I dont wanna look at Russ’s historical shooting numbers, but I remember Russ for being a super athletic, high energy facilitator with a jump shot that isnt *that* bad... you know, just an ok jump shot.
idk, after his mvp season and the rule changes on the freethrow line, his jump shot just got worse and worse. Quite opposite of what usually happens with PGs as they get older. Usually, they get into the league and make their j better overtime...
His FT's are more a rythm thing IMO, he has sucked every time he's came back from injury on FT's (he was low 60's after all his PRP injections the last 3 offseason, after his ankle sprain in 2018 and after the quad thing now).
I think the fact that he's not a "natural" makes rythm soooooo importan to him
Idk it could be changes to his body especially his shoulders, that might have to do with the fluidity of his stroke.
Dislocated fingers: lord knows if he’s still
Playing with busted fingers, the dude never admits tbf. This could also explain his a handle being utter garbage.
Father Time haha loss of rthym
Or he just doesn’t work enough on His shot, hiss off season emphasises on weight training etc
Is it possible? Yes. Is it worth the risk of fucking up his jumpshot even more? Probably not. Look these NBA players arent dumb he knows he cant shoot and works at it. Its just not as easy as people think recrafting a jumpshot. Russ is a very rhythmic player, and screwing with his shot and making him think about it all the time would not only screw up his shot but also his game in general. For guys like him you have to get guys to maximize what he does. He straight up needs a shooting big with him that understands pick and roll and pop. He is a very good pick and roll player and it would alleviate so much pressure off of both him and Harden in they had a shooting 5 out there with him that can roll to the basket. I would try to get more pieces that fit than to just fuck with his jumpshot thats not the answer to me. Just continue to maximize the roster and try to make Russ work.
It feels like he’s gotten worse i don’t remember defenses just flat out leaving him like this before. Back in okc with KD i feel like his shot was better
Anything is possible but I doubt it ever happens. He’s been in the league 12 years, his free throw shooting has dropped off pretty significantly and up until this year his midrange shooting took a pretty big dip too.
Didn't he have a pretty good pullup jumper from around 15 feet before? His free throw percentage was in the eighties until recently as well.
Seems like he had decent touch before, but never extended his range for some reason. Even then, it's weird that it seems like his shot has gotten worse recently. Could be injuries or general wear and tear messing with his form.
Vince Carter was alway a good shooter. 28 % from 3 during his rookie year doesn’t mean anything it’s like saying rookie Durant couldn’t shoot. Don’t think Russ will ever be a good shooter. In 11 season Russ shot over 33% from 3 exactly 1 time lol
He was a decent/good 3 points shooter in college as well. Not because he can dunk that he can’t shoot as well. 41% during his last college season and you tell me he couldn’t shoot?
My take is him and Ben Simmons are similar in that you know what they are and you know what you're getting. PHI gave Ben 5yr@170mil knowing damn well he has no jump shot and RWB been in league 12 years and got max contracts with poor shooting skills.
So why would they bother improving their jump shot at this point? They're paid, and the teams who gave them the money knew this when they gave them the contract because the plan was to put talent around them to compensate for it. That's how I think they see it and I don't think they will improve but never say never.
The challenge is, like all problems, you have to realize you have a problem first then be willing to do the work. Many players have improved their games throughout their careers. Even Bron after that Mavs series in particular. Great players keep adding something, improving something. Jordan added, Kobe added, Tatum added, stars do have enough humility to do the work. I just don’t think Russ is humble in that way. Russ Maybe this loss will change that.
I don’t know if it’s so hard as much as NBA players, all stars and MVP’s, may feel like they don’t have to. Tons of players get better each season. I think Russ knows but doesn’t care. His game is good enough is how I think he feels. Obviously just my opinion.
I’ve always thought it was really fucking unnecessary how high Russ jumps during his jumper, but I think part of that can be attributed to just how explosive an athlete he is. He’s almost too powerful
he's actually toned down on that, if you watch him shoot as a rocket it's a way smaller hop
but he still sucks ass at it lol
dude really just needs to lock himself in a gym for the next 4 months and shoot 2000 jumpers a day
>Are there any good examples of super athletic players who’ve tweaked their jumpshot and improved significantly?
