Nenad Krstic: home versus away

OK, I’m absolutely obsessed with NBA.com’s hotspots. Like a 14-year-old that just discovered Google images, I get started with it and I’ll spend an entire afternoon comparing and contrasting with them.

I wrote after the Sacramento game the recent phenomenon (maybe that’s not the right word), with Nenad Krstic and his home and away jumper. It seems lately, at home he’s been automatic with it, but on the road he’s struggling a bit. Overall, he’s 28-43 (65 percent) from the floor in the last three home games and 9-34 (26 percent) on the road. Pretty solid difference there. Maybe he’s was fatigued with the four games in five days. Maybe they were simply just off nights, which happen to shooters all the time.

But while for the season his overall field goal percentage numbers aren’t that different home vs. away (50 percent at home, 44 percent on the road), there is a pretty large difference on Krispy’s signature shot, the distance jumper.

HOME

AWAY

From the spot we typically see Krstic hit his pick-and-pop shot from (the top three quadrants), he’s shooting 23 percent higher at home versus away (53 percent home, 30 percent away). He averages four fewer points on the road than at home (12.0 at home, 8.1 away). It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain, but just is. Most people shoot better at home than away because it’s familiar territory. But it’s not typically that drastic.

Like I said, the overall numbers don’t blow you out of your chair, but a 23 percent difference on the shot that’s kind of his thing is pretty staggering. Everywhere else, the numbers are pretty much consistent. It’s just that 18-20 foot jumper from straightaway that’s different. I wish I knew why, because I’d probably be Facebooking (or calling I suppose) Scott Brooks to let him know, but I don’t. It could be total coincidence. It could be a comfort thing. Or it could be (what I think) a confidence issue. Whatever it is, it’s interesting.