How To Fix Dwight Howard's Free Throw Shooting

[lakerz12]

It looks like this is going to continue to be a big problem.

We don't want this huge liability of Dwight not being able to make free throws in crunch time.

So I'll be tweeting and doing whatever else if anyone else wants to join in the effort

thanks already to ChrispShots and others. I think they are enough good Laker fans out there that we can get this done!

[tysonironmike]

It looks like this is going to continue to be a big problem.

We don't want this huge liability of Dwight not being able to make free throws in crunch time.

So I'll be tweeting and doing whatever else if anyone else wants to join in the effort

thanks already to ChrispShots and others. I think they are enough good Laker fans out there that we can get this done!

You think you are the first one to recognize this problem? So due to this discovery you have made, I'm guessing that if every NBA player follows your advice, Every guy in the NBA would at least be a 75% and over free throw shooter right?

[lakerz12]

It looks like this is going to continue to be a big problem.

We don't want this huge liability of Dwight not being able to make free throws in crunch time.

So I'll be tweeting and doing whatever else if anyone else wants to join in the effort

thanks already to ChrispShots and others. I think they are enough good Laker fans out there that we can get this done!

You think you are the first one to recognize this problem? So due to this discovery you have made, I'm guessing that if every NBA player follows your advice, Every guy in the NBA would at least be a 75% and over free throw shooter right?

No, I doubt that I am... but it doesn't seem like anyone is telling Dwight.. he certainly hasn't implemented it .. no one on this telecast pointed it out.. his shooting coach seems focused on his arms and not his motion .. the great Reggie Miller talked only about his elbow position, etc. despite the glaring problem

No, 99% of NBA players do not have problem - that's why they almost all shoot better free throws than Dwight.

75% is just a guestimate for Dwight since the rest of his shot is fine IMO. Other players have other problems that keep them from 75%

Do you think it's a coincidence that both Dwight and Blake Griffin share the exact same glaring problem in their free throw technique?

Just like the other fellow, you fail to address my argument whatsoever.. I don't know if you actually looked at it or not . .

I'm not going to waste time responding to these baseless posts anymore

[lakerz12]

2 Pages now and several people have doubted what I said but 0 have critiqued my original argument and solution.

I don't know if it's laziness, ignorance, a general lack of intelligence, or a combination of all three...maybe you recognize that what I said is true but don't want to admit it? I don't know.

but I will no longer be responding to posts that talk about ME and not my ARGUMENT.

Who cares about me?

Talk about if what I said is true or not. .

if you can't then please go elsewhere. You're wasting everyone's time

[lakerz12]

I think Kenny Smith just made a great point.

He said if you want to get better at free throws, practice jump shots. All good jump shooters are good free throw shooters because it takes the same mechanics...

It's not possible to lock your legs, pause, then shoot a jumpshop . .

Shooting jumpshots would force Dwight to shoot in one motion

[CourtsideTV]

He coudln't improve it over 7 seasons in Orlando, what makes you think he'll improve as a lakers. you have to live with it like you lived with shaq lol...at least shaq was better bc he "made it when it counts'.

[ROballer]

3-14 is utter garbage.....worse than Deandre Jordan's awful displays

If him and Hill made a mere 50% of their FT's we might have one the game despite the poor showing on D and O

We won't win many close games if Howard won't hit at least half of his FT's

[Jstock12]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz-T30WZKo8[/youtube]

Maybe Dwight needs to try out that two handed Rick Barry style?

[CourtsideTV]

3-14 is utter garbage.....worse than Deandre Jordan's awful displays

If him and Hill made a mere 50% of their FT's we might have one the game despite the poor showing on D and O

We won't win many close games if Howard won't hit at least half of his FT's

trust me..magic fans always use to say the same thing.. "if had just hit 50% of his ft's we would've won the game LOL. he will make them in crunch time sometimes but other times you'll just be shaking your head.

[tiderulz]

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.

good luck with that. Orlando had asst coaches work with him, Howard brought in FT specialists, Mark Price spent an entire summer working with him on FT shooting. He can always hit 90% in practice, but he cant seem to handle the pressure and regresses during games. He gets hot occasionally, but he is a horrible FT shooter. Now you know why Stan the man didnt like to run offense thru him in the 4th quarter. But Dwight will still complain if he isnt getting the ball then.

[jdkmagic]

Op you are mostly correct. It is an obvious bad shooting mechanic that I have pointed out many times over the years as a magic fan. For some reason posters, people I talk to in person and his coaches dont pick up on it or dong think it is a big deal both of which are **** mind blowing lol. Why bend your knees if you are just going to lock them back up and THEN shoot? You are expelling needless energy that is adding absolutely nothing to your shot and if anything throws off rythym.

He is shooting all with his arms and none with his legs which is a huge issue.

But, op, the other problem is mental and at this point it is a sure thing that he has developed some type of psychological condition at this point. Dont expect people to listen to you, as they are mostly retards. Good luck.

