Myth - Kyle Lowry has always been a bad shooter, and somehow magically this year, he as been able to turn into a good shooter. Reality - Kyle has always been a decent shooter. http://www.hoopdata.com/player.aspx?name=Kyle%20Lowry If you look at his long 2 point jump shot shooting % in 2008 and 2009, he shot 43% , 54%(memphis) and 51%(houston). In comparison, Aaron Brooks who is considered a great shooter, shot 40%, 40% and 39% in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Lowry had a bad shooting year last year 2010 shooting 32%(manu ginobli shot 31% last year), so if you go by his career, last year was the anomaly, he is a much better shooter than that. This year 2011, it seems he has made the adjustment to take way more 3 point shots than long 2s, most likely due to a combination of coaching, starting and the personnel he is playing with. So we shouldn't be surprised that he has shot the ball well this year, in fact I predict he will have many seasons above 40%. Which brings me to the next point. Why has his 3 point shooting has been terrible until this year? There is two factors; 1. Since he has been a bench player until this year, he is mostly finishing the 1st and 3rd quarters, he is also a player that will always take a heave at the buzzer, no matter the situation, so throughout a season, he takes MANY low % shots at the end of quarters which brings his % down. 2. Given he has been a bench player until this year, he has had to attempt more "bailout" shots in the past than this year when he is playing with a more offensive minded starting group. http://www.82games.com/0910/09HOU2.HTM http://www.82games.com/1011/10HOU2.HTM http://www.82games.com/0809/08HOU3.HTM His % of shots attemped with 0-10 seconds on the shotclock is 45% and 44% in 2009 and 2010, and only 40% in 2011. No doubt he has worked on his shot and made improvements, and his confidence is also higher now, but the reality is that Kyle has always been a decent shooter.
Very, very nice post. I remember when we first grabbed him Morey hinted at him developing into a solid 3-point shooter because of his long 2 percentages...
You talk about the numbers, but last year he was a bad 3 point shooter. You leave him open at the 3 point line and he made them at a 30% clip. People went under picks on him, people left him open to double the post. He might've had a decent percentage from the "long" 2% range, but that's not the same. You could leave him wide open at the 3 point line last year and most of the time not pay the price, now he's nailing 3 pointers in your face like Aaron Brooks did last year. His shot got better. Simple as that.
Every starting point gets bailout shots. Lowry shot the 3 bad because he was a bad three point shooter. He worked in the off season and one of those things was to improve his 3 point shooting. That and the fact that Adelman insist he shoot open 3's and avoid wild heat check 3's not in the flow. The biggest improvement IMO is lowry sticks to the team offense and doesn't take to many ill advised shots. Which also means ill-advised 3's. If you could monitor when Lowry is shooting in the flow or when he is just jacking up shots than you would see a difference. When he just jacks up shots his percentages are much lower. The biggest reason for Lowry's improvement learning not to just jack up shots. Which I give a lot of credit to Adelman who teaches his guys to play to their strengths. Lowry plays more to his strengths this year than he ever has in his career. That's what Adelman does for his players. He get's them to play their strengths and they always look better under him. In the end Lowry is better because he is working hard to be better and because he got lucky to have a coach who knows how to get the most out of his players and build confidence in them.
People dismissing the OP by saying, "He just got better" to explain Kyle's improved 3P% are missing the point. It reminds me of how shocked people were when Jason Kidd started hitting all those 3s in his first 2 1/2 seasons with Dallas. As it turns out, Kidd was always pretty good at hitting catch-and-shoot open 3-pointers. He just didn't take many as the focal point of the half court offense. Yes, I'm sure Lowry worked hard at his game and improving his shot. But what the OP shows is that the potential was always there.
What is your deal with the Suns hate? Why even mention their backup, half-injured point guard Brooks? Otherwise, pretty good post. Hard to explain why he was so bad last year from long range, but it does look somewhat like an anomaly. As you say, he's clearly been working on the 3-ball, presumably at the direct suggestion of the staff/monacle.
John Stockton couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from outside his first few seasons, some people just take time to develop their range (I remember Reggie Miller saying he would take around 1000 shots a day in practice)
Brooks would take shots with people in his face while doing step backs and crossovers. Most of Kyle's shots the past couple years were wide open bc defenders would leave him open. Also Brooks was taking way more shots so not a fair comparison. This year Kyle is drilling threes in people's faces with clock shot running, stepped his game up.
I rememeber watching Lowry play against the Rockets and thinking to myself, wow Memphis has something special here. Then memphis met daryl Morey..the rest is history. Memphis' GM should have pressed the ignore call key on his cell.
he was always a decent mid range shooter but thats a difficult shot to get when your relatively short. working on extending the range on his shot out to the 3pt line was a huge addition to his game. it's pretty consistent now but if he puts the same amount of work in next year i think he can be a complete offensive player. he is starting to remind me of billups. anyone else see that?
We have a long history of stealing players that their teams undervalue. We got Scola for a 2nd round pick, we gave Alston for Lowry, I think we bought Landry's draft rights, and of course we also picked up Hill, Thabeet, and Williams. Hopefully those guys turn out to be the same case as the previous cases.
Here is the difference between a number cruncher and someone who can recognize a skill. Shooting is part recognition and part consistent nature. I will use the yao ming as the example. The ig fella is a great shooter in every sense of the word. Thats why I said i love him at the free throw line pick and pop. Yao is below average on a shot he should knock down like a free throw. Hoop data will show these poor numbers, but what they wont show is why he misses those shots. Yao clangs those thots when he's indecisive about the shot. I charted such a thing the last 2 yrs with yao and lowry. Thats why I said lowry isnt a bad shooter, just an indecisive one. When yao ming predetermines he will shoot that 18ft free throw line jumper, its like a layup. Lowry is the same way and thats why we see him make so many end of quarter and shot clock type of shots. I've said many times that 3pt shooting has nothing to do with the ability to shoot. All 3pt shooting says is that you as a player have that kind of range. Kobe,jordan,grant hill all are 35% 3 pt guys, but can anyone say they're not good shooters? I've watched all of brooks games and shots this year and his balance is all off. Not only that, he's very indecisive right now. In terms of balance, his shoulders and body are off when he's shooting. He's still compensating for that ankle big time and anyone with a naked eye can see he's not increasing the distance between he and his man once he gets by them. I had that same injury the year after my college ball days and it didnt get right for like 8 months. I had pain then, but it was tolerable to the point i could rehab to get strength in the ankle.
was just comparing Lowry's stats with Rondo's.....hmmmm Rondo's 3pt % and FT& is horrible but he's good at taking it to the basket hence his higher FG% overall. Lowry's stats since he is a starter recently, he still have lotsa room for improvement but i just love the way he plays with so much passion
Who cares? He is a Sun! But for the record, yes, pretty much he and the training staff, IIRC, say he'll need to off-season to get back to 100% from the high-ankle sprain (and playing on it most of the season.)
Lowry did it wrong. He should have improved his 3pt shooting a year earlier to make more money. Now he is locked into a 5 year deal and there's no point to improve.
Lowry has a unique shooting form in that his form is perfect for 3 point range, but not perfect for anywhere inside it. His free throw percentage isn't very high yet his 3 point shots always have the perfect distance. He's like Bruce Bowen.
Confidence and maturity are a factor in Lowry's shooting game. He's streaky, and he seems to have an awareness now of when to trust his shot and when to drive in and go for a layup or dish. Also, he's expected to score with this bunch.
