The constant bemoaning by coaches of the lost art of the midrange and the post entry pass are nauseating. You're a coach; if it's lost, and important to you, then find it! If you're a college coach, recruit it; if you're a youth/HS coach, develop it.

That being said, in the NBA, it's not lost; it's de-emphasized because midrange jump shots & post-up plays have low efficiencies. You can argue stats, nerds, numbers, all you want, but at the end of the day, the team that wins is the one with the highest # on the scoreboard.

Arguing that, on average, taking a large number of shots that get, on average, .8 points per possession is better offense than shots that get 1.0 points per possession is a losing strategy.

Now, in a 1-point game w/seconds left a 40% shot is better than a 34%. This isn't hard.

For more:

Midrange: https://180shooter.com/the-fascination-with-the-midrange

Post play: http://playmakersleague.com/there-is-no-mystery-in-the-decline-of-post-play-in-basketball/

The correct argument, for those beholden to midrange jump shots and post play, is that we cannot generalize NBA data to youth and high school basketball. Low efficiency shots in the NBA may be high efficiency shots at lower levels. That’s the argument.