Big Baby's jump shots

[threrf23]

Seriously, does anybody else notice that whenever Big Baby squares up for a jump shot, he throws up a brick?

Looking up the stats on 82games.com - 73% of his shots this season have been jumpshots, and on those shots he is shooting under 24%.

I understand that these games we're playing aren't must win games, and that our coaching staff probably wants to see Baby develop a solid jumpshot. But can't he just practice his jumpshot in practice a bit more before he makes it a permanent part of his game?

He can be a valuable player on the offesnive end, but only if he plays near the basket.

[Rocky5000]

He hit a few of them in the last game or a couple games ago. He has good enough form, he just doesn't seem to get it up high enough, so he's front rimming everything.

[Fencer reregistered]

His shots pass the eyeball test, usually. They just don't pass the swish test.

I really hope he learns to hit them. He could be a very good player if he could actually score.

[MVP16]

If Big Baby wants to have any long term success in the league, he has to develop that jumper to be money. I'm guessing he is shooting it well in practice because his form looks pretty good. It's just a matter of him getting comfortable and knocking it down during games. I think he is rushing it sometimes and doesn't really have his feet set before he takes it. But it will be huge for the 2nd unit if he develops a reliable 15-17 foot jumper by the end of the season.

[Bruiser]

When I see Baby I think about Oakley.
Baby is just a reliable jumpshot away from being a very valuable player, so keep shooting Baby!!!

[Scalamental]

I know even scal had his shot going durring that Knicks game, but Big Baby did too, and it reminded me how helpful pj's mid range jumper was to the team. It'd be nice if big baby could continue to stretch out the lane for cutters like rondo and pierce with that jumper.

I guess it'd be nice for everyone to hit their jumpers.

[Dogen]

Baby taking those jumpers is clearly part of the offense. He just isn't hitting them. But if McDyess or PJ Brown aren't walking through those doors anytime soon, someone has to do it.

He was pretty good in college with the outside shot for a big man, if I remember correctly. This may be a case where he's hitting them all day in scrimmages but hasn't settled down enough to get his flow in the real games. If he hits, it becomes part of his bread and butter and Baby becomes a valuable asset. We've all seen what he can do when the opposition plays up on him and he uses his big body and nimble feet to spin around them.

[Dave_From_NB]

It must be awful tough to convert a jumper or FT shot from practice to a game where 18,000 people are watching you. The pressure to hit those shots must be immense, especially if you're taking that shot instead of giving it to RA or PP to take. I don't doubt Davis and others are practicing things which just haven't appeared very often in a game. Even Perk with the few jumpers we've seen, he may very well have been practicing that for years before having the courage to take anything other than an expiring shot clock shot.

I think I've got the opposite impression of Davis as you, I think his key to being successful is a lot of play away from the basket on offense. He's got some basketball smarts, his passing can be an asset but if his only available pass is a handoff to Powe, that's pretty limiting. I just don't think he has the height and vertical to be standing among the trees making plays, it seems to me he's being blocked more and more in that area.

Although they're not 3 pointers that he is taking, I think part of adjusting to the move of Posey is balance of others on the second unit being capable of jumpers. When TA and Davis are taking them, it's opening up the floor a lot.

I hope Powe is working on his jumper, it seems pretty rare to see him square up and take one.

[humblebum]

Dave From NB, I'd say the reason you don't see Powe squaring up for jumpshots is that it's not part of his role as articulated by Doc. It's clear that Doc and co. want Powe to play almost exclusively in the paint and the pivot. That's his most valuable trait for this team. Baby, House, and lately Scals are being used to create spacing for Powe's inside game, as well as TA's drives.

In regards to Baby's jumpshot: I think it will eventually end up being a reasonably effective part of his arsenal. If he can hit the open ones at a clip of around 45-55% that will do wonders for our second unit scoring and spacing. That will definitely help that unit develop some offensive flow and it will put pressure on the defense in the pick and pop game.

The second unit is coming along pretty nicely at this point, they're playing really solid D. Now it's time for them to start really putting it together offensively.

[Red2]

every time he shoots it I think it's going in. All of his shots are on line but he usually back rims them because he doesn't have much arc on his shot and he shoots them a little hard. He needs to hit the outside shot though because he's not tall enough ( and doesn't have enough hops) to get his shot off against taller players. I thinnk as the season goes on that shot will start to fall. It's not unlike PJ Brown's jumper which also is a very flat shot. Baby's form looks good so hopefully the shots start falling for him

[ParticleMan]

he needs to start shooting em now so by the end of the year he is at around 35-40%. he has good form, he will get there. there's no simulating game experience with shooting, everything is just a little bit faster.

[Collinto]

Everyone seems to see the same thing. The jumper is essential for BBD to make the next developmental leap. I think the most exciting part about BBD is his ability to guard guys much bigger them him, typically the other teams 2nd team center. If he can start hitting that jumper and pulling the defensive big away from the basket, along with his quick feet and ability to penetrate he is going to create some big time mismatches. Plus, it will help TA get more lanes to the rim.

So I agree...keep shooting.

[UGA Hayes]

I think one problem is that he is taking it from pretty much everywhere. Most guys who develop the one dimensional jump shot will only shoot from a few spots on the floor. He is going to have to accept that he is one of those type of players.

[humblebum]

UGA, it seems to me that Davis is taking the large majority of shots (aside from the shots toward the end of the shot clock) from around the elbows on both sides and he's also take the short corner shot from both sides. He's taking them from those spots because that's where he ends up after the pick and pop play. Otherwise those shots are coming off ball movement and Davis is just looking for the open spaces on the court. I think he's making the right play in shooting those shots, he just needs to start knocking them down.

[MyInsatiableOne]

He hit a few of them in the last game or a couple games ago. He has good enough form, he just doesn't seem to get it up high enough, so he's front rimming everything.

That's the problem. Like Perk a week or so back. hit some jumpers, and all of a sudden you think you're a shooting force and you're jacking them up all the time. Baby needs to get down low and work inside (although he has little to no jump so it's a challenge).

[GuyClinch]

Baby is never going to be good inside. You might as well work Ray Allen in the post - he is just as tall and has better hops and longer arms. <g> BBD needs that J to become a good rotation player.

[BeanTownBrawler]

He hit them all the time in college, even showing 3 point range. I think he just hasn't established a rhythm

[bawstin]

You people are crazy. BBD has a huge flaw in his shooting form. As soon as he steps past the FT line he gets this huge hitch in his shot. There's no way that thing is going in more than 25% of the time if he doesn't get that straightened out.