I realize I was harsh on Bayless yesterday and it wasn’t intended, it’s just what happens when you write posts at 2am. Good luck to Bayless, he was alright, he just didn’t improve as we all had hoped. Still young, so you never know. I hope he goes to Chicago and steals the starting job from Rose.
Sunday morning calls for a little laziness, so it’s best to start that laziness with a screencap of what Fields was upto last year:
So that’s all the things he does along with how many times he does them. One of the major needs that he’s supposed to fill is three-point/spot-up shooting, which is where the Raptors are lacking. They’ve tried to address it with Ross, and Fields is also a measure for the same problem. As you can see above, he’s mostly used in a spot-up shooting role. That could be because he’s a designated outside shooter, or more likely, because he’s one of the last offensive options in any Knick lineup and is force to wander on the outskirts.
Here’s a slice (about 10 minutes worth) of plays where he’s “spotting up”. As you’ll see in the video, the definition of spotting up is diverse.
Some thoughts that are formed as you’re watching the above (note that I actually saw about an hour worth of video but I’m not posting all of it because I can’t be violating copyright that badly):
- Damn, his girlfriend is hot.
- The release is a bit slow; he’s certainly not a “catch and fire” type guy.
- He can create his own shot off the bounce when the defense is running at him; he’s got confidence when going left and pulling up.
- Evidence of great off-the-ball movement is sparse, how much of that is due to NY’s offense and how much is his own doing, we don’t know.
- The lateral quickness is not great, and neither is the attacking ability once he does catch it. How much he can offer offensively in a half-court set is a big question mark.
- He’s very comfortable in transition: running the flanks, pulling up, and driving against retreating defenders.
- In a face-up situation with a man right in front of him, he doesn’t attack and will prefer to take the jumper. Shot-selection is generally good, but there are your WTF moments here and there.
- At 6’7″ and long arms, he can get his shot off against anybody without fear of being blocked.
- The dive in his sophomore numbers is partially explained by his teammates, as he was simply less involved in many of the plays, especially when sharing the court with ‘Melo.
- Offensively, he’s very analogous to James Johnson, except the latter is a career 30% three-point shooter, and Fields is at 34%.
Do you care to see play-type specific video of any other Raptors player? Just say the word.
