SOME THOUGHTS ON SHOOTING

It's no secret that we've been placing an enormous amount of practice time into sharpening our shooting skills over the Christmas break (200 made shots/player per practice) and I think the results of that work will be seen in our game on Tuesday.

It’s no secret that the best shooters in the NBA are also the ones who work on their shots the most.

Kobe's shooting workouts are stuff of legend. 2,000 shots a day!!! Reggie Miller was always out there two or three hours before every game, perfecting his shot. Ray Allen is on the floor three hours before every game working on his shot. He actually works at such a game-like speed that he sweats nearly as much in his pre-game routine as many players do in a game!

Some of the key points:

• take “game shots from game spots at game speed”
• be “ready on the catch” – knees bent; feet ready; hands ready
• have “10 toes to the rim” – if you have 10 toes to the rim you will be squared up
• keep “feet under shoulders” – gives you balance
• remember that “the quality of your feet determines the quality of your shot” – footwork is so important to balance, and balance is so important to a quality shot
• have "fingers down - not up or sweeping sideways" - the hand/fingers follow-through should remain consistent on each shot - fingers downward
• have “perfect follow through”— there are three ways to follow through (the first two are wrong and often lead to a missed shot): (1) straight up to the ceiling – forces shot to be short (2) straight at the rim – forces a short “no arc” shot (3) a follow through half way between both – up and over the front rim so that the shooting elbow ends up above eye level
• have “perfect feet – perfect follow through” – the beginning of the shot (the feet) and the end of the shot (the follow through) are the most important parts of the shot

(thanks Kevin Eastman)