duncan228
01-12-2009, 01:30 AM
First shooting tip — Spurs get a lesson (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/First_shooting_tip__Spurs_get_a_lesson.html)
Buck Harvey
Maybe you've seen the TV ad. All of the Orlando players have.
A company called “Better Basketball” sells training aids. And for $29.95, you can get “the only instructional video released by J.J. Redick, perhaps the best shooter in basketball history.”
Perhaps the best shooter in basketball history?
Hedo Turkoglu, Redick's teammate, playfully shook his head over that claim. “He misses shots!” Turkoglu said, as if astonished.
Redick missed a few Sunday night. But he also made four 3-pointers, including the tie-breaker, and his Magic teammates added 10 more.
Maybe there's something to Redick and his video. And if he were to give a few tips to the Spurs, he should start with Roger Mason Jr., who has merely made more 3-pointers than anyone on his team.
Lesson No. 1?
Get the ball.
The Magic tried to limit that, and Stan Van Gundy said he'd thought about this strategy. He said he'd studied the Spurs for years, because he respects them so much.
So he instructed his guys to play soft on Tony Parker, which is a reason he went for 31 points. And he assigned Dwight Howard to Tim Duncan without much help, and Duncan ended with 18.
But without Parker driving and kicking, and without Duncan swinging the ball out of double teams, the Spurs took only 10 3-pointers until the final seconds. Then they tossed up some when they had no other choice.
In contrast, as the Spurs tried to double Howard and then speed back to the perimeter, the Magic got 42 points from behind the 3-point line.
“We were pretty even across the board,” Van Gundy said afterward, “and the 3s decided it.”
But it was more than merely “how” the Spurs were defended. It was “who” was forgotten along the way, and Turkoglu knows all about this. When he was in San Antonio, he, too, played a supporting role behind Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
Gregg Popovich talked about that before the game. He always saw great talent in Turkoglu, and the Spurs regretted losing him. They weighed the money he would cost and let him go.
Then he became what they would have paid for; Turkoglu plays with the confidence that comes with being a No. 1 or No. 2 option. “My role changed totally,” he said Sunday night.
Shooters have struggled with this for years with the Spurs, from Steve Kerr to Brent Barry. And Sunday night it was Mason's turn. With Parker and Ginobili driving, and the Magic defenders staying on the perimeter, Mason had time to sit and watch a “Better Basketball” video.
The Spurs have leaned on Mason this season more than they usually do a newcomer. The game-winner in Phoenix, with Parker driving and finding Mason in the corner, is Exhibit A.
Still, he's proven he deserves this, and more, over these first few months. He's ranked fourth in the league in 3-pointers, and no one among the leaders, including Matt Bonner, has come close to making as many.
Given this, shouldn't the Spurs have run an occasional play for Mason on Sunday night? Shouldn't he have taken more than four shots?
Not on this team, not now. He's what Turkoglu was before, a role player. He has to wait for the Spurs to come to him, and that happened midway in the fourth quarter. Then, in early offense, Michael Finley gave up his own open look and swung the ball, and Mason threw in his only 3-pointer of the game.
That was for the lead. And less than a minute later, coincidentally defending Redick, Mason put a hand in Redick's face and caused a turnover.
This is the Redick who doesn't do passing, dribbling or rebounding videos. An 11th overall draft pick three years ago, he's only now becoming part of the rotation.
Still, from that moment on, Mason never took another shot. And with just over two minutes left, in a tie game, Redick squeezed off a 3-pointer that should work well on the next television commercial.
On a night when shooting was the difference, Redick was the instructor. And he showed Mason Lesson No. 1.
Buck Harvey
Maybe you've seen the TV ad. All of the Orlando players have.
A company called “Better Basketball” sells training aids. And for $29.95, you can get “the only instructional video released by J.J. Redick, perhaps the best shooter in basketball history.”
Perhaps the best shooter in basketball history?
Hedo Turkoglu, Redick's teammate, playfully shook his head over that claim. “He misses shots!” Turkoglu said, as if astonished.
Redick missed a few Sunday night. But he also made four 3-pointers, including the tie-breaker, and his Magic teammates added 10 more.
Maybe there's something to Redick and his video. And if he were to give a few tips to the Spurs, he should start with Roger Mason Jr., who has merely made more 3-pointers than anyone on his team.
Lesson No. 1?
Get the ball.
The Magic tried to limit that, and Stan Van Gundy said he'd thought about this strategy. He said he'd studied the Spurs for years, because he respects them so much.
So he instructed his guys to play soft on Tony Parker, which is a reason he went for 31 points. And he assigned Dwight Howard to Tim Duncan without much help, and Duncan ended with 18.
But without Parker driving and kicking, and without Duncan swinging the ball out of double teams, the Spurs took only 10 3-pointers until the final seconds. Then they tossed up some when they had no other choice.
In contrast, as the Spurs tried to double Howard and then speed back to the perimeter, the Magic got 42 points from behind the 3-point line.
“We were pretty even across the board,” Van Gundy said afterward, “and the 3s decided it.”
But it was more than merely “how” the Spurs were defended. It was “who” was forgotten along the way, and Turkoglu knows all about this. When he was in San Antonio, he, too, played a supporting role behind Parker, Duncan and Manu Ginobili.
Gregg Popovich talked about that before the game. He always saw great talent in Turkoglu, and the Spurs regretted losing him. They weighed the money he would cost and let him go.
Then he became what they would have paid for; Turkoglu plays with the confidence that comes with being a No. 1 or No. 2 option. “My role changed totally,” he said Sunday night.
Shooters have struggled with this for years with the Spurs, from Steve Kerr to Brent Barry. And Sunday night it was Mason's turn. With Parker and Ginobili driving, and the Magic defenders staying on the perimeter, Mason had time to sit and watch a “Better Basketball” video.
The Spurs have leaned on Mason this season more than they usually do a newcomer. The game-winner in Phoenix, with Parker driving and finding Mason in the corner, is Exhibit A.
Still, he's proven he deserves this, and more, over these first few months. He's ranked fourth in the league in 3-pointers, and no one among the leaders, including Matt Bonner, has come close to making as many.
Given this, shouldn't the Spurs have run an occasional play for Mason on Sunday night? Shouldn't he have taken more than four shots?
Not on this team, not now. He's what Turkoglu was before, a role player. He has to wait for the Spurs to come to him, and that happened midway in the fourth quarter. Then, in early offense, Michael Finley gave up his own open look and swung the ball, and Mason threw in his only 3-pointer of the game.
That was for the lead. And less than a minute later, coincidentally defending Redick, Mason put a hand in Redick's face and caused a turnover.
This is the Redick who doesn't do passing, dribbling or rebounding videos. An 11th overall draft pick three years ago, he's only now becoming part of the rotation.
Still, from that moment on, Mason never took another shot. And with just over two minutes left, in a tie game, Redick squeezed off a 3-pointer that should work well on the next television commercial.
On a night when shooting was the difference, Redick was the instructor. And he showed Mason Lesson No. 1.