Season Goals: E’Twaun Moore’s 3-and-D Potential
By Seth Nefsky
This article is the fourth in a series about every Pels’ most important goal for the 2017-2018 season. To read the first article, about Anthony Davis click here. To read the second, about DeMarcus Cousins click here. To read the third, about Jrue Holiday click here.
In terms of size and skill, E’Twaun Moore definitely seems like a great three-and-D shooting guard. He had an outstanding 45.8% wide open three-point percentage and has a 6’9.5” wingspan, which is a great help for perimeter defense.
However, statistically, Moore is lacking in those two departments more than he should be. His overall three-point percentage is just 37%, just one percentage point above league average and his defensive real plus-minus sits at just -1.58.
Despite having a good wide open three-point stroke, Moore is a very bad contested three-point shooter. He shot just 24.3%, on three-pointers with defenders two to four feet away, which is 7.5% below league average.
Being that Moore took a good 19.8% of his threes when defenders were less than four feet away, his three-point percentage suffered a bit.
Furthermore, last season Moore was one of the worst off the screen shooters in the league with an awful 33.3% effective field goal percentage. He was simply unable to shake his defenders and get a good shot off on time, even with screen help.
In 2017-2018, Moore should look to capitalize on his terrific wide open three-point shooting by moving off of the ball. If Moore is able to move better off of screens, there is no doubt that head coach Alvin Gentry would put him in more off the screen scenarios.
On defense, Moore’s game is similarly inconsistent, as he is very good in certain defensive scenarios, but extremely lacking in others. In isolation, for example, Moore is a strong defender. He held offenders to just .76 points per possession last season, which put him in the 77th percentile. Moore is also a decent pick and roll defender, defending ball handlers to just .78 points per possession.
However, his off-ball defense requires a serious upgrade. When defending wings in the corner, Moore often strayed down to the key, in order to get a better view of the ball handler.
Oftentimes that leaves shooters open for corner threes, as Moore comes over late to contest. This made Moore’s defense on spot-up shooting very poor, defending shooters to 1.17 points per possession. And per 36 minutes, Moore contested just 8.4 shots per game which put him in the bottom half of the league.
Those awful statistics led to Moore’s -1.58 DRPM, and +3.9 impact on opponents’ offensive ratings.
And so although Moore may be a skilled on-ball defender, he must stick to his assignment more often than not if he wants to be a positive defender, which he has never been.
Next: The New Orleans Pelicans identity will need to be defense
Moore possesses the capability to be a skilled three-and-D shooting guard and there have been spurts in the past where this side of him comes out.
However, he must improve his off-ball movement on both sides of the ball in order to reach his full potential.