Bottom Line up Front (BLUF): I don't think LMA sucks. I don't want to trade him and draft picks for Love. I hope he re-signs here. But in reference to posts above, I submit the following:
LMA rebounds < 3ORB/g (and has for 3.5 years) and averages an ORBRate of ~8% (and has for 3.5 years). I don't know that the value proposition of a 3point shot at 23' and being 5' further from a potential rebound is outweighed by the 2point shot and increased proximity to said rebound. Maybe I'm wrong, but neither the "LMA is way more out of position for an offensive board if he shoots 3s!" or the "his man will get into better offensive position!" argument hold a ton of water for me. I'm happy to be explained to...I just don't get those.
Before I go on and make this a tl;dr post, here are some facts.
LMA
has attempted more FGs than anyone in the league (685 in 34 games, or 20/g), just beating out Harden (681 in 37) and K*be (666 in 32). He led the league in 2ptFGA in 2012-12 (9th overall FGA) and 2013-14 (3rd overall FGA) as well. **EDIT: Harden overtook him, now has 704 in 38 games**
LMA
has attempted more 10-23' jumpers than anyone in the league (407 in 34 games), well above Dirk (326 in 36), K*be (320 in 32), Griffin (288 in 37) and Melo (286 in 30). LMA has missed more 10-23' jumpers than all but 5 other player in the league have taken.
LMA
ranks 63rd of the 78 players who've shot 3 10-23' jumpers per game (round per-game number that limits the field to only those who shoot a statistically significant amount) at 38.1% on those 407 FGA. The only "bigs" in the league below him: Jordan Hill (35.8% on 190 FGA). Anthony Bennett (33% on 121 FGA). Josh Smith (34% on 132 FGA). Boogie Cousins (35.9% on 131 shots).
LMA
ranks 2nd in the league on 3pt% of players who shoot >1 3FGA/g (behind Kyle Korver)
Again, this isn't a bash on LMA's FG% (45.8%), because while it's 94th in the league among players who shoot 5 shots/g or more, it's just behind Dame's 45.9% (92nd) and Wes' 47.5% (68th). What I wanted to point out was that he obviously a capable 3pt shooter. He's not an elite mid-range jump shooter. He's a pretty good player in the paint. Attempting just 1 three a game without changing anything else in his shooting profile has upped his TS% and eFG% by over a percent and mitigating some of the team's regression in offensive efficiency.
Other notables: Wes leads the league in 3-9' FG% (over 70%!?!) while LMA is 47th and Dame is 129th out of 130 (24%) who shoot more than 1 FGA/g from 3-9 feet.
I'm still trying to find a good stat of "contested v. non-contested" shot percentages. The eye test tells me that LMA is really, really good at shooting open jumpers, whether from 10' or 25' and anywhere in between, especially the left side. But he is hamstrung by his very low (again, subjectively speaking) percentage on contested jumpers, which brings his entire mid-range % to 38% and his entire FG% to under 46%.
Final thought: (finally) As stated earlier, I don't think LMA sucks. He hits open jumpers, rebounds very well defensively and has a variety of paint moves that can both finesse and overpower an opponent. But his habit of shooting contested shots is hurting the team. If he's being doubled, them the "spacing" argument is moot because he's already "opened" the floor for a teammate and, if he shoots, is wasting the whole point of his drawing the double. Wes and Dame are ~40% 3pt shooters. Wes shoots 70% in the post (best in the league) and Dame shouldn't be shooting in the 3-9' realm anyway. Utilize that spacing to get good shots, or to drive to the lane. By shooting contested mid-range jumpers (more than anyone else and worse % than most), he's letting the D off of the hook for the possession not only from other strengths in his own game, but those of his all-star-caliber teammates. I'm not even saying he has to go "bang in the paint" more. Just follow the rule that, "if your man is covering you, pass it out." There was a sweet play last game where he got it on the block, was doubled, passed it back to Wes at the 3pt line, the double went away, and Wes immediately passed it back into the block where LMA scored easily against a not-ready-for-the-repost defender. More of that will help the team's offensive efficiency.
) to take a look. But my gut feel is that, when LMA is doubled, our offense it set to reward that with 3pt shooting, and specifically corner 3pt shooting after swinging the ball around the perimeter (though sometimes LMA short-circuits it and cross-courts it directly to the open man if given a lane for it). When the shot it put up, Dame/Nic/Wes are all outside the 3pt line spread around the (mostly) right side of the court. And Stotts' gameplan is not usually for guards to crash the boards, it's for them to be back to limit transition opportunities. And generally, the man left open on a double isn't the big (whether Kaman, Leonard, Robinson, whoever) in the paint, but the wing in the corner.
