Iman Shumpert And The Pick-And-Roll

Iman Shumpert’s next step in his player development will be decided by his ability to make the pick-and-roll his bread-and-butter.

In order to improve the Cleveland Cavaliers as a team, Shumpert has to continue to develop as a player. Scoring off of the pick-and-roll should become Shumpert’s bread-and-butter.

Iman Shumpert is another player, like Kevin Love, that the Cavaliers haven’t been using as well as they could. Shumpert is one of the few Cavaliers who is an above-average athlete. Because of his athleticism, he should use pick-and-rolls in order to be a more efficient scoring threat.

Though Shumpert doesn’t have the type of ball-handling ability to let him constantly get by his man in isolation situations, he has the combination of burst, vertical explosion, ball-handling and shooting ability that will allow him to finish well among all players who play as pick-and-roll ball handlers. With a conversion rate of 46.7 percent, he finishes better than Kyrie Irving (45.6 percent) off of pick-and-rolls and isn’t far from Stephen Curry (48.1 percent).

Again, his scoring frequency in these situations isn’t shabby either as he scores 39.0 percent of the time in these situations. Reggie Jackson, a guard noted for his ability to be dangerous off the pick-and-roll, scores 41.3 percent of the time. Irving scores 41.6 percent of the time in pick-and-roll situations, while a player like Mike Conley, currently the highest-paid player in the NBA, scores 41.8 percent of the time.

Looking at Shumpert’s pick-and-roll numbers don’t tell the entire story. After using a screen, a player often finds themselves open for long mid-range, pull-up jumpers if they don’t drive all the way to the rim. Over the last two seasons Shumpert has 45.3 percent and 48.2 percent.

When Shumpert shoots in rhythm and gets a good lift on his shot, he usually buries it from mid-range. From in close, Shumpert has shot 55.8 percent for his career. From three-point range, Shumpert is a career 33.4 percent shooter, indicative of his streaky shooting from deep.

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However, last year, Shumpert was used as a pick-and-roll ball handler 15.3 percent of the time while a player like Victor Oladipo (32.5 percent) wasn’t his team’s primary facilitator. Yet, Oladipo was used in the pick-and roll more than twice as frequently while possessing a similar burst towards and above the rim. Oladipo isn’t a consistent three-point threat either and using the pick-and-roll helps him score frequently.

Some could look at Shumpert’s turnover percentage and decry his use of the pick-and-roll. Nonetheless, though Shumpert posts a higher turnover percentage than teams would like to see in these situations at 20.3 percent, that figure is lower than Andre Iguodala‘s (27.0 percent), who is noted for his passing ability and basketball intelligence. Shumpert’s issue in these situations is his lack of under-the-rim finesse.

Adding a countermove to his drives, such as a spin or a euro-step, or learning to play under a controlled pace, would greatly improve his chances of making a layup attempt as the defender won’t be able to accurately time his steal attempt.

If not for Shumpert’s individual success, the Cleveland Cavaliers gameplan should call for Shumpert to use the pick-and-roll more for the benefits of the entire team. Using the pick-and-roll, and collapsing the defense as he rushes towards the rim, at the very least can free up a teammate for an open score. Shumpert’s athleticism and ability to score off of the pick-and-roll should lead to the guard having a bigger role in both facilitating and scoring.