Portland Trail Blazers: 5 goals for Noah Vonleh in 2017-18

4. Shoot 43 percent from mid-range on 1.5 attempts per game

Noah Vonleh brings a lot of energy and rebounding to the festivities when he steps on the floor. However, he also possesses a jump shot that he occasionally uses.

Last season, Vonleh shot a career-high 40.5 percent from 10 feet out and further. But he did it on 36 fewer attempts than his 110 total shots in 2015-16. Since he played 74 games in 2016-17, Vonleh averaged exactly one shot per game from beyond 10 feet.

Vonleh took 60.8 percent of his shots from within 10 feet in 2015-16. That jumped to 72.6 percent in 2016-17. It seemed that either head coach Terry Stotts (or Vonleh himself) wanted his offensive game to gravitate closer to the basket.

However, allowing Vonleh to consistently shoot outside of the restricted area will keep his game diverse and leave opponents guessing. Almost every other big man on the team possesses a jump shot. Nurkic will be taking up the paint as the starting center, so having Vonleh as a viable option in a high-post or 4-out situation would be valuable.

Vonleh doesn’t have to be a sharpshooter. But shooting well and frequently enough from mid-range helps him and puts another wrinkle in the Trail Blazers’ offense.