Downward trend of Kawhi's 3 point shooting

[freetiago]

as his inside game is getting leaps and bounds greater his outside the arc game has declined fast
over the last 5 games hes averages 15 points but only shot 18% from 3
in the month of February when he really started getting better outside he only shot 33% for the month

its nice to see his game improving
9 pts per month in November December and January to 15 in February and March but when TP is back his primary role will most likely be floor spacer and SA needs to get back to 40% to be effective
if Kawhi isnt hitting his and Danny pulls his disappearing act then Spurs are done in the playoffs

[xellos88330]

Teams now know that he can hit the 3 at a high clip so the adjustments by other teams are starting to run him off the three point line, or starting to contest the shot because they are paying him attention. It has forced Leonard to show that he is much more than just a three point threat. This is a good thing for Leonard because now he is starting to score inside as well as a three point threat. Soon teams will have to start spacing him better because they are learning that he can get to the rim or knock down mid range jumpers. When teams start doing this, Leonard will get better looks at the 3. This is the main reason why I am so high on Leonards' offensive development. His defense is already solid and is looking much more consistent this season, and he is showing much more variety in his offensive game.

[Russ]

as his inside game is getting leaps and bounds greater his outside the arc game has declined fast
over the last 5 games hes averages 15 points but only shot 18% from 3
in the month of February when he really started getting better outside he only shot 33% for the month

its nice to see his game improving
9 pts per month in November December and January to 15 in February and March but when TP is back his primary role will most likely be floor spacer and SA needs to get back to 40% to be effective
if Kawhi isnt hitting his and Danny pulls his disappearing act then Spurs are done in the playoffs

I'm glad to see Kawhi going to the hole more. We Spurs fans see him as another Bowen and that sets expectations.

But his upside is higher than Bowen's and for the Spurs to succeed against the more athletic teams in the playoffs, Kawhi's moves to the basket will be critical. Even in the Spurs' current slump, his offensive agressiveness is a silver lining.

[exstatic]

Still shooting 37%, and that's over the league average. Players go through ebbs and flows in their shooting. It's not like ANY player hits their average, spot on, every night.

[Seventyniner]

as his inside game is getting leaps and bounds greater his outside the arc game has declined fast
over the last 5 games hes averages 15 points but only shot 18% from 3
in the month of February when he really started getting better outside he only shot 33% for the month

It's friggin' 2 of 11. Yeah it's 18% but the sample size is so small that you can't glean anything from it.

[jestersmash]

Still shooting 37%, and that's over the league average. Players go through ebbs and flows in their shooting. It's not like ANY player hits their average, spot on, every night.

It's friggin' 2 of 11. Yeah it's 18% but the sample size is so small that you can't glean anything from it.

</thread>

[Floyd Pacquiao]

he's shooting more midrange and driving to the hole now. he's just not standing in the corner any more

[spurtech09]

Teams now know that he can hit the 3 at a high clip so the adjustments by other teams are starting to run him off the three point line, or starting to contest the shot because they are paying him attention. It has forced Leonard to show that he is much more than just a three point threat. This is a good thing for Leonard because now he is starting to score inside as well as a three point threat. Soon teams will have to start spacing him better because they are learning that he can get to the rim or knock down mid range jumpers. When teams start doing this, Leonard will get better looks at the 3. This is the main reason why I am so high on Leonards' offensive development. His defense is already solid and is looking much more consistent this season, and he is showing much more variety in his offensive game.

+1

[freetiago]

lol at how sensitive spurfan are
just giving an observation ive noticed since Leonard has started increasing his role that we should keep an eye on
or should i be making more spurs are done threads that litter the frontpage

and in the past 30 days Leonard has been bad from everywhere except the right corner
http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/player/shotchart/1290
and hes not a great 3 point shooter
a solid corner one but hes been horrible all season and last season anywhere not a corner

last season he shot 30% on 3s that werent in the corner
this season hes shooting 19% on 3s that arent in the corners

[xellos88330]

Do those percentages factor in the time left on the clock/shot clock? I have noticed that Leonard will rarely take a 3 outside the corner unless he is WIDE open or is against the shot clock.

