I have never been a big fan of of the way Steve Francis shoots the ball. Thats why i think he bricks most of the shots he throws up there. I see different point guards like sam cassel, troy hudson, mike bibby, shot the ball very similar. Obviously steve cannot palm the ball if he could i would like for him to shoot more like vince, kobe, or mj. Should Steve Francis shoot the ball differently. Even AI has a better release and he is smaller than Steve.
What does that have anything to do with it? Anyways, I don't think it's the way he is shooting, I think its all about confidence. The guy is obiously in a huge slump, and its hard to get out of those.
The only difference I see in the pictures of Francis, AI and Bibby is that in this picture Steve does not look squared to the basket when he is shooting. However, an important part of shooting cannot be seen by those pictures, which is how the ball comes out of the hand. While each player's palm appears to be touching the ball in the photos, the release should come off of the fingertips and elevated off of the palm. If the palm of your hand is still touching the ball while you try and shoot off of your fingertips, I doubt the shot will have a nice soft shot with lots of rotation. But what the heck do I know? Maybe he should copy the form of Peja or Reggie Miller?
He will never shoot like Vice, Kobe, or MJ. He doesn't have the same size hands, which makes a huge difference. He will alaways have to underweigh the ball a bit, or use upward momentum to get the ball into the shooting pocket. Iverson's hands are, I think, bigger than Steve's as well. This is not to say he can't be a good shooter, just that he'll never have the natural stroke of an Allen or Carter. MJ oroginally didnlt have all that good a stroke, and Kobe still doesn't, but they aren't limited by physical shortcomings the way Steve always will be.
Yeah lots of his shots look pretty good to me, and they just end up rattling out. You know that's just gotta be frustrating. I do pretty much agree with Yao Wink, though. Steve doesn't really square up to the basket, but I think it's 'cause he doesn't spot up, either. His shots are on the run.
it seemed like most of you guys have followed steve for the first season. Steve was neever this bad of a shooter. He, one season got above 45% For a person so small, that is outstanding. At one point in the season last year,( i belive 30 games) he was shooting 44% from the three!!!!!!!!! HE was an really good shooter from midrange. He doesnt get all his 30+ pts from penetrating you know. Its all about confidence and the shot selection. This year, you could count on your own two hands the number of plays designed for steve at the begening of the play. He only gets his 15 pts from bail outs and fast breaks!!
His elbows aren't square with the rest of his body, and he has no arch. But he does have great Aim and it would help if he had more arch
he does have good aim. You never see him miss it left or right, but up or down. It always hits the the part of the rim that touches the backboard or rims in and out. its tough luck. Adding an arc to it is probably a good suggestion.
just watching a game from 3 years ago on tape and i've noticed that steve has the same form but is more hesitant. especially on the 3. he is a good free throw shooter, or at least could be. he's depending on his athleticism and i believe really wants to pass more now. once he learns his new role he still won't be worth the max but more of a bibby max.
I think that Steve has made a concentrated effort to move the ball around, pass, and feed the ball into Yao. But a side effect of his efforts is, it doesn't allow him to get into his shooting rhythm as when he used to ball hog and try to make every shot by himself. Honestly, I'd rather see him shoot poorly and score less if that means that we move the ball more and get a win. I think JVG shares the same sentiment. -- droxford
He shouldn't change his release. Everyone has their own form on the relaease. Michael Redd and Peja are both EXCELLENT shooters who have pretty awkward realeases. I think steve actually has a very good mid range shot. I don't think his struggles this season are related to his shooting form.
alotta people have unorthodox styles of shooting(marion, pike, redd)......steve jus has to remember the way he used to play the game......he cant abandon it completely.....just limit it....he doesnt seem to understand that....he needs to continue to slash to the basket and make defenses honor him as a legit scorin threat.....
mechanics are overrated. If a player shoots how he would naturally, he shoots better. Brent Barry and Peja dont have traditional shooting styles but they feel comfortable doing it.
Everyone has a diffrent shooting release,Peja,Redd and Houston all have diffrent Jumpers but they always put the ball in the basket. While we're on the subject of awkward releases,I heard Ray Allen has a knuckle ball release.
Worst releases: 1. Shaq (the poor guys hands are so big its like shooting an olive into a picnic basket from 30 feet away) 2. Bo Outlaw (I can't seem to figure out his problem, and neither can he)
form doesnt matter too much as long as you stay consistent. something stevie's been doing for 15 years isnt gonna change just like that.
