October 25, 2014. Joe Ingles eventual wife boarded a plane from Australia to watch Joe play his NBA debut for the Los Angeles Clippers. By the time she landed, however, he was no longer employed. Joe had been waived, which left them wondering what their next move should be. He began wondering if he was cut out for the NBA at all.
Then Utah Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey gave him a second chance. About that second chance, Joe said the following in a podcast with Zach Lowe, “I was like, ‘This is the last chance… Whatever I’ve got to do, I’m staying on this team… I think it was me and two other guys who came in together, I was like, bad luck for the other two dudes, because this is mine, I’m taking this spot.”
Take that spot he did! He’s no longer just the last guy on the roster, but an integral part of a team that’s made it to the western conference semifinals two years running. What is it about Joe Ingles that makes him so effective?
Iron Man
One of the most important capabilities is availability. Joe Ingles was one of only 8 players to play in all 82 games and log at least 2500 minutes. The guy rarely misses games. In fact, he is currently 4th among active players in consecutive games played at 223. He is Mr. Reliable.
Ingles is also an important locker room presence. His humor really brought this team together to create a unique culture in the franchise. It’s often said that the Jazz locker room feels more like a collegiate one than an NBA one. Ingles can often be found in the middle of an in-game scuffle. On the same night he flames a teammate on Twitter, he’s got their back on the court. Those types of relationships are very valuable over a long NBA season.
Elite Shooter
I never imagined Joe Ingles as an elite perimeter shooter, but he proved me and everyone else (especially the Clippers) wrong. Even now, after a 2nd season shooting above 44% from 3, he’s rarely mentioned as one of the league’s best. He grades out in the 95.1 percentile for all players in perimeter shooting according the BBall-Index’s talent grades. Narrow that down to all wings who played at least 2,000 minutes and he is still an A at the 90.9 percentile. His 3 point shooting percentage of 44.0% was good for 4th overall last year. This despite increasing his attempts dramatically to 5.7 per game.
He’s done more than just increase his volume and percentages since his rookie year. If you watch film comparing his first year to his most recent, his shots themselves have a different look. I asked our shot form expert here on Bball-Index, Dylan Ward (@HoopInDetail – Give him a follow!), to analyze and break his shot down for us. He noticed multiple differences from Joe’s rookie season.
“So the first thing to notice in the difference between his old form and new is the new form has removed most, if not all of the dip. He used a swinging arm motion as a part of his dip for rhythm, and it is gone. To speed up his stroke in a tight situation, he won’t dip at all, or it’s much less exaggerated dip than before.” Let’s look and see what he means:
Joe Ingles as a rookie
Joe Ingles last season
As described, the amount of pre-shot movement, particularly that dip, is down dramatically. Dylan further commented, “Number 2, you’ll see much less legs throughout 95% of his clips. Bending deeper takes time. It takes that extra split second to drop lower. His bend before seemed not only deep, but methodical and slow. That deep bend sprung him for a higher leap than he executes now.” Again, here are comparative clips:
Rookie Season
Now
Here are the last 2 adjustments Joe has made to his shot that Dylan pointed out: “His new release angle is lower. Not only does it remove excessive arc, but it makes for a faster release. He’s opted for a quicker shooting stroke instead of release-height. Lowering it from a near vertical release, to a more prototypical release-angle helps the ball get out quicker. The last factor is a minute one. Since he used to jump higher on his J, he would ‘sway’ more forward and end up closer to the contesting defender.”
Rookie Season
Now
The change in his shot mechanics allow him to succeed at higher rates an on more difficult attempts. His 3 point field goal percentage on shots that are considered wide open improved from 41.3% to 47.5%. He went from good to great on wide open looks. The bigger difference is in the closer-contested shots. When a defender was within 4-6 feet of Ingles, considered open, he improved from 27.5% to 39.5%. He did this while increasing these attempts from 51 as a rookie to 147 last year. In tightly defended situations (defender within 2-4 feet), Joe improved again from 11.1% to 23.5%.
Because he changed his form, Joe is able to get shots off he didn’t dare shoot when he entered the league. Now he has no problem staring into DeAndre Jordan’s soul before splashing a 3 right in his face. That type of confidence and accuracy changed Utah’s offense.
Playmaker and Effective off the Ball
Two other elite abilities that Joe Ingles possesses are his off-ball movement and playmaking. Amongst all wings, he’s in the 92.8 percentile overall for off-ball movement and 97.1 percentile for playmaking according to Bball-Index player talent grades. The gravity that a shooter like Joe can have on a defense can really open up an offense, especially a ball-movement heavy one like Quin Snyder’s.
It gives Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors space for rolling to the rim in the pick and roll, which is an integral part of Utah’s offense. It allows Donovan Mitchell room to work off the bounce in isolation. With 3 non-shooters in Utah’s starting lineup, having a reliable knockdown shooter like Ingles isa must.
Early in Ingles career he gained Quin Snyder’s trust and was the go-to man as the passer for key inbounding situations. He leveraged that trust and become a deadly and savvy passer in Utah’s offense. For example, the Gordon Hayward lobs that was a staple of the Jazz offense two seasons ago most frequently came from the Australian wing.
The Perfect Glue Guy
When Joe Ingles signed his 4 year, 13 million dollar contract back in the summer of 2017, many deemed it a huge overpay by the Utah Jazz. That summer certainly brought some big spending and poor contracts, but Ingles wasn’t one of them. He’s earned every cent of that new deal, and will look to build on his career year in 2017 with an even better one in 2018. Considering where his career started, Jazz fans are just enjoying the ride.
Thanks to Dylan Ward (@HoopInDetail) for the shot breakdown, Ben Holz for the Ingles stats, and Aidan Lising for the featured image.
Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of BBall-Index.com, NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com.
