Spurs Need Devin Vassell to Shoot More
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The San Antonio Spurs are in the trial-and-error process as a team. And while most of what they have found have been errors in a disappointing campaign in terms of record, some things have worked.
When it comes to third-year shooting guard Devin Vassell, the sample size hasn't been very big given his injuries, but ESPN's Zach Lowe has pointed out that his long two-point shot has been very effective for the Spurs.
"Vassell has hit only 21 of 75 pull-up 3s, but he's comfortable jacking 2s on the pick-and-roll," ESPN writes. "Vassell has tripled his pick-and-roll volume this season, per Second Spectrum. The Spurs have scored 1.05 points per possession when Vassell shoots after using a ball screen or whips it to a teammate who launches -- 46th among 207 players who have run at least 100 such plays, per Second Spectrum. Given San Antonio's ad hoc roster, that number is massively encouraging.
"Vassell is shooting 48% on long 2s. He's starting to understand the threat his pull-up poses -- how it worms its way into the minds of opposing defenders."
While there's this notion in basketball analytics circles that threes and lay-ups are the most effective shots, there's another school of thought that says a shooter's strengths should not be blanketed, but rather catered to every individual player. If Vassell makes these long two-pointers at an effective and high clip, better than the average NBA player, then those are the shots he should take.
This isn't to say that Vassell should stop shooting threes though.
He's shooting almost 40 percent from beyond the arc and shoots 44 percent on catch-and-shoot threes.
The Spurs are 7-7 when Vassell scores at least 22 points, which is pretty significant considering the team is 30 games below .500. But with all of the trial-and-error and figuring out which players work and don't work, it's pretty clear that there's something valuable in Vassell's game.
You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.
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