http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-s...-boosts-spurs/Jefferson’s second-year improvement boosts Spurs
by J. Michael Falgoust
USA Today Sports
Richard Jefferson has scored many more points and grabbed more rebounds than he has this season, his 10th in the NBA.
Yet the once-embattled small forward probably has never played better than this second year with the San Antonio Spurs.
“It’s like night and day. He understands where he should be on the court. He’s confident in the offense and what he’s doing,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says. “He’s playing better defense. … Big improvement.”
He’s one reason the Spurs have the NBA’s best record, 24-3 entering Wednesday.
Jefferson is averaging 14.1 points and 4.2 rebounds, a far cry from the career-high 22.6 points he averaged with the New Jersey Nets three years ago. But now he is playing alongside All-Stars such as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. He doesn’t have to carry the load by himself.
Jefferson just has to fit in, and is, shooting 49.2% from the field and a career-best 45.5% on three-pointers entering Wednesday.
“I played in an up-and-down, forward-based offense,” he says of his time in New Jersey, including two NBA Finals. “Here it’s more pick-and-rolls, more of a post-up situation for Tim. None of our games are similar so it’s not like you can run the same stuff for me that you can run for Manu and Tony. … In your first year in your job it’s going to take some time to get into your swing.”
Jefferson worked on his fundamentals in the offseason so he could play San Antonio’s efficient, precise style. Spurs assistant coaches went to New York to help with his two-a-day sessions.
“It was a lot of work only because it was something I hadn’t done before … the way I had to come off screens, shooting a ton more corner threes,” says Jefferson, whose 12.3-point average last season was his lowest since his rookie 2001-02. “I’d never gone into the gym and worked two hours on those exact things. Those guys really helped. They knew that I was not happy with the amount I contributed to our team, and I wanted to add more.”
After being swept by the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference semifinals, the aging Spurs seemed headed downhill … until the rejuvenated play of veterans such as Jefferson.
“Usually with us, the second year is what changes it for people,” Duncan says. “The light goes on and they become more comfortable with what they’re doing. And he’s shown just that.”
The Spurs have become a top five offense (106.8 points per game) and lead in three-point shooting (40.5%). Jefferson’s contributions have been a big part of that, although his most important don’t show in a boxscore.
“He’s making it easier for a lot of other players around us,” says third-year guard George Hill, the leading scorer off the bench at 11.3 points per game. “He’s been a big key to our offense.”
Jefferson’s transformation has impressed Popovich, who has led the Spurs to four NBA championships, in other ways.
“I really give Richard a lot of credit. Most guys who’ve been in the league as long as him aren’t going to change much,” Popovich says. “He’s willing to go back to the drawing board and work on some fundamentals. It shows what kind of character he has.”
obviously we need RJ to score, but the percentages arent THAT important IMO. Its more important for him to be smart, play with poise, and not revert to the insecure/low iq player we saw last year. I think that he should be more involved in the offense, both to keep him engaged and to take the load off the big 3. Like it or not, RJ is crucial to our success, more so than bonner or splitter IMO.
Percentages are always important. That's what drives confidence. If a person shoots 20 percent and still heaves the ball on every possession, it's either Dominique or Terry mins. Neither belong on this team this year.
Awesome season so far from RJ. Hope he can keep it up.
no one said anything about 20%. My point is that RJ can make 2/3 threes but if he steps out of bounds, gets lost in transition, and passes up some shots it doesnt matter if he shot 66%. Conversely, he can go 1/6 from 3 but if he is pulling down boards and going to the rim, it doesnt matter that he shot poorly. Last year the worst thing about RJ wasnt the bricks, it was the lost puppy dog look that invited teams to attack him on D and leave him open on O. We need him to play at a high level but he is useless unless he shows some heart and some smarts; in other words, he needs to be clutch. there will be many games where teams prefer to leave RJ to cover the big 3 and he has to make those daggers.
I fully expect RJ to feast in the playoffs.
4 months and 50 games before the playoffs. If they all continue til then with the same diligence we've seen so far this season, we'll be ready.
I really don't see why RJ can't keep up with this level of contribution.
His shot has greatly improved thanks to his tweaked mechanics and his confidence. He now understands when he needs to be aggressive. Hes doing a great job penetrating and slashing when the opportunity is there, providing easy points and FTs (would still like his FT% to return to his career average.)
Agree. Everytime RJ hits a timely 3, I smile like a happy pothead who just got a free bag of purple weed.
Last year late in the season, I posted that I thought that RJ was in the same boat as Jason Richardson in Phoenix. JRich's first season (the one he was traded) was pretty horrific. Last season he was a killer. During our series last year with Phoenix, every time they kicked the ball to him in the open, the ball was going in. He'd found his niche. I think this year is RJ's year to shine. It looks like he's getting more and more comfortable with the system and his confidence is rising. I think this is the year that we should judge the value of his pickup more than last year.
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