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Along with Caris LeVert, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made the biggest leap of any Nets’ player this season. His scoring improved markedly from 8.7 PPG in 2016-17 to 13.9 PPG this season. With that, his field goal percentages all increased:
A major reason why his scoring went up was his ability to get to the line.
Such plays were a key contributing factor to him being top ten in and one plays on the season (38).
Rondae is one of the team’s smartest players and best cutters, which he utilised to the fullest extent on a number of occasions. There were so many instances where RHJ was able to use his quickness and strength to impose himself and get to the charity stripe. His 4.6 free throw attempts per game was an improvement of 1.4 per outing compared to the season before.
His free throw percentages, while good, (78.8%) are a still an area he can get better in. If that number can rise to around 80-83% it’ll make him an even more lethal threat around the mid-range and down low.
The old adage goes that if your free throw percentages are solid so will your perimeter numbers. The best three-point shooters in the game are some of the best free throw shooters. If Rondae can continue to grow in that area then his percentage from the arc should only get better. He told reporters his willingness to become more of a three-point threat, via NetsDaily:
“Shooting less mid-range and adding threes. I would say just adding that to my game, I feel like would be better for our team and for myself just because of analytics, efficiency. You want to do what’s best at the end of the day to make your team better. Coaches want it, the staff wants it, teammates want it, so I’m all for it.”
When you look at Hollis-Jefferson’s shooting chart you see the areas he’s most confident in:
Source: NBA Savant
He made the left elbow the backbone of his offense. He not only got to the line from there but was also making a heap of jumpers from the area; as I mentioned in my piece early in the season.
Offensively, his passing was another skill that looked promising. When you look at the raw numbers (2.5 per game) they don’t necessarily stand out but his confidence and efficiency were more important. His assist percentage (14.3%) was in the 86th percentile, a very nice number for a player not renowned for his passing. Additionally, of the 68 games he played, in nine of them he had 5 assists or more, including two performances with 7.
As for defensively, he didn’t lose a step despite having to play the majority of the season at the four. There were times where his size was an issue but that’s as much on his teammates and the coaching to back him up in that area. He has all the tools to be a great defender and in a league only trending smaller and smaller if RHJ can develop a three-point shot, there could be times next season we see him play some extra time at the five.
It’ll be interesting to see how Rondae continues to evolve with this Nets squad. If this year is anything to go by he’ll only get better and remain a key cog on both ends of the floor.