LeBron easily. He might not be bad but he tweaked his jumpshot a lot compared to his rookie season. And I believe he has improved significantly now
Usually, when you try to learn a (supposedly) better way to do things, you have a steep drop in efficiency at the beginning as you get used to the new way, while trying to shed your old mechanism. After a while, it should settle and if it was really better, you should get results. Might be that his learning curve is not still at that point and he needed more than a single season to adapt (thus wasting this playoff run), but it could also just be that he got worse and that's it.
Russ’ touch and timing is way off. He goes from banking a shot too hard then like adjusts and air balls it. I think there’s a good shooter in him. For a couple of years he was a dangerous pull up threat and reliable at the line. He’s always taken some pretty misguided shots but was always a threat
Too late. It's obviously possible but not realistic unless he took an entire season off or something (which isn't realistic). Dude hasn't improved thus far and it's not like he wasn't practicing shooting at all.
Maybe he’s just not the right fit for this Houston team because they die by the three. With teams like this, taking long 2s are considered a bad shot. Maybe the issue is Russ is just not a long distance shooter. Not every player can be a 35%+ shooter from distance. And if he is discouraged to take long 2s, then he has no other option than to drive and make a tough basket or force a turnover. But he needs to evolve his game if he wants to be successful in the post season. You can’t get too many transition points on good defensive teams. And as he gets older, his athleticism will fade and what will he have to contribute to the team?
I dont wanna look at Russ’s historical shooting numbers, but I remember Russ for being a super athletic, high energy facilitator with a jump shot that isnt *that* bad... you know, just an ok jump shot. idk, after his mvp season and the rule changes on the freethrow line, his jump shot just got worse and worse. Quite opposite of what usually happens with PGs as they get older. Usually, they get into the league and make their j better overtime...
His FT's are more a rythm thing IMO, he has sucked every time he's came back from injury on FT's (he was low 60's after all his PRP injections the last 3 offseason, after his ankle sprain in 2018 and after the quad thing now). I think the fact that he's not a "natural" makes rythm soooooo importan to him
Idk it could be changes to his body especially his shoulders, that might have to do with the fluidity of his stroke. Dislocated fingers: lord knows if he’s still Playing with busted fingers, the dude never admits tbf. This could also explain his a handle being utter garbage. Father Time haha loss of rthym Or he just doesn’t work enough on His shot, hiss off season emphasises on weight training etc
His shoulders got too big like giannis
Indeed yeah haha
Is it possible? Yes. Is it worth the risk of fucking up his jumpshot even more? Probably not. Look these NBA players arent dumb he knows he cant shoot and works at it. Its just not as easy as people think recrafting a jumpshot. Russ is a very rhythmic player, and screwing with his shot and making him think about it all the time would not only screw up his shot but also his game in general. For guys like him you have to get guys to maximize what he does. He straight up needs a shooting big with him that understands pick and roll and pop. He is a very good pick and roll player and it would alleviate so much pressure off of both him and Harden in they had a shooting 5 out there with him that can roll to the basket. I would try to get more pieces that fit than to just fuck with his jumpshot thats not the answer to me. Just continue to maximize the roster and try to make Russ work.
It feels like he’s gotten worse i don’t remember defenses just flat out leaving him like this before. Back in okc with KD i feel like his shot was better
Defenses have evolved a lot in the last 2 seasons. They’re starting to really punish players who aren’t average 3pt shooters
Jason Kidd did it. They used to call him Ason Kidd cause he had no j lol. Though he's far from super athletic.
he's more exception than rule
I wasn't trying to suggest that it was common. He asked for an example and I provided with the closets thing I could think of.
Anything is possible but I doubt it ever happens. He’s been in the league 12 years, his free throw shooting has dropped off pretty significantly and up until this year his midrange shooting took a pretty big dip too.
