Quote:
Originally Posted by Monticore
The was way more hand checking back then, but long range shooting has definitely gotten better.
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I've mentioned it here before (I think) but I saw a video of Dwight Howard, who is the protypical back to the basket player and lousy face-up shooter. In the video he was just taking passes from a ball boy and drilling 15 footers like they were nothing.
Probably hit 90% of them when he was warming up, getting to his spots easy and taking uncontested shots with time to get into his shooting motion.
And then as a college basketball season ticketholder I've watched a bunch of college games (and warmups). Those guys get open looks all the time and just flat miss 'em. A college kid gets an open look from 15 feet and if he hits it you're excited. A pro, even a 'lumbering' forward gets an open look from 15 feet and if he misses it you're surprised.
The 'there's no defense' crowd wildly underestimates just how damn good these guys are at shooting the ball. But/for the insanely high level of defense played in the NBA, shooting percentages would be in the 60%+ range with regularity.
NBA players are obscenely good at putting the ball in the basket. Pretty much any miss you ever see has something to do with them being rushed, harassed or challenged. Defense is a massive part of the game.