shangrila wrote:I can agree that there's more to becoming a good shooter than just putting up shots in a gym. Michael Beasley used to put out those videos of hitting 1000 jump shots and it never amounted to anything beyond that awesome few weeks when he and Love were dropping 30ppg each. But at the end of the day it's far easier to practice and develop the kind of muscle memory you need to be a good shooter than it is to develop the equivalent in defence. That doesn't mean it's guaranteed someone will improve their shooting before their defence but if I were putting money on which would develop, it'd be shooting every time.
Sorry but i 100% disagree on this. Not a chance. If you are seeing defense develop after a big change in shooting efficiency it's simply because of what they are focusing on and what they aren't doing.
Shooting consistently high levels, in games, has the added function of stress/fear/focus wiring in the brain that is different for most people. It's why the difference in gym practice to production in games is so alarmingly different and is a known phenomenon. That's why really young great shooters might be called phenoms. It's not something everyone can do right away, if ever, or even if they find it once could find a way to hold onto that ability. A free climbing wonder freak in recent years had his brain scanned and they found two fold difference in how his amygdala is activated during stressful/fearful moments from average people, even a 20% difference between him and other death daring people. In other words, how much he's able to maintain his focus on the grip of his right pinky finger and his left foot's big toe, and the climbing path he's memorized, all while dangling off a 3,000 ft cliff with no rope. I would bet dollars to donuts that if you could teach this guy a repeatable perfect shooting stroke he could shoot better than Steph Curry in games. Then again maybe not. Add 15-20k fans in the stands cheering or booing, or break off one chunk of rock along his practiced path up the cliff and see if he falls off that cliff this time. Just don't know until they prove it under live and changing circumstances.
