FanPost

Are we overrating Anthony Morrow?

I've seen a lot of talk about how Morrow has more potential than Lee, or how he could be the next Michael Redd, but I just don't see it. Here are some of the numbers about Anthony Morrow that might be interesting to see

His scoring average: 13 ppg

Where his points come from:

Jump shots: 85% - 9 ppg (assisted 70% of the time, assisted 95.7%(!) of the time on threes, blocked 3% of the time)

Close: 13% - 1.4 ppg (assisted 49% of the time, blocked 17% of the time)

Dunk: 0% - 0.1 ppg (assisted 50% of the time, blocked 33% of the time)

Tips: 1% - 0.1 ppg

Compare to Michael Redd's last healthy year (data before 05-06 is not available)

Jump shots: 71% - 11.5 ppg (assisted on 54% of the time, blocked 3% of the time)

Close: 28% - 5.5 ppg (assisted on 40% of the time, blocked 14% of the time)

Dunk: 0% - 0.1 ppg (assisted 33% of the time)

Tips: 0% - 0 ppg

Compare to Courtney Lee last year

Jump shots: 72% - 6.9 ppg (assisted 64% of the time, blocked 3% of the time)

Close: 24% - 3 ppg (assisted 52% of the time, blocked 13% of the time)

Dunk: 3% - 0.5 ppg (assisted 76% of the time, blocked 5% of the time)

Tips: 1% - 0.1 ppg

Morrow:

Field goal attempts: 738

Fouled 35 times

Foul drawing percentage: 4.7%

Redd:

Field goal attempts: 1426

Fouled 183 times

Foul drawing percentage: 12.8%

Lee:

Field goal attempts: 844

Fouled 69 times

Foul drawing percentage: 8.2%

Morrow:

Assists per 48 minutes: 2.5

Redd:

Assists per 48 minutes: 4.4

Lee:

Assists per 48 minutes: 2.4

From Netsarescorching:

Morrow’s only really excels at shooting the basketball. He doesn’t play defense particularly well, and despite showing some athletic ability he can’t really put the ball on the floor or create his own shot (95.7% of his threes were off of teammates’ assists).

From Draftexpress:

July 9, 2008:

Some of the scouts around us mentioned that they think he’s too one-dimensional to play in the NBA (as he’s not a great ball-handler, athlete or defender)

July 23, 2009. After his rookie year:

Besides his incredible shooting ability, there isn’t a great deal to speak of about Morrow’s game. His ball-handling skills are poor, meaning he rarely if ever gets to the free throw line. He generated just a single assist in his three games here in Vegas, although he’s traditionally not a turnover prone player at all to counter that when he’s playing in a real basketball setting. He’s actually an extremely intelligent player who understands his limitations quite well and knows how to maximize himself on the court. Defensively, he doesn’t offer a great deal, as he’s often willing to put the effort in, but just doesn’t really have the physical tools to be much of a presence here.

Do you see a pattern here?

Don't get me wrong. Anthony Morrow is a good player. He is a smart player. He is more than a catch and shoot guy. But at the same time he is not a great deal more than a jump shooting player. And there is nothing wrong with that. As long as you know your limitations and stay within them, you can do well. As long as you have one elite skill, there is a place for you in the nba.

Anthony Morrow is one of the best shooters in the NBA.

However, he is not a significant defender, ball handler, driver, creator or foul drawer.

Don't look at the Redd comparison and tell me, "of course Redd will be better, he was the main guy". The point is not WHAT they did, but HOW they did it. Redd shot less jump shots and was less assisted. He drew fouls nearly three times as often as Morrow. Courtney Lee had almost as many attempts as Morrow, but drew twice the number of fouls.

Anthony Morrow is a good player. But let's call a spade a spade. You vastly underrate Redd if you think he was a 20 ppg scorer by being purely a jump shooter.