The NBA’s More Shots Than Points Club

Dec 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) reacts during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) reacts during the second half against the Phoenix Suns at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /
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There are a lot of prestigious, distinct and memorable accolades in the NBA, however, taking more shots in a season than you score points is not one of them.

There are a few reasons a name pops up on this list, if we’re being honest there are two real possibilities. Firstly, the player is a rookie or young player with heavy usage on a bad team, this is sometimes forgivable if not understandable. Secondly, the player is lost at sea, rowing without a paddle against the swell. In simpler terms, these guys are chucking to no avail.

Thanks to basketball-reference we can take a look at the top 20 shooters who have been missing their mark.

TotalsShooting
RkPlayerSeasonAgeTmLgGGSMPFGFGA ▾2P2PA3P3PAFTFTAPTSFG%TS%
1Derrick Rose2015-1627CHINBA272788416041414434916655272388.386.435
2D’Angelo Russell2015-1619LALNBA3522965160406108241521653348405.394.474
3Joe Johnson2015-1634BRKNBA3434118214138898248431405265377.363.452
4Emmanuel Mudiay2015-1619DENNBA2323669912937322018734566245.311.380
5Stanley Johnson2015-1619DETNBA3507611092897919730923243280.377.455
6Danny Green2015-1628SASNBA36369289626345104511591619259.365.477
7Markieff Morris2015-1626PHONBA2316538982578120617512840241.381.439
8Nik Stauskas2015-1622PHINBA3414788862453990471552335242.351.465
9Randy Foye2015-1632DENNBA3577288123746114351233034227.342.450
10Tony Allen2015-1634MEMNBA312469578196721776192141183.398.427
11Charlie Villanueva2015-1631DALNBA3113657819151902710189191.408.490
12Lavoy Allen2015-1626INDNBA33127078217582175001018174.469.476
13Jerian Grant2015-1623NYKNBA32051757162521245384149160.352.436
14Marreese Speights2015-1628GSWNBA2802975815757148193545152.369.430
15Norris Cole2015-1627NOPNBA16137957150481089421421137.380.430
16Joakim Noah2015-1630CHINBA2515584611346112012143113.407.428
17Trey Lyles2015-1620UTANBA31174664311035908201419108.391.456
18Tayshaun Prince2015-1635MINNBA352472150107499819611107.467.478
19Kevin Seraphin2015-1626NYKNBA240267421074210601111595.393.418
20Sasha Vujacic2015-1631NYKNBA23831526931747946101371.280.360

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/5/2016.

We’re far off from calling this list complete, some guys will work their way off, others will flop their way in one brick at a time. But one thing is certain — the guys on the upper half of this list are missing their mark on a consistent basis.

Take Derrick Rose for instance, his numbers this season have been atrocious. The Chicago Bulls are now 4-1 without him, the one loss accrued came against the juggernaut Golden State Warriors squad. Rose has always had shoddy shot selection, he has never excelled as a jump shooter or outside threat, but he isn’t making his money at the rim anymore either. He’s converting less than 30 percent of his attempts at the rim and can’t seem to figure it out.

The Bulls as a whole are playing good basketball, and if Rose was a role player going through a slump it’d be hardly noticeable, but he isn’t. In fact, Rose leads all Bulls starters in usage. A man shooting this poorly shouldn’t be running your offense.

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Three of the next five guys on this list are rookies, so we will cut them some slack. D’Angelo Russell has seen a significant rise in play since moving to the second unit and he is very close to being off this list. That being said, he has a long way to go as the number two overall pick this past draft.

Stanley Johnson is having an up-and-down maiden voyage in the NBA. Moments of brilliance do appear, but in sincerity, his overall play has been far from stellar. The Detroit Pistons are 7.2 points per 100 possessions better offensively with him on the bench. A telling and ugly statistic, but again, he is a rookie.

Emmanuel Mudiay is the player that should have you most worried. He has been turned loose in Denver, and very few rookies should be let off the leash this early. Mudiay is shooting at a putrid rate — no hyperbole — and on top of it he’s turning it over more than the Pillsbury doughboy. Don’t be completely disheartened, NBA legends Allen Iverson and Isiah Thomas had similar rookie seasons in terms of shooting and turning the rock over. Keep your eye on the young man in Denver as he continues to drive the Denver Nuggets one way or the other on a nightly basis.

For the rookies, the reality is there’s a learning period, some growing pains, but for the veterans, I’m of the mindset that it’s time to shape up or ship out. Joe Johnson, for example, is in his 15th season. Johnson isn’t going to improve his stroke, and he isn’t going to all of a sudden find a treasure trove of open looks playing on a lottery team. Johnson leads all Brooklyn Nets in minutes this season, those minutes may be better spent elsewhere at this point.

More hoops habit: 25 Worst Individual Seasons In NBA History

We are 30 something games into the season depending on which team we’re looking into, and the jury is still out. Markieff Morris, Joakim Noah, Norris Cole and many others further down this list are too talented to stay on here all year long. When the dust settles, the buzzer sounds and we look back on the 2015-16 season, I can assure you, no player wants to be part of the ‘more shots than points club’.