So it is the first time he's seriously worked on his shooting mechanics. Can't compare an NBA offseason to OTE and Mike Miller.
I disagree with that assessment. Miller is trying to get him to change something in his shooting motion. It is not about making the shots here, it's about exaggeration the motion to know how it is supposed to feel. After this session he would need like 1 million reps before he can do it consistently and then start work about makes/misses.
I think there was a video of Mark Price teaching kids to practice shooting one-handed above their forehead. It forces them to align the shooting hand straight under the ball. Some of Amen's shots have a sideway spin. You know that's an indication that his off hand is interfering with the shot.
Yup. That's why almost every shooting drill when I was a kid started with doing one handed set shots with no help from the guide arm right under the rim without jumping and working on the stroke and the bend in the knees to feel how the ball should be launched. Eventually you moved back until you start your actual jump shots but you have the muscle memory engaged with how you should square up with that initial drill starting right under the rim. I can tell that isn't how Amen was trained as a kid due to how disconnected his upper body and lower body are with his shot. It's as if he never understood why people jump on their jump shots.
No, that wasn't really the point of that whole paragraph pointing out their stark differences. I'm certainly not suggesting that Amen needs no improvement. I'm saying that people latched onto 3 games. His handle by the end of the season was quite improved, especially if those 3 games are the baseline. And also, I suppose, that he and Draymond are quite different players. Feels like these aren't hot takes.
Hoping the entire squad-- but especially Amen-- can improve shooting mechanics and habits just from imitating Reed. That child has a very pure and proper stroke. Coach 'em up, Reed!
Don't think anyone is necessarily saying anything like this, but I do want to emphasize that OTE did have a shooting coach. It wasn't Mike Miller (he was just part of a single workout I think, along with guys like Penny Hardaway and others), but they did have dedicated resources for stuff like that. Kevin Ollie was in charge of everything coaching/development related if that means anything to people. I'm mostly saying this to both give credit and damn the Thompsons. The "if they love basketball and work so hard, why did they never learn to shoot" stuff is pretty dumb IMO. They did work on it. A lot. And here we are. The only thing I'll say is that while they did have dedicated resources (better than most programs for teenage prospects I think?), NBA resources certainly are better. I forget the name of the shooting coach, but I did look him up once, and while I'm sure he's fine at what he does, he's probably not NBA development coach quality. I do have hope that Amen can work things out, but I don't think it will be easy or quick. If it was, I'm pretty sure he would have "fixed" his shot years ago.
i hope Amen and Green finally dispel the myth around here that you need to be a good three-point shooter to be great player. You really don't. You just need to be the best at what you can do.
Amen is going to be a great player either way. Jalen Green needs to learn how to shoot. You can’t be built like Kevin Martin and also not knock down shots.
Jalen Green learned how to shoot. He is inconsistent and has a much more energy expensive role on offense than Amen. One of these players opposing teams actually fear going feugo and making 5 threes on them in a few minutes so aren't going to play off him and it ain't Amen. And drop this bs about Green and his physical traits as if he doesn't have unicorn traits but in different ways compared to Amen. Watch former NBA players who are opposing team analysts wax lyrical about Green and his unicorn traits for example the last Wolves game in Minnesota, Jim Peterson, the Wolves analyst observing game in the sidelines said how Jalen Green is up there with Ja and Fox as the quickest players in the league while dribbling but Green is a much bigger guard at 6'6" compared to those guys. Does Green need to become a more consistent shooter given his role as a primary offensive option which isn't Amen's role? Sure. But to pretend the dude is basically Kevin Martin in terms of talent and ability is absurd. Green has the agility and creative handles of small guards like Maxey, Fox l etc but with a much longer frame. Amen definitely has a significantly higher defensive ceiling but Green has a significantly higher offensive ceiling. Amen's jump shot btw is a microcosm of his relative stiffness compared to Green. It ain't Jabari level stiffness bad but Green is rather elite when it comes to fluidity, quick coordinated steps etc so it's a high bar. Amen is a bit more robotic and isn't as creative with how he moves on offense compared to Green.hence the much lower ceiling on offense.
I have my doubts about Amen's and his brothers shooting. I think sometimes it's not really about how hard you work, it's just genetics. There's no exact science to shooting a ball into a hoop, everyone's limps, tendons, bones, etc are all built differently. If anything there's really no form that fits all, you just have to find the most optimal form that fits you. I don't even think Amen's form is that bad, but it's just not working for whatever reason.
