RealGM

How common is it for a player to develop these skills over a career

-outside shooting
-mid-range shooting
-cout vision
-defensive awarness
-handles
& low post game

Which is the most expected to see players develop, Which is the least expected, & can you Give Any examples of players that went from having one of these skills as a weakness to being able to hang there hat on it?

I'd say it's pretty common. It just depends on if the players own up to their flaws and get in the gym during the off season. I think all the attributes listed above can be developed and/or improved upon.

Court vision seems to be the hardest to work on. I've watched other players improve their games, but this one is very rare.

midrange shooting is the most common I see for big men, followed by 3 point shooting for all types of guards.

justinandimcool wrote:midrange shooting is the most common I see for big men, followed by 3 point shooting for all types of guards.

Guards, you say?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSfBRAIT4eg[/youtube]

Defense awareness least for Amare.

In terms of easiest to hardest:

Mid-range
Outside
Low Post
Defensive Awareness
Handles
Court Vision

Roddy B for 3 wrote:How common is it for a player to develop these skills over a career

-outside shooting
-mid-range shooting
-cout vision
-defensive awarness
-handles
& low post game

Which is the most expected to see players develop, Which is the least expected, & can you Give Any examples of players that went from having one of these skills as a weakness to being able to hang there hat on it?

court vision - you either have it or don't
outside shooting is the easier, you just need to practice so that you have muscle memory of making them
if bruce bowen can do it everyone should be

I can say that when Jason Richardson entered the league as a Warrior he had terrible handles, decent defensive awareness, a good low post game, and a decent outside shot.

Been watching him all career and he's definitely improved his shooting, low post game, and defensive awareness. Defensive awareness to a solid level, but I wouldn't say he improved to above NBA standards. His handles haven't improved much though.

JJ Redick has improved/developed on all those except low post game.

mrm5480 wrote:In terms of easiest to hardest:

Mid-range
Outside
Low Post
Defensive Awareness
Handles
Court Vision

agree except i'd flip the first two

mid-range is a dying art

I think from easiest to hardest to develop:
Outside shooting
Mid range shooting
Low post game
Handles/Defensive awareness
Court vision

Big men usually take a while to develop their low post game, but it usually gets developed. Court vision is tough especially if you're not necessitated to be a distributor. I think every single one of those is just about practice, tape, and more practice. Not one is necessarily more difficult than another; it just depends on the opportunity you're given and what you do with that opportunity.

branny wrote:I think from easiest to hardest to develop:
Outside shooting
Mid range shooting
Low post game
Handles/Defensive awareness
Court vision

I agree and here's why

Outside shooting- typical open shots so its easy to practice them and hit them in the games.
Mid range shooting- usually either with someone in your face or off the dribble, timing and patience are the issues here.
Low post game- post game is all about angles and footwork. Basically knowing where the basket and backboard is prior to turning and have the footwork to set up the shot in a matter of seconds is crazy hard.
Handles/Defensive awareness- I've always tried to work on my ball handling(lulz) but really all I did was get more comfortable handling pressure. You'll never be a crossover machine unless you naturally have it. 1 or 2 go to moves but really the best thing to have is ball control
Court vision- You cant develop court vision, its just there. LeBron had it at 13 years old, Kidd, Magic etc.. all had it. Thats something you just have and build your game around. Floor vision is different though you can develop that through playing the game and understanding where a guy will be, should be and how to attack it. Kobe has great floor vision but no court vision for example

Shooting is probably the easiest skill to learn for a player. Low post game the next; lots of examples of players developing great low post games when originally they had little to no expertise in that part of their games, Dwight, Kobe, etc.

I think defensive awareness/court vision are in a way relative because it goes back to your basketball IQ. I believe that when you reach the NBA where things are much more competitive than any league any player has played in before it's harder to have the game slow down for you. Against high school and college competition players have an easier time to breathe and can see the game with a clearer mind, but against the best basketball athletes in the world day in day out how can you improve that dimension of your game when you always have to be in full gear mentally?

Handles is weird. It's like the learning curve for it gets significantly harder to develop as you age.

Choker wrote:Shooting is probably the easiest skill to learn for a player. Low post game the next; lots of examples of players developing great low post games when originally they had little to no expertise in that part of their games, Dwight, Kobe, etc.

I think defensive awareness/court vision are in a way relative because it goes back to your basketball IQ. I believe that when you reach the NBA where things are much more competitive than any league any player has played in before it's harder to have the game slow down for you. Against high school and college competition players have an easier time to breathe and can see the game with a clearer mind, but against the best basketball athletes in the world day in day out how can you improve that dimension of your game when you always have to be in full gear mentally?

Handles is weird. It's like the learning curve for it gets significantly harder to develop as you age.

Indeed. It's also weird in the sense that you can actually see how older players lose their ability to handle the ball as they get older. I asked my brother about this, who was a professional basketball player and is now coaching and he basically said it's because the older guys doesn't practice handles enough. With nursing injuries and trying to stay fresh and working on other things, handles gets kinda lost in all that.

I've noticed this with Garnett for example, who used to be able to handle the ball like a guard. He's just above avarage while handling the ball right now and if you watch him handle the ball, you'd be surprised that this guy used to be able to play PG, lol..

Stolen Team Fan wrote:Court vision seems to be the hardest to work on. I've watched other players improve their games, but this one is very rare.

Agree with this also basketball intelligence is another one. Something only great players learn.