Friday, January 25, 2013
Muhammad's importance
By Matt Giles
C.J. Moore, who has contributed to College Basketball Prospectus and the Bleacher Report, had an interesting post about the evolving game of Shabazz Muhammad. During a win against Arizona, color commentator Bill Walton railed -- obliquely at first, and the more directly -- against Ben Howland for taking Muhammad out of the game while the Bruins made their run in the first half; Muhammad finished the game with 23 points and made 46 percent of his attempts within the arc.
During Pac-12 play, Muhammad has been a catalyst for the Bruins' efficient offense (1.02 PPP). The wing has used 104 possessions, and is scoring 1.08 PPP. What is interesting about Muhammad, and how he helps the Bruins' on that side of the ball, is that he refrains from taking needless threes. On the season, he has only attempted 51 threes (and he can hit from outside -- 47 percent); in the Pac-12, just 22 of his shots have been behind the arc. He also has relentlessly attacked the glass. Per Synergy Sports Technology, the majority of his offensive possessions are coming off of screens, cuts, or converting an offensive board.
