Can we hire Karl Malone? He fits the description of a big that sucked (shot 48% his rookie year) and became a 70% plus shooter. I think it's ingrained after a while though.
There are some guys who are bad their first couple years and end up being good from the line. That's different from guys like Dwight and Dorsey. I'm wonder what Josh Smiths deal is. He shot 65% in 9 years in ATL.
How about 200 free throws a day and for how many free throws you missed at a game. Take the missed and multiply it be 5 and add it to the 200 free throws the following day. A little punishment should set them straight.
Calvin said he worked with Josh soon after he joined Atlanta. Calvin said Josh shot 70% for the next few years afterwards. There's no reason it wouldn't work again.
What I don't understand with Smith is that all career, he has prided himself on being a competent jump shooter (obviously he isn't) but he can't even make his FT's. How can you think you care competent from range when you can't make the most basic shot in the game?
I'm no expert, but the big men with the big hands you mentioned, like Malone and even Yao, also had a jump shot. You have to learn to have touch on the ball to make shots from any range. Howard, Shaq and Dorsey don't have a jump shot. Notice Howard in practice, he shoots the ball lightly on FT's. But often during games, he throws the ball...chunks the ball at the hoop...no touch at all just like Dorsey.
Is it time to used Dorsey as a test dumby? Force him to shoot underhanded, if it works we will make Dwight start doing that next.
Those who do play basketball knows its not about the reps. Its about being able to stay consistent with your form when you are fatigued. They need to do some running drills then shoot a few free throws, and repeat. From what I see, they actually have pretty okay form
It is about reps.. Muscle memory. Add in fatigue what you described are also reps. All of that has to be taken into account. They miss FTs at the beginning of the game, before fatigue even matters.
It truly does boggle the mind when you are paid millions and part of your job description is to hit a freethrow every now and then.
Hire Karl Malone? Lol............ next lets have John Stockton as the directior of scouting operations and Derek Fisher as assitant head coach.
Dirk still plays for one of our rivals. So does Durant, who most people say is taller than he's listed, and he's listed at 6'9". Regardless, Calvin would have no problem teaching these guys how to shoot. I believe Dirk's said being big just makes you closer to the basket, so it should make it easier than someone like Calvin. Every time Calvin talks about it, he just talks about basic shooting form, which is to start with your legs. None of our bigs do that, but any middle schooler that attends one of Calvin's camps would do it right. I think one of the greatest free-throw shooters of all time could help our guys, and I think it's just a matter of foolish pride and egos that they haven't hired someone just to work on free throws with the guys. It's absurd not to, though. This is why it's absurd to have a team of guys that can't all shoot a midrange shot, even the bigs. You may not want to run plays for long twos in a game, but you should be able to make them, because a free throw IS a long midrange shot, just flat-footed. And everyone has to shoot them. If McHale doesn't have the cojones, have Bickerstaff bring the bigs aside, bawl them out for not figuring this out on their own, and then bring in HOFer Calvin Murphy, and say "Do what he says, or you're not playing, regardless of how much we pay you."
I cant understand it. Get a sports psychologist or something. With the literally millions at stake for the individual players and certainly for Les as well as the mental health of hundreds of thousands of fans there must be some sort of answer. Maybe a sports psychologist, plus Clavin plus there must be some big man with huge hands or whatever the problem is who has successfully overcome this affliction.
Actually, I'd like to see... Can we hire Calvin as as HEAD coach? I've been wanting Calvin to get a shot at head coach for years. His analyses of the team are dead-on accurate and always have been. After every game, the first thing the team should watch is all of Calvin's pre-, mid-, and post-game analyses of what they did right and wrong. Hey, we have precedent in Houston. The Astros' best manager ever, Larry Dierker, came from their broadcast team. Calvin's press conferences would be solid gold, too. If we first-round exit again for stupid reasons, can we consider this, Morey? Pleeeease.
Do we think that Tiger Woods game is suffering because he lost muscle memory due to injury? He took a huge step back in his short game and that does not require power. Most experts say it is all in the head even though he was the most mentally though during his prime. It has been mentioned so many times that Dwight makes a good percentage of his free throws IN PRACTICE. I would not be surprised if that is the same with the others. They have to find a way to get that focus when everybody else is yelling at you. Karl Malone started reciting something in his head which improved his free throw shooting. It's about blocking out all the thoughts and just focusing (easier said than done).
