The only thing that is stopping RJ from being a star in this league is his free throw shooting and a great 15 footer jump shot. What is the answer? When I see him at the free throw line his form is bad. It will only be a matter of time for other team will figure out how to stop him from driving to the basket and after that he will be forced to come up with other things in his game which is not there yet.

Papabear wrote:Papabear Says

The only thing that is stopping RJ from being a star in this league is his free throw shooting and a great 15 footer jump shot. What is the answer? When I see him at the free throw line his form is bad. It will only be a matter of time for other team will figure out how to stop him from driving to the basket and after that he will be forced to come up with other things in his game which is not there yet.

My guess is time will do the trick.

Next year RJ will come back as a significantly better shooter. And by his 3rd year he will be deadly from wherever he wants. Book it

Papabear wrote:Papabear Says

The only thing that is stopping RJ from being a star in this league is his free throw shooting and a great 15 footer jump shot. What is the answer? When I see him at the free throw line his form is bad. It will only be a matter of time for other team will figure out how to stop him from driving to the basket and after that he will be forced to come up with other things in his game which is not there yet.

I would argue with the premise that he need to add 15 foot shot.

I am a disciple of PPP efficiency. I'd rather have a guy that shoots 35% from 3 than 40% from 15 feet out. 1.15 PPP > .8 PPP by a large margin. You become a 40% - 50% 3pt shooter like the best 3PT shooters in the league and you change the spacing on the floor.

Otherwise, you get into the paint and fight through contact. He is big and strong enough to finish and potentially convert a 3 point play. If you tell me his is going to shoot 80% from 15 feet, I'll concede the PPP. We can look that on the floor efficiency charts. But guys tend to finish over 50% when they get into the paint and then have possible free throws and the pressure of fouls putting players on the bench.

I think the 15 footer is what you settle for, not what you strive for.

EwingsGlass wrote:

Papabear wrote:Papabear Says

The only thing that is stopping RJ from being a star in this league is his free throw shooting and a great 15 footer jump shot. What is the answer? When I see him at the free throw line his form is bad. It will only be a matter of time for other team will figure out how to stop him from driving to the basket and after that he will be forced to come up with other things in his game which is not there yet.

I would argue with the premise that he need to add 15 foot shot.

I am a disciple of PPP efficiency. I'd rather have a guy that shoots 35% from 3 than 40% from 15 feet out. 1.15 PPP > .8 PPP by a large margin. You become a 40% - 50% 3pt shooter like the best 3PT shooters in the league and you change the spacing on the floor.

Otherwise, you get into the paint and fight through contact. He is big and strong enough to finish and potentially convert a 3 point play. If you tell me his is going to shoot 80% from 15 feet, I'll concede the PPP. We can look that on the floor efficiency charts. But guys tend to finish over 50% when they get into the paint and then have possible free throws and the pressure of fouls putting players on the bench.

I think the 15 footer is what you settle for, not what you strive for.

The other side to this is you see teams adjust to this especially in the playoffs. We saw last playoffs that Kawhi was able to score consistently from all over the court, including the mid-range. To get to that superstar level, and I'm not saying he will, RJ will need to be a threat from the mid-range. Could be in the post, could be floaters, fadeaways...but he will need something.

MaTT4281 wrote:If only we had that kind of resource within the organization....

Pretty much the same exact body type and height. It kind of reminds me of the end of Dumb and Dumber. “We’ll catch our break soon. We just gotta keep our eyes open.”

BigDaddyG wrote:

EwingsGlass wrote:

Papabear wrote:Papabear Says

The only thing that is stopping RJ from being a star in this league is his free throw shooting and a great 15 footer jump shot. What is the answer? When I see him at the free throw line his form is bad. It will only be a matter of time for other team will figure out how to stop him from driving to the basket and after that he will be forced to come up with other things in his game which is not there yet.

I would argue with the premise that he need to add 15 foot shot.

I am a disciple of PPP efficiency. I'd rather have a guy that shoots 35% from 3 than 40% from 15 feet out. 1.15 PPP > .8 PPP by a large margin. You become a 40% - 50% 3pt shooter like the best 3PT shooters in the league and you change the spacing on the floor.

Otherwise, you get into the paint and fight through contact. He is big and strong enough to finish and potentially convert a 3 point play. If you tell me his is going to shoot 80% from 15 feet, I'll concede the PPP. We can look that on the floor efficiency charts. But guys tend to finish over 50% when they get into the paint and then have possible free throws and the pressure of fouls putting players on the bench.

I think the 15 footer is what you settle for, not what you strive for.

The other side to this is you see teams adjust to this especially in the playoffs. We saw last playoffs that Kawhi was able to score consistently from all over the court, including the mid-range. To get to that superstar level, and I'm not saying he will, RJ will need to be a threat from the mid-range. Could be in the post, could be floaters, fadeaways...but he will need something.

https://www.espn.com/nba/game?gameId=401134820

Its actually kind of interesting if you look at the shot charts, Kawhi takes close to 80% of his shots from the paint or behind the 3. As you say, he certainly has a 15 foot jumper in his arsenal, but its not any more efficient than his other shots. The assumption is that the pull up jumper is less likely to result in receiving a foul on the play, that the majority of his free throws come from his work in the paint.

Game 6 is linked and the other 5 games are available in the margins of the webpage.

There is a more keen point to be taken from these charts though. If you look at Curry's shot charts, Toronto did a good (better than most?) job keeping him out of the paint, forcing him to take less efficient shots. Hard to say that when Curry scores 47, but its an interesting point.

You'd probably have a better perspective than most on the effect of the hand-checking rules as it pertains to PGs being able to get into the paint vs the difficulty in getting there when the rule didn't exist (pre-1994?). My point is that it can be near impossible to keep good ball handlers out of the paint in today's game.

BigDaddyG wrote:

GustavBahler wrote:Easiest way I found is practicing shooting with one hand. Developing muscle memory without the off hand in the way to alter the trajectory. You watch Fultz, and DSjr, their off hand too often is also pushing off, when its role should be to steady the ball. Ive taught people within a couple of minutes, who never played bball to hit FTs with this method. Also works with FGs. Good way to get your shot back.

I think RJs biggest thing is foot work. Not as severe, but same problem Frank has. I've seen college videos and games, where RJ is coming up short or airballing. That seems to indicate a lack of energy transference from his legs to his follow through. You notice this when guys are tired are they haven't set up properly prior to the shot. I think this will get better as he matures and keeps practicing.

His form is already different. His feet are less spread and everything is more straight up. That was all before the Bulls game though, where his shot was pretty flat. Maybe that had to do with fatigue. That was a very tiring looking game.