Posted by Rich:

Ensure me that Randolph is going to get in the best shape of his life, that he is going to expend as much effort on the defensive end as he does on the offensive end, that he is going to have no problem settling for less shots if that is what Isiah asks, that he is going to tell the bad influences in his life that he will see them after he retires, that the reason that he had microfracture surgery will never resurface.

Then maybe I will change my mind.

Posted by misterearl:

BlueSeats - do you think David Lee should be testing his leg in Summer League?

or should he wait until training camp?

Posted by Bonn1997:

Randolph is a slightly better shooter than Lee both his (Zach's) % is still too low from the outside for it to be a serious threat. Teams will double Eddy every time and practically beg Zach to take jump shots, knowing that he hits only 41% of them.

Posted by PresIke:

Posted by Bonn1997:

Randolph is a slightly better shooter than Lee both his (Zach's) % is still too low from the outside for it to be a serious threat. Teams will double Eddy every time and practically beg Zach to take jump shots, knowing that he hits only 41% of them.

You really don't stop with misrepresenting facts that contradict your beliefs do you? Is hard evidence not sufficient to change your mind? Not only did you completely disappear from this thread:

http://ultimateknicks.com/forum/topic.asp?t=22253&page=2

when I presented evidence demonstrating why your statement about Randolph's jump shooting FGe% is probably wrong, but now you continue to post the same misinformation in an entirely separate thread. I'm flabbergasted, seriously. Then to add to it all you then say Randolph is a "slightly better shooter than Lee." Ok, so I haven't tested the significance of the disparity between David Lee's jump shot FGe% (not the same as FG, as I stated repeatedly in the above linked thread) and Randolph's, but just at face value, and with a basic overview of the jump shooting FG efficiency percentage of most PF's in the NBA who are good shooters (which I listed in the other thread), we can see that Randolph is probably more than "slightly better," than Lee at shooting. Your statement, is again lacking factual basis but apparently comes from your own subjective take on how to analyze or read statistics, which seems to involve ignoring evidence you don't like (notice a theme?). A very minor example is also your repeated posting of Zach's outside shooting FGe% as 41% when .417 rounds up to 42%, or so said my 5th grade math teacher.

What you don't seem to get is that guards tend to shoot better percentages on jump shooting than PF's. There's a great classic book called 'How to Lie With Statistics' and I might argue that you keep using the seemingly low jump shooting % of 42 because you compare it to good 3 point shooters who shoot around the same number. Then one might say, "Hey a 3 pointer is a lower percentage shot, so if a PF shoots around that number, and doesn't take 3 pointers he must suck at shooting." However, are you considering other factors that may make that number seem lower than it might actually be?

One thing is that some players are better at shooting 3's than mid-range jumpers. Why might this be? Sure it could be because they only practice 3's, but maybe it's also because as you get closer to the basket (I'd guess based on observation, but would be interesting to test) that the likelihood of being closely guarded increases. So guards who shoot 3's seem to take a lot of those shots (another thing interesting to test) while standing and waiting for the ball to be swung to them for an open look, or take them uncontested altogether. A guy like Randolph and other strong shooting post up PF's are probably taking many of their outside shots while being guarded, or maybe even double teamed. This would certainly decrease their outside shooting FGe%, no? So, maybe that number is actually pretty high for a PF, which the numbers I've already posted appear to show.

Now, here's some more numbers that I might think contradict your subjective comment that "Randolph is a slightly better shooter than Lee" disregarding him as a serious threat.

Jump shooting FG efficiency %:

David Lee - .289 using 29% of his shots
Zach Randolph - .417 using 59% of his shots

So, first we can see that 42% seems at face value to be more than "slightly better" than 29% when it comes to outside shooting. As I stated, the statistical significance has not been tested, but comparing guys who shoot 52% to a player who shoots 39% seems pretty drastic, based on more typical overall FG%'s we see in the NBA. Secondly, Randolph takes a far greater number of his shots from the outside, which usually means your FG% is going to decrease, because jump shooting is a lower % shot than inside play by nature. So, by taking as many shots as he does from the outside, and being defended 42% could be considered good, as is presented in the statistical evidence I've repeatedly referred to and posted multiple times. However, visual evidence also seems to demonstrate Randolph's shooting ability to be FAR superior to Lee's (who I love) and has been repeated by multiple experts who watch the NBA. I mean have you even seen Randolph play? I wonder, to be honest.

Posted by misterearl:

Bonn - I don't consider Zach Randolph an attitude problem on the court.

Whether New York provides a fresh start, or an environment wher he bond
b) I'd add ths with his teammates, remains to be seen,

Zach will also hit the boards.

But what amazes me is how z-Bo is typecast among such knowledgeable fans as a plodder. Zach is listed at a svelte 215 pounds which would make him a skinny contrast to the much heavier 250 pound Lee.

but what do I know?

Where the heck are you getting 215 pounds from? You don't watch much basketball do you? Zach Randolph is around 260 on his best day.

Posted by VDesai:

From Knickerblogger.net:

However, Randolph is more of a perimeter player. Last season he attempted a full 59% of his FGAs on jumpers and dropped them in at a .417 clip, which is actually pretty good efficiency on a jump shot for a big guy. (By way of comparison, in Frye’s rookie season he attempted 64% of his FGAs on jumpers and shot an identical .417 clip. The similarity here is actually pretty eerie.) A relatively paltry 41% of Randolph’s FGAs came in the paint, and his eFG% on those inside attempts was .551– good, but not Eddy Curry good.

If Randolph can shoot jumpers the way that Frye did his rookie year, that's pretty good.