Brooklyn Nets: 2017-18 player grades for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

Weaknesses

While being able to run the offense is a strength of Rondae’s, it is also one of the few ways to utilize him on offense, because his fatal flaw is his deficiency as a shooter. He shot a measly 24.1 percent from 3 this season. This makes him very difficult to use offensively, because his defender can just camp out in the post and almost act as a rover.

On the bright side, RHJ’s free throw shooting has improved each of his three seasons as a Net. He increased from 71.5 percent to 75.2 percent in 2016-17, and then up to 78.8 in 2017-18. Free throw shooting is often a better indicator of shooting capabilities than actual 3-point percentage, which bodes well for Rondae’s future.

Unfortunately, the improvement has not exhibited itself in his field goal efficiency; his effective field goal percentage (which takes into account that 3s are more valuable than 2s) is still under 50 percent at 48.1.

This clogs up the lane for drives and pick-and-rolls, both of which are inherently valuable to coach Kenny Atkinson’s scheme. As a result, Hollis-Jefferson’s only useful roles on offense are either as a playmaker, which has its complications when the defender packs the paint and clogs passing lanes, or as the nominal 5, which is nearly impossible unless his minutes are staggered against Jarrett Allen‘s.

Shooting is becoming increasingly more valuable in the modern NBA, and RHJ must improve at it to be anything more than a defensive specialist. Even then, he will not be useful unless lined up around four shooters as a small-ball 5, which is fun in theory, but difficult to implement given that he is only 6’7″ and not built like Draymond Green.