NBA Free Agency 2013: Free-Agent Power Rankings (6-10)

6. Al Jefferson

Apr 15, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) shoots and Minnesota Timberwolves center Greg Stiemsma (34) defends in the fourth quarter at Target Center. The Jazz won 96-80. Mandatory Credit: Greg Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Al Jefferson is the other half of Utah’s formidable frontcourt. He led the Jazz in scoring and rebounds. The forward-center averaged 17.8/9.2/2.1 with 2.1 assists and one block per game in his 9th season.

Jefferson shoots an impressive 57.9 percent on shots taken within 10 feet from the basket. His ability to grab boards placed him 14th- highest in the league, a fact that it is even more impressive given his short stature for a center.

Jefferson’s main problems are his shot selection and defense. As mentioned above, Jefferson shot 57.9 percent on shots within 10 feet, but he shot 40.6 percent on shots outside of 10 feet and within the three-point line. To add to the discrepancy, Jefferson only took 53.2 percent of his shots in his 57.9 percent zone. He attempted 45.4 percent of his shots in the 40.6 zone. Clearly, he needs to stop taking so many of those shots. This inefficiency explains why he shot 49.4 percent overall from the field.

While his “black hole” tendencies may be excusable to an extent, his poor defense is really Jefferson’s biggest foible. When he is on the court, opponents shoot 4.6 percent better overall. Jefferson’s defensive liabilities are slightly mitigated by the fact that the Jazz shoot two percent better as a whole when he is on the floor, but you can clearly see that he hurts the defense more than he helps the offense.