[Man In Black]

If he shot 2-11 and the Spurs were still wreckin' shop, then no one would complain. This site goes BAMA whenever the Spurs look vulnerable. They play the same way everytime, even keel and a high level, but...there are times when a high level by itself is not enough. It's rare, but performances like that jut past the Spurs high level and that's when the team could get the L. It's happened the other way as well, like when the Spurs were down to a strong Maverick team and then Steve Kerr just went bananas.

It happens.

[spurraider21]

lol didn't kobe have a 1-34 stretch or something crazy like that?

[sasffl]

He's driving to the lane much than before

[racm]

He's 2-11 because he's taking more non-corner 3s (mostly because Parker's absence forces him to shoot more above the break) and he's utter trash on non-corner 3s.

Duh?

[Brunodf]

He's 2-11 because he's taking more non-corner 3s (mostly because Parker's absence forces him to shoot more above the break) and he's utter trash on non-corner 3s.

Duh?

You are right.
Without Parker, the bigs(TD/TS) are the "playmakers" in the starting 5, the bigs post up and kick out to non corner 3s...

[Chinook]

Leonard is not taking as many good threes as he used to. Part of that is that he is forcing the issue more on offense, and part of it is that he's no longer getting the looks he used to get with Parker running the show. Players like Green and Bonner will pass out of bad attempts in the majority of cases. Someone needs to make something happen on offense, and Kawhi is trying to step up.

But as I've been saying for a while now, fans are overrating Kawhi on both sides of the floor. He's not nearly as good on offense right now than many folks on this site pretend he is. Some people think that the problem with the Spurs' offense is that Leonard doesn't get the ball enough. While I agree (and have been asserting for a while) that he should get touches in the post, overall he doesn't need more touches than he's getting now. He needs to return to his previous efficiency before his workload is increased.

[racm]

Leonard is not taking as many good threes as he used to. Part of that is that he is forcing the issue more on offense, and part of it is that he's no longer getting the looks he used to get with Parker running the show. Players like Green and Bonner will pass out of bad attempts in the majority of cases. Someone needs to make something happen on offense, and Kawhi is trying to step up.

But as I've been saying for a while now, fans are overrating Kawhi on both sides of the floor. He's not nearly as good on offense right now than many folks on this site pretend he is. Some people think that the problem with the Spurs' offense is that Leonard doesn't get the ball enough. While I agree (and have been asserting for a while) that he should get touches in the post, overall he doesn't need more touches than he's getting now. He needs to return to his previous efficiency before his workload is increased.

The Spurs offense has been humming along even in Parker's absence. They haven't failed to reach the century mark.

The thing that had issues was the defense, and even then the Spurs held the Kings, Pistons, and Bulls to great defensive numbers until the Blazers went nuts outside the paint.

[Raven]

he's forcing too much, with both him and green you know if they'll score right after the shot has been taken, they simply don't score well off the balance which is completely fine, they only need to be patient instead of taking the contested shot

[exstatic]

he's forcing too much, with both him and green you know if they'll score right after the shot has been taken, they simply don't score well off the balance which is completely fine, they only need to be patient instead of taking the contested shot

It's not "the balance", it's "the bounce", as in, you bounce the ball a couple of times after you are run off whatever jump shot you were taking,and then you shoot it. Kawhi is MUCH better than Green when forced to improvise. If he's doing it more this year, it's because teams have scouted him and know he can rail that corner three ball and aren't letting him have it much any more.

[JRHernandez88]

he's shooting more midrange and driving to the hole now. he's just not standing in the corner any more

Yup, he's definitely getting his turn with the ball a lot more lately. It's about dam time too. I love seeing him make plays, his confidence looks like its growing by the game.

[Shifty]

I can look at that GIF forever. When watching live, I first thought he would give it to Danny (oh no!), then I though he was going to get too deep underneath the basket with one more dribble and have his layup/dunk contested but he took off one step before. Beauty.

[freetiago]

time to re-evaluate this tbh...

[look_at_g_shred]

It's all mental. Just like Timmy's jumper.

[Buddy Mignon]

It's all mental. Just like Timmy's jumper.

So you agree with me in saying he's a re ?

[Raven]

It's all mental. Just like Timmy's jumper.

i doubt it, the shot is a little too flat and he's not getting very good looks imho.