Hot and cold
Isaiah Canaan rules from the perimeter. Some games he literally takes over, as he begins a barrage of three pointers which add up rather quickly on the scoreboard. But Isaiah Canaan is a volume shooter who has developed an amazing knack for scoring difficult shots during and after contact. On other occasions, the pilot light is extinguished and the fan base is carried down the path of observing a volume three point shooter miss shots in bunches. It’s not something he can remedy by closing in on the basket to make the shot. He doesn’t shoot well from within the three point line.
In fact he has developed better accuracy at the perimeter than within the arc. To see what I mean, I’ve included a shot chart from the folks at NBAsavant.com, and looked up Isaiah Canaan’s results here. The temperature graph tells the story. Basically, Canaan has two shots – the layup at the basket, and a perimeter shot from anywhere beyond the arc – but ideally from deep at the left corner. We’ll talk about that particular shot on the next slide.
It’s that shot chart that pretty much tells the story. Canaan is not a jumper, fade away, nor mid range guy. As a point guard, the other team can challenge him away from the basket and take away that three pointer. When that happens, he struggles to find an outlet, time runs out, and the only option remaining is a poor shot selection or turning the ball over.
Not much of an option after all, is it?
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