Utah Jazz sharpshooter Joe Ingles believes that his opponents are intentionally leaving him open from downtown, calling himself the “forgotten man.”
NBA.com‘s Aaron Falk observed that the 31-year-old Ingles is getting a lot of wide open shots from downtown despite his reputation as a three-point specialist. Ingles agreed, reasoning that his teammates and their set plays open things up for him. He particularly singled out the pick-and-roll play between star guard Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert or big man Derrick Favors:
“I do feel like I get a lot of open shots.
Our young little superstar is aggressive offensively but from November last year to now, his passing is unbelievable compared to what it was. Rudy and Fav are rolling, opening things up. Teams don’t want those guys to do dunk it. And I’ve always kind of been that forgotten guy.
I don’t think it’s intentional by other teams. You just have to leave something open and I think I’m on the end of a lot of that stuff.”
Per NBA Advanced Stats, Ingles has taken fourth most wide-open (no defenders within six feet) attempts from three-point range with 87. Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (94 attempts), Houston Rockets Sixth Man Eric Gordon (97 attempts) and Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (104 attempts) are the only players to have taken more wide open three-point attempts.
For a shooter like Ingles, getting a wide-open look from long distance is certainly a treat. It may be a bit surprising at times to find yourself wide open but having converted 38.4 percent of his threes this season (per Basketball Reference), Joe Ingles has a license to shoot. The proverbial green light.
He'll gladly rise up and take those open jumpers anytime and the Jazz will be glad to let him do it.
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