Ranking NBA players by percentage of field goals created on their own – and, of course, Greg Monroe falls near the bottom

Before last summer’s NBA Draft, DraftExpress wrote in Greg Monroe’s strength section:

"Ability to create own shot"

NBADraft.net said:

"He can put the ball on the floor and create his own shot as well."

I’m not just passing the buck, either. I wrote:

"His ability to create his own shot will come in handy in the matchup-based NBA."

Boy, were we all wrong – at least it appears that way.

Just nine players have created a lower percentage of their own field goals – with a created field goal defined as one that wasn’t assisted and didn’t come directly after an offensive rebound – than Monroe this season (minimum 200 made shots):

Through March 7, 2011. Data on number of putback baskets came from Synergy. Data on numbers of assisted baskets came from HoopData.

What this means for Monroe’s future

So, were we all wrong about Monroe? I don’t think so.

I certainly can’t build a case today, because Monroe hasn’t shown an ability to create his own shot in the NBA. But I think that stems more from the Pistons not asking him to do it. They want him focused on rebounding and defense. He’s involved in the offense on pick and rolls and offensive rebounding, but that’s it. I don’t think they want to put too much on his plate at once.

If that’s the case – and in time, we’ll see – this is a huge positive for Monroe. Several players listed above don’t create many baskets for themselves because they can’t create many baskets for themselves.

Monroe is already helping the Pistons in big ways. He’s arguably been their best player this season.

If there’s a large part of his game the Pistons haven’t unleashed – and judging by these numbers, if he possesses the skillset, the Pistons definitely haven’t unleashed it – watch out, NBA.

More data on a player’s ability to create his own shot

To find the 15 players with the lowest percentage of their field goals created by themselves, I had to calculate the percentage for several other players. I can’t say for certain this list begins at No. 16 and continues from there (although it’s likely more reliable not  to have skipped players at the top  than at the bottom), but if you want to see the data for a few other players, see below the jump.