Ever since the Pat Riley Knicks instituted the "no layups" mentality of fouling rather than letting your foe get an easy bucket (and in truth the bad boys Pistons and earlier era teams also brought this into vogue), and the officials turned a blind eye to the often flagrant nature of these fouls, it's been hard work scoring in the NBA!

We publish pages for every team (see Dallas team stats for an example) and individual player (see Peja Stojakovic stats) detailing their shooting exploits by four types --

• Jump -- which amounts to anything beyond a close in range
• Close -- as the name implies is any kind of field goal attempt from short range
• Dunks -- those slams of which many a highlight film is made
• Tip -- the less controlled efforts to tip the ball in after a teammate's missed shot

1) NBA League Averages
While the three point shot is a popular option for many of the NBA's twenty-nine teams, the preferable result in most coaches minds on an offensive possession is to get the ball close in to the hoop for a short distance attempt. Here's the NBA shot selection so far:

Shot Att. FG eFG Ast Blk Jumper 67% .367 .415 66% 4% Close 26% .535 .535 53% 14% Dunks 4% .908 .908 75% 3% Tips 2% .496 .496 0% 0% Totals 100% .437 .470 61% 6%

So two-thirds of NBA field goal attempts are "jumpers" by our definitions, with the field goal percentage being by far the lowest for any shot type, in part due to the three point attempts. Even adjusting for 3's (the "effective field goal %" or eFG) still leaves jump shots as low efficiency.

Dunks are of course the highest probability for success shot, but getting into position to attempt the dunk is the tricky part! Finally with over 61% of all made buckets also seeing an assist credited, the jump shots come in a tad higher at 66% having a valued passing component.

2) Team Jump Shot Stats on Offense
Before looking at the numbers we'd probably pick Sacramento and Dallas as the teams most likely to shine in this category -- are we right?

Team Att. FG eFG Ast Blk Pts SAC 67% .393 .458 73% 4% 50.7 MIN 77% .419 .448 63% 3% 55.8 SEA 73% .370 .447 65% 4% 53.2 NYK 73% .395 .445 66% 3% 51.1 BOS 70% .379 .444 68% 3% 48.7 HOU 69% .382 .443 57% 3% 45.8 POR 69% .389 .430 66% 4% 47.4 DAL 67% .372 .429 63% 3% 50.7 ORL 69% .378 .428 61% 4% 48.5 MIL 65% .370 .419 70% 3% 44.6 TOR 72% .369 .419 67% 2% 46.2 PHO 66% .370 .416 60% 3% 44.7 CHI 68% .367 .412 71% 4% 45.6 NOH 66% .349 .412 69% 3% 44.2 IND 70% .361 .410 66% 5% 44.8 ATL 68% .371 .407 62% 4% 42.9 GSW 69% .358 .407 65% 6% 44.8 PHI 66% .364 .406 67% 5% 41.2 MIA 67% .352 .404 67% 4% 42.2 LAL 66% .362 .403 71% 2% 43.1 MEM 63% .348 .403 74% 4% 41.6 UTA 61% .369 .403 69% 4% 36.7 DET 63% .362 .402 62% 5% 39.1 DEN 63% .360 .401 62% 4% 41.2 SAS 66% .353 .399 66% 4% 41.1 LAC 62% .345 .392 65% 4% 39.6 NJN 64% .348 .392 76% 3% 39.0 CLE 66% .348 .378 68% 4% 41.0 WAS 67% .316 .360 61% 6% 38.7

The Kings do indeed take top billing if you go by effective field goal percentage, although the Timberwolves have the highest overall FG% and most points per game from jumpers. The Mavs only make it to #8 on the eFG scale, and their team jump shooting has declined overall (hello Antoine Walker!) from a .453 eFG in 2002-03 which was far ahead of the Kings that year. Minnesota takes the highest proportion of jump shots, while Utah takes the lowest. Mr. Kidd takes the Nets into the #1 spot for highest percentage of baskets that are assisted at 76%, while the "do it yourself" Wizards are lowest at 61%. The Lakers have the fewest shots blocked, while the Warriors and Wizards are battling for the indignity of having the highest percentage of their own jumpers cast aside. The more important question is whether being an effective outside shooting team leads to wins, and there it gets murky: if the season ended today, only six of the top ten eFG teams would be in the playoffs, while six of the bottom ten would also make the post-season! Having reliable jump shooting then doesn't appear at first glance to be a key criteria for good team performance.

3) Team Jump Shot Stats on Defense
Fans may love offense but coaches preach defense, and contesting shots, whether they be near or far from the hoop is a big factor in keeping the other team's scoring in check.

