper and making defenses pay for leaving them wide open.

More numbers, this time from Chicago's starting lineup (Rose / Harris / Green / Horford / Noah):

PLAYER	INSIDE	MID	THREE
Derrick Rose	118 - 216 (54,6%)	49 - 120 (40,8%)	16 - 47 (34,0%)
Gary Harris	46 - 80 (57,5%)	34 - 74 (45,9%)	8 - 22 (36,4%)
Danny Green	26 - 45 (57,8%)	23 - 55 (41,8%)	18 - 47 (38,3%)
Al Horford	163 - 270 (60,4%)	12 - 28 (42,9%)	0 - 1 (0,0%)
Joakim Noah	50 - 112 (44,6%)	5 - 23 (21,7%)	0 - 1 (0,0%)
TOTALS	403 - 723 (56,7%)	123 - 300 (41,0%)	42 - 118 (35,6%)

The 41% percentage on jumpers alone is great, but it becomes even greater when you take Noah out of the equation. Suddenly, this number jumps to an outstanding 42,5%, which is more efficient than 3 of CSLs franchises' shooting percentages (including the high percentage inside looks). But, as an effect of the dribble drive, most of Chicago's jumpers have come in a contested way, as they force they way to the basket, gets their drive stopped and pull up from 16 feet and beyond. Considering the degree of difficulty, the level of efficiency that the Bulls are getting from their mid-range looks is quite impressive:

"That's something we were working to improve last season. We finished 1st overall in 3 point percentage, yet we were at the bottom when it comes to long range attempts. Also, our jumpers, which accounted for way more shots than our threes, the mid-range percentage wasn't quite there where we wanted it to be. So, we had a lot of spacing to operate, yet we couldn't hit the most important shot when it comes to playing the dribble drive system. This year, we thought different. Instead of searching for three point specialists, we bought in guys who could put the ball on the floor, drive to the basket and stop at the 15-18 feet range to pull up for a J. This, along with our big man's great passing, allows us to go for handoffs followed by picks on the perimeter, instead of having to rely solely on Derrick breaking down the defense with his penetration.
So far, not only the field goal percentages are great, but we're also the 5th best assisting team in the league, and the very best at taking care of the ball, which was a huge deficit of our team last season, too." said coach Tom Thibodeau, who brought the idea of creating and connecting more attempts from 10 to 20 feet to GM Marcos Beck.

"We're loving it so far. The way our starting lineup has been able to create space, having a great mid-range game has allowed them to generate even more inside looks. We already know how efficient Derrick can be when he's into the lane, his arsenal of floaters, runners, reverse and double clutch layups, that's second nature for him, as well for Horford with his power, skill and array of post moves. I'm very happy that Tom and the players have bought into that system and it's working quite well right now. Took us a while to understand how to play offense that way, but over the last 4 games we've scored 121 a game while facing every kind of defense. We're not where we want to be yet, but this series of wins give us confidence to keep following that direction." said Beck.




"You know, a free flowing offense also helps our defense. We're not relying on individual basketball anymore, instead we're running lots of off ball screens, players and ball are moving fluidly. When all of your 5 players are moving off the ball, are touching the ball, are moving the ball, all of them becomes threads to score, and it makes offense so much easier. It's no secret that we have 4 guys averaging more than 3.5 assists per game, nobody dominates the ball for us. This lets us spend more energy on D, forcing turnovers, playing intense defense, trying to push the pace when we steal the ball. I like the way we're defending right now and a lot is because of our offense." said Joakim Noah, team's captain and heart and soul of Chicago's defense.

Statistics prove that Noah is right. The Bulls rank 11th in OPPG, but more importantly, 7th in OFG% (4th overall in blocked shots has helped their case, as their interior defense continues to dictate their flow at the least glamorous side of the game). They also rank 8th in forced turnovers per game, and 14th in steals per game, once a big-time liability for them.

"In the end, we're still who we were. A tough nosed, blue collar team, who can rebound and defend with the best of them. But this time we've been able to create a super efficient offense. It's no secret that we're #3 in points differential this season. We hope to keep it going." said Thibodeau.

If Chicago can maintain this level of offense playing for defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau, the rest of the league better watch out.

Side-note: Beck also addressed the media on possible roster changes, saying that "they're very happy with the current core, even if the media releases all kind of rumors related to their players". He even said that he received a very good offer for Gary Harris, but rejected it before even starting conversations:
"My guys are going nowhere", he ended.

[blackice]

First off the depth you go into here is amazing man. Great work.

So essentially the case you make it a valid one but it only works if you have:

1. Inside scoring at a high % (which you do)
2. High DRFL (which you do)

You also have "enough" on the outside, not necessarily high volume 3 point shooters but enough of a threat from the outside that it helps mitigate zone defenses. On top of that you have Rose who can beat you from anywhere on the court and is shooting a respectable number from 3. I'm looking forward to continued success and in my eyes the East is much better this year.

[NanashiWake]

Good read, to me you guys have lived up to expectations, alongside Detroit. I'd say the Pelicans may have some noticeable weaknesses, however I see none with this team.

[Chilikonkarne]

"My guys are going nowhere"
Really?

Really cool article man with good research behind. These articles may not be the most sexy because long and detailed but they are the real added value

[Marcos_Beck]

"My guys are going nowhere"
Really?

Really cool article man with good research behind. These articles may not be the most sexy because long and detailed but they are the real added value

Always need to stand besides your players so we refute any kind of trade talks

[Dennis]

Great article, good read.

[bt]

You read that though and wonder how much better the Bulls might be if they had an outside shot better than 26th ranked. Not saying they would be but be interesting to see if the mid range was lower, outside higher, would they end up better.

[WillyJakkz]

Very in depth article and very good diagnosis of your team philosophy etc.

I look forward to playing you guys to see how we matchup with you.