NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

[ojandpizza]

Re: NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

A great shooter once told me that it doesn't matter how you shoot the ball, as long as you are consistent, and you have a good follow-through that leaves your fingers aimed at the rim you can be a great shooter... Then he proceeded to shoot like 30 different ways all that ended with the same follow through and nearly swished them all..

I've always been a strong believer that being a good shooter has more to do with consistency than perfect form.. Bird, Reggie, Ray, Redd, Martin, Peja, etc. None of those guys have what most would call perfect or great form.. But they all had a good follow-through and were all very consistent with their shooting motions.

[KG]

Re: NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

Just really don't think players put in the work at the mid-range anymore. Sort of a lost art. Another reason basketball has shifted to such a perimeter oriented game.

Probably stating the obvious here, but I personally believe that shooting has very little do with mechanics (although good mechanics can certainly accelerate your success rate), and moreso to do with repetition and developing that consistency. These examples in the video are poor because there really wasn't a emphasis on the three point shot at that time.

I don't think that's true at all. Players practice game-situation shots and most offenses don't emphasize it for what's already been said, it's a low % shot because the defense is going to closer to you.

Shooting is absolutely about mechanics. Look throughout NBA history at who the best shooters have been and almost all of them shoot in a pretty consistent, standard way. Sure there are variations, some guys use a bit more leg than others, some guys might turn their body a little bit but most of them are all the same basic shot. You have some weird shots like Reggie Miller's but that kind of thing is an outlier, not the norm.

EDIT: And on the mid-range topic, the mid-range game is disappearing because its quite simply a bad shot. Defenders are getting bigger than ever and more athletic than ever and spacing the floor is extremely important. Shooting a mid-range jumper inevitably means you're sacrificing some of that spacing. It's not really an easy shot and teams would rather have their guards, who are also getting bigger, drive to the basket and dish or try to draw contact and finish at the rim.

For guys that still use the mid-range pull-up, Jason Terry made a living doing it with the Mavericks. Most nerve wrecking shot in the NBA, the Jason Terry transition mid-range pull up.

JT's one dribble to the right pull-up = cash

The old guys shot about 50% on mid-range jumpers which is just fine. The analytics guys point to the percentages but that is mostly bogus. Westbrook? A rhythm type shooter, not a true dead-eye.

I'll take stat's that no one can prove or disprove because they don't exist for 300.

Nowitzki, David West, Aldridge, KG (of a few years ago), Bosh, K-Love, Ibaka, Anthony Davis, Z-Bo, and even Boogie are all good mid-range guys. That's not even counting guards including guys like Tony Parker.

[Caveman24]

Re: NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

Shawn Marion approves this message.

[Dice]

Re: NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

You think so?

What makes you say that?

It just doesn't seem like coaches emphasize it enough in today's game. And you can tell by the way the players execute some of these sets. And this is not just the bad teams. In the way I see OKC run their offense, more times than I should see, their offense can be a little crazy in regards to just spacing. But because OKC has talented ball players and possibly the league MVP this year the casual fan might not notice it.

[VDusen04]

Re: NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

I'm a little confused with the thread title and video. Are we saying that it's widely believed that shooting is not about mechanics... but it turns out it is about mechanics? Or are we contemplating the opposite (that shooting is not always about mechanics even though people always say it is)?

Regarding the video itself, I must object to the examples referenced for the first two or three minutes, regarding good shooters who, for some reason, were bad at shooting three pointers - examples that were used as a means to critique poor form. I think it's tough to draw conclusions about shooters and their form based off of three point percentages in the mid-80's, as the line itself was treated almost as a novelty at that point.

Virtually none of the players referenced (Larry Bird, Bernard King, Jamaal Wilkes, Vinnie Johnson) grew up with a three point line. And when it was introduced, it was rarely used. For instance, role player Thabo Sefolosha has attempted 139 three pointers in 55 games this year. Bernard King, referenced in the video, attempted 134 three pointers in his entire 14 year, 874 game career (though his first 161 games came pre-three point line). Only once in his career did King average more than one three point attempt every two games (1991, when he averaged .6 attempts per). To be honest, it's likely going to be tough for even the best shooters to maintain a respectable three point percentage when it's just something they try a couple times (if that) every 70 minutes of playing time.

All that said, I did like Chris Mullin's quote in the middle of that video, "There are two roads to becoming a good shooter: Learning correct form and making 250-500 shots per day or shooting with bad form and making 2,500-3,000 shots per day." I actually envision myself using that line in my coaching in the future, because I've always struggled to put that concept into words. When instructing young shooters, I mention there's more than one way to developing an effective jump shot, it's just that I find standard form to be the easiest route.

I say, one can practice becoming a good shooter by pointing their feet to the right, twisting to the left, using both hands as propulsion, and recoiling ones arms back instead of following through, but I'm sure to mention that's more or less just complicating what should be a simple process. I use catapults as reference when teaching. Could people have invented a catapult with a crooked arm that used counterforce to straighten and still deliver its payload with relative accuracy? Sure. But why complicate a simple process?

[LingeringRegime]

Re: NBA Myth: "Shooting is NOT about Mechanics"

Good thread.

My personal experience when I spread my fingers on the ball, and square my shoulders up, I shoot so much better. My form was like a hybrid between Vinnie Johnson and Reggie Miller, I used to shoot so much my fingertips would constantly bleed in the winter. There was a time I was pretty deadly from 22 - 25 feet despite my lack of athleticism. Memories.