Now that Kevin Love is on the squad, I'd like to bring your attention to a pretty decent thread over at the APBR that attempts to quantify the importance of having a big man who can shoot on your squad. Just a little something to think about now that the Wolves have a guy who can knock down shots all the way out to Rasheed-land.
One of the most interesting aspects of the new Wolves offense is that they can trot a lineup out there with 3 guys that shot over 40% from 3 last year while balancing them out with a low post beast and a guy who can play the high post and hit jumpers all the way out to the 3 point line. Love could have a passing field day in the high post with options around the perimeter and down low.
For all of Jefferson's inside scoring ability, his biggest weakness was his lack of a reliable jumper. Here's how he fared last year in that department:
| 53% | .372 | 50% | 7% | 6.9 | |
| 36% | .587 | 52% | 13% | 7.4 | |
| 8% | .890 | 68% | 5% | 2.4 | |
| 4% | .706 | 0% | 0% | 0.9 | |
| 47% | .645 | 51% | 10% | 10.7 |
Over 1/2 his shots came off the j (partly because defenses collapsed around him when he was on the block) while netting significantly less than 1/2 of his points. Now that he's armed with 3 guys who can legitimately stroke it from outside as well as a frontcourt mate who can hit the open mid-range shot, Big Al should be able to rely less on the shot that hurts him the most...and that's a very good thing for the Wolves.
While there may be some issues defensively, this team has a chance to be something else on the offensive end of the court. At the very least, Love's addition should be an interesting case study into the effects of the addition of a big man who can shoot.