Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Dissecting the Side-Screen Roll Since 2006

Take Your Vitamins

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz on December 8, 2009 at 7:34 am

The Los Angeles Times reports that a deficiency in Vitamin D might be one of the reasons Chris Kaman has been struggling lately:

Kaman missed practice Nov. 12, but it wasn’t until two weeks ago during a doctor’s visit when he discovered why he felt listless: doctors diagnosed he was deficient in Vitamin D, which increases the flow of calcium into the bloodstream and helps prevent bones from becoming brittle … Since then, Kaman has invested in alternative energy sources. He drinks Vitamin D milk and has been prescribed antibiotics, including herbal supplements.

I’m a Better Living Through Chemistry sort of guy, so kudos for the diagnosis and the treatment.

Let’s explore some other factors for the falloff in production:

  • Inevitability. During his torrid stretch, Kaman was shooting 50 percent from the field as a jump shooter. Not one player in the league accomplished that feat last season (Jason Terry led the NBA in 2-point jump shooting percentage at 49.2 percent). As fluid as Kaman’s shot was to begin the season, that wasn’t going to hold. Kaman’s eFG% as a jump shooter has settled at 43 percent, which seems about right.
  • To expand on the point above, Kaman has become too reliant on his jumper. Although his jump-shooting is a lot more efficient than it was two seasons ago, he’s still a higher percentage shooter on the block. Yes, easier said than done when teams are swarming him inside of 12 feet, but Chris has been passing up opportunities to work down low. With his skills and footwork, that’s not a part of a game he should get away from. His FGA/FTA ratio has dropped, as well –  another factor of moving off the block. In addition, by playing so far from the hoop, he’s logging far and away the lowest offensive rebounding rate of his career. By not being in a position to collect garbage, he’s costing himself some easy FGs. Dunks and tips accounted for 10 percent of Chris’ attempts in 2007-08? This season dunks and tips account for only half of that.
  • Eric Gordon’s groin injury coincided with the start of Kaman’s slump. Though Eric is back in action, he’s still easing back into the flow of the offense and hasn’t been the focal point in the half-court since his return. Gordon’s presence along the arc opened up the foul-line extended area for Chris on step-outs, which is how he was generating so much of his offense earlier in the season. As Eric is re-integrated into the offense, expect some improvement from Chris.
  • Building on Eric’s presence, teams have started to double-team Chris early and often. As Mike Dunleavy said in the Times report, “There are a lot more teams paying attention to him.” Chris is simply not receiving the time and space he got earlier in the season to shoot. As it does most big men away from the basket, pressure flusters Chris. He’ll have to adjust or, better yet, use some possessions to find open shooters and cutters.

14 Responses

  1. avatar Aaron Said,

    He’s going to need all the energy he can muster against Howard tonight.

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 7:55 am

  2. avatar Slax Said,

    Seriously, a gallon of cod liver oil ought to be his breakfast today.

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 8:28 am

  3. avatar MannyA Said,

    Maybe he can ask Rashard Lewis to hook him up with some vitamins!

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    RL Reply:

    and what kind of vitamins are we talking about here?.. :O

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 8:59 am

  4. avatar Vic De Zen Said,

    Totally agree about the Gordon thing. I expect his return to form will help everyone out, especially Chris.

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 9:25 am

  5. avatar Clipperbeliever Said,

    Kaman needs to take his shots. And the team needs to make their shots. I have a feeling they’re going to hit some threes tonight. Gordon, Butler and Baron. They’ll get fired up for this one. Let’s go Clippers!

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 10:38 am

  6. avatar Curtis Said,

    Thank God we found the cure to all Kaman’s problems before tonight’s match up. Hooray Milk!

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 10:58 am

  7. avatar pipedreams Said,

    It’s kinda weird to me that somebody living in sunny SoCal could suffer from a lack of the sunshine vitamin. On the other hand, Chris is Mighty White.

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    Deez Nutz Reply:

    I love this story. Has any player in the NBA ever suffered from Vitamin D deficiency, and/or has any NBA player ever been ordered by a doctor to take what are effectively color supplements? It could only happen to Kaman.

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 11:31 am

  8. avatar laknights Said,

    From Bynum’s rookie diet to Odom and his candy to Kaman w/o vitamin D. While these guys are in college pretending to be be real students, can’t they at least take courses in nutrition? I know some of these guys are raised in less-than-desirable environments, but it astonishes me they get to the NBA without basic common sense about taking care of their own bodies.

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    orville85 Reply:

    They might be pro ballers but you have to remember these are kids barely out of high school…

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 1:26 pm

  9. avatar bongstradamus Said,

    For some reason, I see an image of Chris Kaman in 6 months with a fake orange hollywood tan…

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 6:58 pm

  10. avatar average joe Said,

    Kaman is a fricking weirdo. I hope that they can trade him for a stable, solid, hard working player.

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    Posted on December 8th, 2009 at 6:59 pm

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  1. Press Clippings: 12/8/09 « Clippers Press Room

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