Could Nets’ Caris LeVert Participate In The Rising Stars Challenge?

Not The Best, But Not The Worst

LeVert isn’t a voluminous scorer, and it’s partly because he doesn’t attempt that many shots. Among his contemporaries, he’s 13th in field goal attempts per game (5.4), but still shoots 42.5 percent from the field, a clip that puts him at number nine among rookies. He’s far from a great three-point shooter, which is odd given how he performed at Michigan.

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What stops his percentage from plummeting is his efficiency on twos, and LeVert converts on nearly 59 percent of his shots inside the three-point line. Only Davis Bertans does better (64.7). Since he has guard skills and length, he’s able to penetrate and finish with relative ease, but he’s very reluctant to attack the basket.

Through 21 games, LeVert has taken just 25 shots inside the restricted area, but 67 from three. Some of his shot selection stems from the system that the Nets employ, where you shoot if you’re open. A lot of the time, LeVert is open. And it’s easy to see why. Because he’s a lackluster shooter from deep, teams don’t respect him, but the last seven games have seen a more aggressive LeVert.

According to NBA.com, LeVert’s bumped his field goal percentage up to 49.1, third among rookies attempting more than five shots a game. He’s been virtually automatic when inside the arc, and abysmal when beyond it. Over that stretch, LeVert has buried just 29 percent of his threes compared to 74 percent of his twos.