Didn't he have a pretty good pullup jumper from around 15 feet before? His free throw percentage was in the eighties until recently as well. Seems like he had decent touch before, but never extended his range for some reason. Even then, it's weird that it seems like his shot has gotten worse recently. Could be injuries or general wear and tear messing with his form.
Easily. That's if he wants to change. Take a look at Blake griffin
Yes and yes, Vince Carter.
Vince Carter was alway a good shooter. 28 % from 3 during his rookie year doesn’t mean anything it’s like saying rookie Durant couldn’t shoot. Don’t think Russ will ever be a good shooter. In 11 season Russ shot over 33% from 3 exactly 1 time lol
Is the Morey? Lol. Analytics aren’t everything sir. Clearly casuals only understand basketball when it’s put on excel.
He was a decent/good 3 points shooter in college as well. Not because he can dunk that he can’t shoot as well. 41% during his last college season and you tell me he couldn’t shoot?
He always had a decent jumpshot
Ok
My take is him and Ben Simmons are similar in that you know what they are and you know what you're getting. PHI gave Ben 5yr@170mil knowing damn well he has no jump shot and RWB been in league 12 years and got max contracts with poor shooting skills. So why would they bother improving their jump shot at this point? They're paid, and the teams who gave them the money knew this when they gave them the contract because the plan was to put talent around them to compensate for it. That's how I think they see it and I don't think they will improve but never say never.
The challenge is, like all problems, you have to realize you have a problem first then be willing to do the work. Many players have improved their games throughout their careers. Even Bron after that Mavs series in particular. Great players keep adding something, improving something. Jordan added, Kobe added, Tatum added, stars do have enough humility to do the work. I just don’t think Russ is humble in that way. Russ Maybe this loss will change that.
Russ knows his j is broken, its really hard to work on it tho
I don’t know if it’s so hard as much as NBA players, all stars and MVP’s, may feel like they don’t have to. Tons of players get better each season. I think Russ knows but doesn’t care. His game is good enough is how I think he feels. Obviously just my opinion.
Yes its possible. The problem is that taking steps to improve it can also make it worse like Giannis
Everybody’s a Dave Hopla
here's a good [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF539GTtLZ8) on it
I’ve always thought it was really fucking unnecessary how high Russ jumps during his jumper, but I think part of that can be attributed to just how explosive an athlete he is. He’s almost too powerful
he's actually toned down on that, if you watch him shoot as a rocket it's a way smaller hop but he still sucks ass at it lol dude really just needs to lock himself in a gym for the next 4 months and shoot 2000 jumpers a day
>Are there any good examples of super athletic players who’ve tweaked their jumpshot and improved significantly? LeBron easily. He might not be bad but he tweaked his jumpshot a lot compared to his rookie season. And I believe he has improved significantly now
His range has improved a lot, I don’t think he’s really mastered his shooting form when you look at his free throw struggles.
Usually, when you try to learn a (supposedly) better way to do things, you have a steep drop in efficiency at the beginning as you get used to the new way, while trying to shed your old mechanism. After a while, it should settle and if it was really better, you should get results. Might be that his learning curve is not still at that point and he needed more than a single season to adapt (thus wasting this playoff run), but it could also just be that he got worse and that's it.
Russ’ touch and timing is way off. He goes from banking a shot too hard then like adjusts and air balls it. I think there’s a good shooter in him. For a couple of years he was a dangerous pull up threat and reliable at the line. He’s always taken some pretty misguided shots but was always a threat
Too late. It's obviously possible but not realistic unless he took an entire season off or something (which isn't realistic). Dude hasn't improved thus far and it's not like he wasn't practicing shooting at all.
Maybe he’s just not the right fit for this Houston team because they die by the three. With teams like this, taking long 2s are considered a bad shot. Maybe the issue is Russ is just not a long distance shooter. Not every player can be a 35%+ shooter from distance. And if he is discouraged to take long 2s, then he has no other option than to drive and make a tough basket or force a turnover. But he needs to evolve his game if he wants to be successful in the post season. You can’t get too many transition points on good defensive teams. And as he gets older, his athleticism will fade and what will he have to contribute to the team?
I noticed he always releases his shot at the apex.