People say Francis is not a good spot-up shooter, that he needs to dribble first to make a shot. I am wondering, would this not be a typical skill that CAN be learned even at a later stage in a career, with enough effort and practice? Are there any examples of guys who were not good spot-up shooters early in their career and then later they became such? It would surely be helpful if Francis could just catch-and-shoot sometimes, with Ming kicking the ball out. I remember that this was the No. 1 thing Steve Kerr pointed out before the season.
I have been saying this all season, that the biggest problem with Steve is he can not catch and shoot, he has to dribble first. I am not sure it can be taught....probably, but the player has to be willing and I am not sure Steve is right now. I really would like to see him traded at some point for the benefit of the Rocks and Steve. DD
Well whenever he is open..from like a few feet left of the right corner behind the 3 point line..he can catch and shoot and make it. He needs some time to set and aim and swoosh though. I think it can be trained. practice practice practice Maybe hire a shooting coach.
For reference, this is the Kerr quote I was referring to: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=sk-sixplayers&prov=yhoo&type=lgns (from October 19, 2003) I hope that at the end of the season, we will look back and say "Kerr was right. It took Francis a while to realize what he had to do and to get over the hump, but after he put his ego aside, things worked out for the best. The clash with JVG at mid-season was necessary to bring out the best in him."
Yes sometimes Steve doesn't shoot when he should shoot..like when he's open..or has his man screwed..unable to contest. Instead, he passes it. DECISIONS! I think he will have to work on it..gradually improving. Yao also needs to know when to shoot...or he just needs to shoot more.
IMHO, Kerr's quote has already given us the answer... "Steve (Francis) must learn to catch and shoot without hesitation when he receives the ball out of the double teams." Isn't Kerr implying that this is a skill that can be learned? My guess is that it would be similar to becoming a better free throw shooter...you have to put in the time and effort and there will be an upper limit to improvement relative to each individual.
Tim Legler did not have a gift for shooting. His big secret was .................PRACTICE!!!!! While others were practicing fadeaways, cross-overs, behind-the-backs & dunks, little Tim monotonously shot the ball for hrs upon hrs. It takes a lot of discipline to do that. It's not something you do with a group of guys to have fun, but that is what being a professional is about. To get "the Quan" you must put in the time.
Sure, it can be learned. The problem is that bad habits have to unlearned first. For example, a lot of the reason some shooters are better off the dribble is that they use the momentum of the ball's upward trajectory to lift it while geting their feet set and the entire momentum goes into the jump. This can be especially true for players with smaller hands. The catch and shoot requires 3 key elements: 1) Feet set before the ball arrives. 2) Ability to control the ball immediatley upon receiving. 3) A quick delivery from catch, control, ****, lift, release and follwo through..all as fluid as possible. The 2nd of these might be an issue for Francis, as he has smaller hands. It's easier to palm up when the balls coming up than to freeze it and bring it up when the ball's coming at you, from a certain perspective. It's a different skill, as hard in and of itself as the catch and shoot, but it's more conducive to small handed shooters with live legs. Anyone can learn any shooting skill, but as with the hands, people have a more natural leaning one way or the other. The bad habits I see in Steve's game, as far as C&S, that he'd have to unlearn would be: *His feet are never squared before he gets the ball...or that is to say, almost never, and when he does, it's so mechanical it won't help. * He doesn't have a hitch exactly, but he releases the ball high, which usually indicates using too much arm, not enough legs. This works better for off the dribble because your legs are being used to square, counter momentum going in another direction,etc. For the catch and shoot it means your lower and upper halves aren't really working together properly. * And above all, he doesn' receive all that well; he usually favors his right hand, and tries to bring it in from the outside towards his body, then pushing it into shooting position rather than get the 'cradle' ready and just gathering the ball.
clyde was never really a great shooter, but when he came here, he was forced into becoming one. i can remember all too well those times where dream would pass out of the double team and and ther clyde would be with his feet planted and then jumping up in the air curling the ball behind his head and in one motion kicking his feet front and shooting the ball at the same time bending and extending himself like he were a bow.
Are there any other examples of players who very already very good, but did not have that facet to their game, but learned it later?
Jordan got better later in his career. Carter came in as a poor shooter off the catch, and by his 3rd year was hitting over 40% from the outside, mostly off the catch. Magic improved...never got great, but got better. There are all kinds. Sam Perkins, etc. There are differences: Jordan, like Magic and Carter had big hands. Carter came in with a naturally good stroke, just hadn't done enough repetition. Magic developped a style Francis probably won't ever use, sort of like Perkins, more of a flat set shot that he could get away with because of his height. Francis will have to leave his feet, which increases the learning curve.
P.S. ..and I wouldn;t have thought of this one if I hadn't seen him play a lot lately, but Donyell Marshall has really, really developed into a great spot up shooter, and I frankly donlt kno when that came about. He certainly wasn't anywhere near this good coming out of college...
When we traded for him last year, James Posey couldn't shoot. A few weeks ago he killed us in the fourth quarter from behind the arc. I think it can be taught.
Good to hear of these examples. Well, perhaps JVG should make it one of the priorities with Steve then. It should be in Steve's own interest to become a more complete player.
hopefully thats just sarcasm.. But to make it clear if you just stated to follow the rockets because of yao, steve is the hardest worker of all the rockets. He is usually the first to show up at practice, and works hard on his skills. He is no slacker. Becasue he missed one game doesnt proove anything.
Oh I'm sure of it. There are a number of players that came into the league that had no midrange game or can't shoot the 3 ball (jordan) or can't shoot FT (malone) but spent the time in the offseason and worked on those facets of their game. We all know what they were able to accomplish so I don't see any reason why Francis could not work to on his shotup shooting.
i remember francis the last 4 years, as an excellent shooter. Wasnt he averaging 44% behind the arc in the first half of the season last season?
