Philadelphia 76ers Must Improve Shooting Accuracy

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Apr 5, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Carl Landry (7) reacts after his off balance shot scores against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Philadelphia 76ers won 107-93. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Shot Selection

In shot selection, the Philadelphia 76ers were incredibly challenged in the 2015-2016 season. As we had discussed, the 76ers offense was very handicapped early in the year, with barely sufficient numbers of healthy players available to compete early in the season.

But this added complexity to the shot selection process. Complexity in that the offense ran with simple basic schemes, which made shot selection all the more difficult. The shooters who had the most success played at or near the post, where the shot depends upon the physicality of the player, and the timing of the pass for the alley oop dunk.

It’s no wonder that the top four shooters for the team were playing at or near the post: power forward Carl Landry (55.6 percent accurate), center/power forward Nerlens Noel (52.1 percent), power forward Richaun Holmes (51.4 percent) and center power forward Jahlil Okafor (50.8 percent).

With the exception of part time point guard T.J. McConnell (47 percent), the remainder of the team shot below the team average.

Shot selection for the Philadelphia 76ers was challenging for the team last year, because the team had few players who could make their own shots. Far too much of the offense was dependant upon the team finding the right man at the right time. Even after point guard Ish Smith showed up on the roster, the team struggled to get a man open in clutch time, forcing Smith to keep the ball and attempt to score himself. That problem should rectify this year, as the team’s offense will center on Ben Simmons.

Simmons has already demonstrated pin point instant passing in the midst of traffic in summer league, and it’s expected he will shoulder a similar hoist to the offense of the full team this season. With the ball in his hands, he will be responsible for getting the ball to the best percentage shot on the court. Since he also happens to have a great basketball IQ, that will happen with far more frequency.

Next: Shooters