Could the Granny Shot make a comeback for bad FT shooters?

[norcocredo]

The granny shot doesn't guarantee you a better ft%. Where does that come from? Based off of 1 player having success with it in the past?

[NDaATL]

The granny shot doesn't guarantee you a better ft%. Where does that come from?

Of course it doesn't. Does that mean they shouldn't give it a shot?

That's akin to saying if a player is batting .150 for a career in baseball, it's not guaranteed that changing his stance will fix his average. Does that mean he shouldn't try it? What does he have to lose?

[norcocredo]

The granny shot doesn't guarantee you a better ft%. Where does that come from?

Of course it doesn't. Does that mean they shouldn't give it a shot?

That's akin to saying if a player is batting .150 for a career in baseball, it's not guaranteed that changing his stance will fix his average. Does that mean he shouldn't try it? What does he have to lose?

1. Why a granny shot though? Why would you suggest that and not a jump shot?

2. Whose to say they don't already try it out in practice and know if they do well with it or not. A game isn't the place to try out new shots.

[Bolivar]

Interesting that it didn't help Wilt from what I recall. Maybe his form on the granny shot was also not very good.

I think a player who continuously sucks should try every means possible. Making more shots is always helpful.

Wilt was 28/32 FT in his 100 point game, so it's not like he was completely hopeless like Drummond and DJ, he just probably had problems with focus in most games or something like that.

[notsla refar]

Should it? Yes.

Will it? Probably not.

[matt6715]

Nah just keep bricking free throws until the NBA changes the rule cause it's not aesthetically pleasing basketball.

[tsherkin]

1. Why a granny shot though? Why would you suggest that and not a jump shot?

It's more likely to produce better arc than a more conventional FT form for a big guy, which is very helpful. When you've proved for years to be an embarrassing waste of skin at one of the core skills in your game which could make you noticeably better, you should be stretching out every option you've got to try and improve. DAJ is an embarrassment, just like Dwight the last few seasons and Miami Shaq. It's a problem, and it's not a single-variable issue which the granny shot is guaranteed to improve, but there's a very clear ego issue at heart with them not trying it.

2. Whose to say they don't already try it out in practice and know if they do well with it or not. A game isn't the place to try out new shots.

Odds are they don't try it in practice, and if they try it in practice and have never brought it to game time, then it's not an honest effort at using the skill anyway, so it's irrelevant.

[deadfeather]

Flat no, there is no evidence to suggest it makes the shot any easier and these are grown men who value there dignity.

[RingsDontLie]

My theory is that I think for some big guys it's like trying to shoot a tennis ball in a mini hoop because they are so strong and have big hands. Take a tennis ball and try to shoot it. It's hard to get that much control of a tennis ball because it's so light, and small in your hands.

Granny shot seems a bit more difficult. And I think players would be more concerned about the appearance of shooting a granny...

[ImSlower]

If just one of those 50% type shooters came out and started hitting 75% of his under-handed tosses, he would immediately become marketable simply because of that shot. He could smile every time, and his home-team crowd would go nuts when he started hitting four or five in a row.

But, yeah, it's not macho.

[tsherkin]

Flat no, there is no evidence to suggest it makes the shot any easier and these are grown men who value there dignity.

Clearly they don't value their dignity, because shooting free throws worse than a 12 year-old rocking a push shot isn't very dignified...

[matt6715]

My theory is that I think for some big guys it's like trying to shoot a tennis ball in a mini hoop because they are so strong and have big hands. Take a tennis ball and try to shoot it. It's hard to get that much control of a tennis ball because it's so light, and small in your hands.

Granny shot seems a bit more difficult. And I think players would be more concerned about the appearance of shooting a granny...

Except there are plenty of 7 footers or guys with big hands that are excellent FT shooters.

http://www.foxsports.com/nba/story/san-antonio-spurs-boban-marjanovic-huge-hands-rookie-012716

Boban is a 76% FT shooter, what's his excuse? Dude might have the biggest hands in the NBA.

[LuDux1]

Meanwhile in Lithuania..
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SErXWYgXOc[/youtube]

[og15]

Interesting that it didn't help Wilt from what I recall. Maybe his form on the granny shot was also not very good.

I think a player who continuously sucks should try every means possible. Making more shots is always helpful.

Wilt was 28/32 FT in his 100 point game, so it's not like he was completely hopeless like Drummond and DJ, he just probably had problems with focus in most games or something like that.

Wilt was a 61% FT shooter that season, so it is more likely that a guy shooting 61% can make some FT's, though of course it was his best FT shooting game of the season. Also remember that the NBA had the 3 attempts to make 2 FT's rule for certain situations until about the 80's, so that would tend to help your FT% to get some of those.

Wilt's first 4 seasons he shot 57.6% FT. His 5th season he shot 53% FT. The problem is that after that he 46.1% FT for the rest of his career. I know he only tried underhand for a while, and even he said he felt silly shooting like that, so the idea that it is some new generation thing isn't true either.

Wilt's form was not very good either, it was all wrist and just a fling at the rim, and we can probably cite focus as being an issue for those two guys also.

[King of Canada]

They told Shaq for years to do that, but he wouldn't do it either. To tell you the truth if a player is unable to learn to shoot a regular FT they won't have the motivation to learn a new way either.

[og15]

My theory is that I think for some big guys it's like trying to shoot a tennis ball in a mini hoop because they are so strong and have big hands. Take a tennis ball and try to shoot it. It's hard to get that much control of a tennis ball because it's so light, and small in your hands.

Granny shot seems a bit more difficult. And I think players would be more concerned about the appearance of shooting a granny...

It really isn't though. People always seem to say this, but it really isn't logical and doesnt make sense. A tennis ball is not only significantly smaller than a basketball, it is also drastically lighter. The difference in hand size between a "regular" person and someone with large hands is not anywhere close to the same as the difference between a tennis ball and a basketball.

It's more like trying to shoot a girls basketball, which after a few shots getting used to, a good shooter would be able to sink tons of shots from the FT line. Big hands is not a valid excuse, especially when it's the guys with big hands and ugly form that miss, while the guys with big hands and more reasonable form make their FT's.

[NDaATL]

Flat no, there is no evidence to suggest it makes the shot any easier

So they should just keep doing what they've been doing even though it's not working?

I think definition of insanity applies here...

[phillybird]

I think it's gonna take one big name player to do it to make it "cool" and others would follow

[og15]

I think it's gonna take one big name player to do it to make it "cool" and others would follow

Barry was a big name play in his time, and he did it, but others didn't follow back then either, so I don't know

[cpower]

And also clearly not every player is willing to sacrifice himself for bigger chance of winning. you got plenty of players do not want to come off bench .etc. Not like everyone is playing for spurs.