Improved Shooter
Shelvin Mack has greatly improved his outside shot. He’s been a below-average three-point shooter since entering the league, but is shooting a career-best 40.7 percent from deep this season. That’s a better clip than any of the point guards on the Jazz.
We all know about Ricky Rubio‘s shooting woes. Dante Exum has never been a good enough, nor consistent enough of a three-point shooter. Raul Neto is a solid shooter, but isn’t on the floor enough to impact the game consistently.
As I noted earlier, Mack is playing a lot for Memphis, so it’s not like this is a fluke. He’s attempting 2.6 treys per game, and has made 33 threes through 31 games. The best Mack shot it prior to this year was last season with the Magic. He shot 34.5 percent and only made 48 threes on the year, which isn’t enough. From last season to this season, Mack has improved tremendously as a shooter.
As a matter of fact, if Mack were on the Jazz, he’d be leading the team in three-point percentage. Yes, he’s even shooting a higher percentage than Kyle Korver is at this moment. That is not sustainable – not many players will out-shoot Kyle Korver – but I don’t care. That is still impressive.