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Phantom Warrior
11-17-2015, 12:11 PM
Obviously if Duane continues hitting only 14% of his treys (2 of 14 so far), we will struggle.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that his mechanics on his outside shot have changed since last year, and I'm curious if anyone else feels the same way.

What I've seen the first two games is that Duane is trying to shoot at the very top of his jump whereas last year I thought he had more of a set shot. He jumped, but he shot on the way up, and he was not trying to jump as high as he is this year. It also seems to me that he has a bit of a hitch when he gets to the apex of his jump, a brief hesitation in which he cocks his wrist. In short, his motion does not appear to be fluid.

In fact, what I perceive as his "new form" reminds me a great deal of DJ's jump shot. He would get great elevation, and he would release at the top of his jump, but he, too, had that little hitch. I used to watch DJ during warm ups, and his mechanics were different than they were in a game. He would not try to jump so high, and he would shoot on the way up, not quite a set shot, but not the kangaroo jump shot either. And I noticed that he drained trey after trey using that form in warm ups but then would brick treys with the other jump shot in games.

Duane seems to now be using the DJ game mechanics.

By contrast, last year, his form was closer to Earl Tatum's jump shot. Earl could sky with the best of them, but he never shot at the top of his jump. He, too, used more of a cross between a jump shot and a set shot, releasing the ball on the way up.

I could be way off base on this, but that's how I perceive what's going on. Last year, while Duane was inconsistent, his shot looked much smoother (no hitch) than it does now, and he didn't have the elevation on his jump that he now has.

Thoughts?

Djgoldnboy
11-17-2015, 03:10 PM
It's his hair. It's causing drag, so he's not jumping as high as he was last year, thus altering his shot, at least that was my theory last night, ha.

mufan2003
11-17-2015, 04:01 PM
It's his hair. It's causing drag, so he's not jumping as high as he was last year, thus altering his shot, at least that was my theory last night, ha.

I agree, needs to cut his hair like Jabari Parker did ;).

Phantom Warrior
11-17-2015, 05:26 PM
It serves me right for trying to have a real discussion about Duane's shooting woes. Oh well, at least I tried.

Markedman
11-17-2015, 05:33 PM
I haven't notice any difference but I can't say I've been focusing on his form so you could very well be right.
JJ's form looks better but shots are still not going in.

Duane was very streaky last year .......I suspect his percentage will get back up to the mid 30s.

TheSultan
11-17-2015, 05:34 PM
I appreciate you trying, but I used to youth coach with a guy who played D3 ball and could shoot the lights out. He said "as long as you end up with your hand pointing at the basket, I don't care how it gets there." His three kids had all sorts of odd shooting motions but could all shoot real well - one of whom also played in college. I came away from that experience not really a good judge of how people should shoot the ball or what proper form is. In fact I think tinkering with a not-too-perfect form can oftentimes cause more harm than good.

mufan2003
11-17-2015, 07:11 PM
In all seriousness, I think Duane's form is fine. He is on balance and squared up to the basket when he shoots. Elbow is not out. JJ was a guy who needed to reengineer his shot and appears to have done so. Now he just needs to make some shots. Good shooters can go through cold spells. Duane proved last year he can shoot, they will start falling eventually.

Phantom Warrior
11-17-2015, 07:50 PM
I'm not saying his form is good or bad, just that it seems different from what I observed last year.

mcwman
11-18-2015, 06:58 AM
I'm pretty confident his form looks no different then last year. (Mind's eye, no film to back it up)

MUfan12
11-18-2015, 09:21 AM
I'm pretty confident his form looks no different then last year. (Mind's eye, no film to back it up)

Just watched a few highlights from last season, and there's not much of an appreciable difference in mechanics. One thing I did notice this season is that his guide hand has a tendency to come over the ball, which could contribute to an inconsistent release.