Portland Trail Blazers: 5 goals for Noah Vonleh in 2017-18
5. Shoot 60 percent at the rim
Noah Vonleh averaged 3.6 field goal attempts per game for the second consecutive season. Per Basketball Reference, he took 51.1 percent of his shots within three feet of the basket in 2016-17.
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However, the young forward struggled to complete those attempts, finishing just 56.1 percent of his shots at the rim. That was a 4.2 percent drop from 2015-16, and 7.0 less than the league average last year.
His lower percentage was sometimes the result of forcing a contested inside shot. Other times, it was a matter of not completing bunny layups. The goal for Vonleh should be to continue being aggressive, but tightening up his technique at the rim.
More pick-and-rolls could be the answer. According to NBA Math, Vonleh averaged 1.17 points per possession as the roll man. However, those accounted for only 10.6 percent of his scoring possessions.
Getting back to 60 percent is a good, round benchmark for a player in his age-22 season. From there, he can continue to climb toward the league average. His 2015-16 percentage is his career-high, so it’s much more plausible to beat his personal best this season.