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How To Fix Dwight Howard's Free Throw Shooting

It's extremely frustrating to watch Dwight miss free throws. On top of it, just from this TNT broadcast alone, people such as his shooting coach, Pau Gasol, and Reggie Miller seem to think the problem lies with his hand and arm release.

That is not the problem.

It's very simple.

Dwight Howard's free throw shooting woes are due to the fact that he bends his legs, then completely straightens them (locking his knees), pauses, then shoots solely using his arm and wrist.

Blake Griffin makes the exact same mistake Dwight does, and it's no surprise they both suck at shooting free throws.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmxY-EabFrw[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10qIOjwBCUk[/youtube]


Watch any good free throw shooter - from Kobe, to Pau, to Nash - they all release the ball as their legs are EXTENDING, in ONE MOTION, NOT after they have LOCKED their knees and paused.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15vWB5wE4Xc[/youtube]


Watch during a game and it's even more noticeable that Dwight locks his legs, pauses, then shoots.

It is much easier to judge distance and create good muscle memory using your lower body, core, and finally upper body in one smooth motion, as compared to the difficulty of judging distance with only your wrist action.

Will someone PLEASE inform Dwight of this problem?

I have begun Tweeting him to let him know of the real problem.

It's pathetic he has pro shooting coaches working with him and no one seems competent enough to identify this problem.

PLEASE JOIN ME IN TWEETING DWIGHT HOWARD, STEVE NASH, and anyone else, so that Dwight knows the TRUE cause of his poor FREE THROW SHOOTING.


If enough of us try to contact him, maybe he will see it.

TOGETHER we can help make Dwight a 75% free throw shooter and the Lakers a much better team for it.

https://twitter.com/DwightHoward

Thank you.

My friend is friends with a guy who trained at Nash's training camp (possible future NBA player). I'll see if he can contact Nash haha.

NBA shooting coaches drive Porsches. I'm sure if they can't figure it out, you can't either.

ChrispShots wrote:My friend is friends with a guy who trained at Nash's training camp (possible future NBA player). I'll see if he can contact Nash haha.

Haha, nice man please do.

get his Shaq's coach.

someone needs to go rick barry on the league, and then once everyone sees how awesome it is, it will catch on

Sedale Threatt wrote:NBA shooting coaches drive Porsches. I'm sure if they can't figure it out, you can't either.

Seriously? So instead of assessing the validity of what I said, you're going to fall back on them being "experts" who can do no wrong? And because they drive Porsches? Huh?

If everyone thought this way there would be no such thing as innovation in the world

He's had all these expert shooting coaches trying to fix him. One guy from the Olympics was working with him and said he would get Dwight to 90%.. . he was 1-6 in the first half

Obviously there is a problem, and obviously they aren't fixing it

Even Marv Albert just called Dwight's missed free throw a "little flick of the wrist".

It's so obvious ..

Which leads me to believe some dude on a message board isn't going to be able to fix him either. Sorry, color me skeptical.

rick barry, done.

Sedale Threatt wrote:Which leads me to believe some dude on a message board isn't going to be able to fix him either. Sorry, color me skeptical.

Did you even read my post and watch the videos?

I have already identified the problem and provided a solution.

You have not critiqued it or disproved either in any way.

Trying to discredit the person giving an argument and not addressing the argument itself is really childish and insulting.

It's called "An ad hominem (Latin for "to the man"), short for argumentum ad hominem, is an argument made personally against an opponent, instead of against the opponent's argument. Ad hominem reasoning is normally described as a logical fallacy, more precisely an informal fallacy and an irrelevance."

Dude I'm pretty sure they've discussed it with Dwight, it's not a coach's fault if he's too dumb to use their advice... some dudes when they get into games they resort to their normal ways and can't get it done

OK, I'll try this a different way: I think Chuck Person probably knows about 1,000 times more about shooting, and how to coach it, than you do. I would be willing to say the same thing about any other assistant coach he's had in his career. What is the common denominator? Dwight Howard. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaq, him -- some guys just suck at free throw shooting.

Barring that, send your pointers in to Mitch and maybe they'll bring you on.

Imadogg wrote:Dude I'm pretty sure they've discussed it with Dwight, it's not a coach's fault if he's too dumb to use their advice... some dudes when they get into games they resort to their normal ways and can't get it done

It doesn't seem like they have since it's a glaring problem and yet the shooting coach is still rehearsing arm motions with him before the game.

it is a very easy thing to fix and yet it isn't. . leads me to believe it hasn't been addressed

Sedale Threatt wrote:OK, I'll try this a different way: I think Chuck Person probably knows about 1,000 times more about shooting, and how to coach it, than you do. I would be willing to say the same thing about any other assistant coach he's had in his career. What is the common denominator? Dwight Howard. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaq, him -- some guys just suck at free throw shooting.

Barring that, send your pointers in to Mitch and maybe they'll bring you on.

Ok, you still haven't addressed my original argument whatsoever.. for some reason you like to only focus on the person.

Who I am doesn't define if what I say is true or not.

I agree, some guys aren't good at free throw shooting. .. but it isn't witchcraft, there are technical reasons that they aren't good free throw shooters, and I've shown what Howard's is in my first post!

Fixing it doesn't require "bringing me on", it is a 30 second explanation to Dwight that he can then go and practice and establish as habit.

I took the "I Know" out of the topic title, maybe that was causing the hang up for you.

Good luck with your Twitter campaign. I'm sure it will pay dividends.

Sedale Threatt wrote:Good luck with your Twitter campaign. I'm sure it will pay dividends.

Thanks. I'm trying to do something positive, to help a player with a frustration and help the team, as I watch the Laker game.

I am sincerely sorry that you have such a negative outlook. I hope it does not extend into your actual life. All the best to you.

Sedale Threatt wrote:Which leads me to believe some dude on a message board isn't going to be able to fix him either. Sorry, color me skeptical.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAD7L_GWkb0[/youtube]

lakerz12 wrote:

Sedale Threatt wrote:Good luck with your Twitter campaign. I'm sure it will pay dividends.

Thanks. I'm trying to do something positive, to help a player with a frustration and help the team, as I watch the Laker game.

I am sincerely sorry that you have such a negative outlook. I hope it does not extend into your actual life. All the best to you.

Thank you! Let me know if you manage to stand out from the 100 other people who are probably tweeting the same crap to Dwight. That would be a hell of a story.

destro wrote:

Sedale Threatt wrote:Which leads me to believe some dude on a message board isn't going to be able to fix him either. Sorry, color me skeptical.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAD7L_GWkb0[/youtube]

LOL, I know. I'm out of line. I should give rank amateurs more respect.