Take a look at the average distance of the closest defender on threes by Rondo and Evans. And see how many of their attempts are classified as wide open. Opponents are dating them to shoot. If Steph Curry got the looks those guys get he'd average 50 a game.
I don't really see anything that stands out. Yeah, they are never going to be a Durant or Curry who comes up the court and drains a three right in your face but they don't have to be to make it work. They just have to punish the defense for sagging off of them which both of them have proven they can do this year.
2-4 ft (Tight)
Evans: 0.5 3PA / 23%
Rondo: 0.4 3PA / 29%
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D. Collison: 0.6 3PA / 24%
E. Gordon: 0.5 3PA / 26%
L. James: 0.5 3PA / 16%
Ilyasova: 0.5 3PA / 23%
Crabbe: 0.5 3PA / 20%
Fournier: 0.4 3PA / 24%
P. Patterson: 0.4 3PA / 19%
R. Anderson: 0.4 3PA / 12%
I didn't expect either of these guys to shoot well while being tightly guarded, and frankly, I don't want them taking this shot either. However, just because they aren't a good 3pt shooter when a man is 2-4 ft away doesn't mean they can't coexist. I included a list of players who shot a similar amount of threes under these circumstances and had a similar percentages. I cherry picked players who are known as good 3pt shooter (except Lebron). Again, they don't need to be Curry, Durant, Harden, Thompson, Korver, or Redick to coexist but asking them to be a good shooter under these circumstances is essentially asking them to be that type of player. We just need the defense to respect them.
Bottom line, if the defense is guarding them this tightly, then they have done their job and the defense is respecting their shot.
4-6 ft (Open)
Evans: 1.3 3PA / 46%
Rondo: 0.8 3PA / 33%
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D. Booker: 1.4 3PA / 39%
Casspi: 1.4 sPA / 41%
P. Patterson: 1.4 3PA / 29%
Afflalo: 1.4 3PA / 43%
Irving: 1.4 3PA / 43%
Terry: 1.3 3PA / 33%
M. Leonard: 1.3 3PA / 29%
A. Brooks: 1.3 3PA / 27%
Morrow: 1.3 3PA / 35%
McLemore: 0.9 3PA / 32%
Teague: 0.9 3PA / 30%
H. Barnes: 0.7 3PA / 33%
It looks like Evans is pretty darn deadly when given this space. Rondo...not so much but 33% isn't completely horrible especially considering it's at the same level or above Patterson, Terry, M. Leonard, A. Brooks, McLemore, Teague, & H. Barnes
6+ ft (Wide Open)
Evans: 1.5 3PA / 40%
Rondo: 1.0 3PA / 39%
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Conley: 1.6 3PA / 38%
J. Johnson: 1.5 3PA / 39%
R. Hood: 1.4 3PA / 40%
D. Ruseell: 1.4 3PA / 40%
Jr. Holiday: 1.4 3PA / 36%
Ibaka: 1.4 3PA / 38%
Ginobli: 1.3 3PA / 37%
I. Thomas: 1.0 3PA / 40%
Lin: 1.0 3PA / 34%
Barton: 0.9 3PA / 36%
J. Crawford: 0.9 3PA / 34%
Foye: 0.9 3PA / 40%
Both shoot well when left wide open and can punish defenses.
Both guys have gotten respectable with their shot but they still aren't good shooters. Teams sag off Evans to prevent the drive. Teams sag off Rondo because they'd rather take their chances with him beating them with outside shots.
See now you're getting into something completely different. Their coexistence on the court does not come down to how much their man sags off of them
when they have the ball in their hands (that is an element that makes it more or less challenging for that particular player to get to where he wants to on the court). It comes down to how much their man sags off of them
when they don't have the ball in their hands, and the data shows that if one of them gets the defense to commit/collapse, the other can punish them and knock down an open 3.
Again, the data this year supports my claim that this pairing could potentially work.