Team Att. FG eFG Ast Blk Pts SAS 68% .339 .376 59% 5% 40.1 IND 67% .353 .391 65% 4% 39.5 HOU 73% .345 .392 73% 4% 44.2 TOR 65% .360 .392 62% 3% 39.5 MIN 70% .348 .394 68% 5% 44.5 DET 65% .355 .397 64% 4% 40.6 WAS 69% .358 .403 71% 6% 45.2 PHI 69% .352 .405 67% 3% 43.5 MEM 62% .358 .407 67% 6% 40.3 LAL 69% .366 .409 60% 4% 46.1 PHO 68% .356 .411 66% 4% 45.1 ATL 67% .367 .413 67% 3% 45.3 NJN 69% .367 .415 64% 3% 43.6 MIA 69% .366 .416 62% 3% 42.5 NYK 71% .375 .418 66% 3% 47.1 CLE 67% .370 .421 67% 5% 46.4 DEN 61% .377 .421 69% 5% 42.1 SEA 67% .368 .422 65% 5% 46.4 MIL 66% .373 .422 66% 4% 45.7 SAC 69% .381 .424 59% 3% 49.5 CHI 66% .371 .424 71% 3% 44.8 DAL 67% .368 .426 67% 3% 47.6 BOS 70% .365 .426 70% 3% 47.8 LAC 64% .378 .428 64% 3% 45.3 NOH 66% .376 .428 67% 3% 44.2 ORL 66% .378 .432 68% 4% 46.9 GSW 70% .389 .438 67% 4% 50.5 UTA 67% .388 .443 64% 5% 43.6 POR 66% .397 .447 69% 3% 46.7

If championships are won on defense, then the Spurs are showing they can again be a factor in the NBA title outcome. There's daylight between what San Antonio gives up from outside and the rest of the league. Also boasting of solid defensive efforts so far are Indiana and Houston, two teams with coaches who certainly believe in playing tight defense at all times. Then of course at the bottom of the table we find those (what's the opposite of clean living?) Portland Trailblazers, who allow a .447 effective field goal percentage -- one sign perhaps of some less than stellar energy from a roster that with a few exceptions is ready to be traded at a moment's notice! Also trawling along the bottom is Utah (despite Kirilenko's long arms he can't block everything!) and the Warriors. With the defense there seems to be stronger influence on a team's won-lost record. Eight of the top ten are in the playoffs as of this moment, while only four of the bottom ten are currently post-season bound.

If you take a look at some of the net values for Offense minus Defense, you'll find that Minnesota has the better advantage in eFG with a +.054 number, ahead of Houston's +.051 and Sacramento's +.034 -- the Wizards meanwhile bring up the rear at -.042 on the eFG scale.

Another metric for looking at jumpers however is that the key is to take few of them yourself and make your opponents take plenty! As we saw in the first chart, jump shots are by far the worst payoff shots of the four categories. In this regard then, the top teams are Utah (6% fewer jump shots then their foes), New Jersey (-5%), Houston (-4%), and the Lakers (-3%).

4) Most efficient jump shot players
All right, let's get to the fan friendly material -- are there players who can still sink the J?

Player Team Att. FG eFG Pts  Barry SEA 77% .442 .607 8.0   Miller IND 92% .424 .552 9.7   Peterson TOR 83% .393 .535 9.3   Jackson HOU 86% .427 .532 9.6   Stojakovic SAC 75% .414 .522 12.7   Hoiberg MIN 87% .414 .513 7.2   Cassell MIN 89% .473 .512 15.1   Houston NYK 96% .449 .511 15.4   McKie PHI 75% .412 .510 7.4   McCarty BOS 91% .363 .510 9.8  *Pts = Points per 36 minutes

We are only considering players with at least 200 jump shots attempted, and Brent Barry heads the list. Of course, you could hardly have an outside shooting dream team without Reggie Miller who checks in at #2, and the likes of Stojakovic, Cassell, and Houston. Mainly though this is the land of the three-point bomber who takes a large percentage of his shots from downtown.

5) Highest Field Goal Percentage Jump Shooters
If you're looking for a player who can get you a basket from outside, and not necessarily a three-pointer, then these are your guys:

Player Team Att. FG eFG Pts  Cassell MIN 89% .473 .512 15.1   Robinson CHI 83% .459 .459 8.7   Houston NYK 96% .449 .511 15.4   Garnett MIN 76% .448 .452 12.9   Barry SEA 77% .442 .607 8.0   McInnis POR 82% .441 .463 9.0   Ming HOU 54% .441 .441 5.9   Robinson PHI 87% .439 .474 13.5   Thomas NYK 80% .429 .429 8.3   Stevenson UTA 73% .429 .437 9.0

Some of the same names from the eFG view show up here, with Cassell leading the way. However, we also add a few big guys with touch in Garnett, Ming and the much maligned Glenn Robinson. What these two looks tell us though is that the efficient shooting action in an NBA game these days takes place from beyond the 3-pt line and from in close. The mid-range jumper is indeed an endangered species.