[tiderulz]

. Dont expect people to listen to you, as they are mostly retards. Good luck.

nice

[tayzer]

I don't think they would want to fix his shooting. Otherwise they would be out of a job. The shooting coach just wants to milk the cow as much as he can. Pretty simple. Shooting shouldn't be so hard if u have a tutor.

[AdamTheGreek]

You're going to have to deal with this frustration. As someone already said, Dwight had little trouble making 80-90% of his free throws in practice. He just can't carry it over into a real game situation. Whether it's mental or his body not recovering properly from a foul, it comes with the territory of having Dwight.

[lakerz12]

Op you are mostly correct. It is an obvious bad shooting mechanic that I have pointed out many times over the years as a magic fan. For some reason posters, people I talk to in person and his coaches dont pick up on it or dong think it is a big deal both of which are **** mind blowing lol. Why bend your knees if you are just going to lock them back up and THEN shoot? You are expelling needless energy that is adding absolutely nothing to your shot and if anything throws off rythym.

He is shooting all with his arms and none with his legs which is a huge issue.

But, op, the other problem is mental and at this point it is a sure thing that he has developed some type of psychological condition at this point. Dont expect people to listen to you, as they are mostly retards. Good luck.

Thank you. I'm glad someone else sees the same thing.

I agree there is a mental component now, but I think it can be overcome. I've experience a lot of mental hurdles playing years of competitive golf, and this is similar to when a guy (has happened to me) gets the "yips" and can't make a 4 foot putt to save his life. Once you fix the technique and build confidence, you can become great at them.

I truly think I could show Dwight what he is doing wrong and he could immediately start doing it better and gradually build confidence.

It just needs to be shown how the ball needs to be released AS the legs are REACHING full extension.

Also, a glaring thing I see now is that his elbow moves as if he is going to shoot, then it stops, then he shoots.

The fix for this would simply to tell Dwight over and over, "keep moving your elbow".. keep it going up.

Look at any good shooter, as soon as the elbow begins to move up, it never stops--it's one smooth motion.

As soon as the shot motion is started from the knee flex up, keep moving your elbow!

No one could shoot a good % just using their wrist, it's terrible to judge distance like that

I am convinced this can be fixed.

Call me crazy but I'm going to try to contact him/the Laker's office LOL

[tranjSAIC]

The funny thing about Dwight's free throws is he's getting worst. His best year in the league was when he was a rookie. I guess all the juicing is messing up his form.

I think the worst thing he can do is try to fix it, seems like the more he "Works" on his free throws the worst the form gets. He should just go out there and not even think about it.

[tiderulz]

Op you are mostly correct. It is an obvious bad shooting mechanic that I have pointed out many times over the years as a magic fan. For some reason posters, people I talk to in person and his coaches dont pick up on it or dong think it is a big deal both of which are **** mind blowing lol. Why bend your knees if you are just going to lock them back up and THEN shoot? You are expelling needless energy that is adding absolutely nothing to your shot and if anything throws off rythym.

He is shooting all with his arms and none with his legs which is a huge issue.

But, op, the other problem is mental and at this point it is a sure thing that he has developed some type of psychological condition at this point. Dont expect people to listen to you, as they are mostly retards. Good luck.

Thank you. I'm glad someone else sees the same thing.

I agree there is a mental component now, but I think it can be overcome. I've experience a lot of mental hurdles playing years of competitive golf, and this is similar to when a guy (has happened to me) gets the "yips" and can't make a 4 foot putt to save his life. Once you fix the technique and build confidence, you can become great at them.

I truly think I could show Dwight what he is doing wrong and he could immediately start doing it better and gradually build confidence.

It just needs to be shown how the ball needs to be released AS the legs are REACHING full extension.

Also, a glaring thing I see now is that his elbow moves as if he is going to shoot, then it stops, then he shoots.

The fix for this would simply to tell Dwight over and over, "keep moving your elbow".. keep it going up.

Look at any good shooter, as soon as the elbow begins to move up, it never stops--it's one smooth motion.

As soon as the shot motion is started from the knee flex up, keep moving your elbow!

No one could shoot a good % just using their wrist, it's terrible to judge distance like that

I am convinced this can be fixed.

Call me crazy but I'm going to try to contact him/the Laker's office LOL

I am a little surprised that you think that something that coaches and a team has worked with him for 7 years, you sound like you could fix over night. People who make a living based on results, and havent been able to get him to do it in a game, in practice he does everything right, but in the game he mentally freezes up and you can change it. I tell you what, if you somehow get in someones ear and could do it, you could make millions because most big men in the game today cant shoot FT's in the games. But I would be surprised that you believe you see what hundreds of other people havent or dont and havent worked with Dwight on it.

[lakerz12]

The funny thing about Dwight's free throws is he's getting worst. His best year in the league was when he was a rookie. I guess all the juicing is messing up his form.

I think the worst thing he can do is try to fix it, seems like the more he "Works" on his free throws the worst the form gets. He should just go out there and not even think about it.

I agree with you because it seems like he's working on all the wrong things and his "coaches" have him focusing on his hands and arms which is only going to make him more confused and hesitant..

My fix is an easy one involving the big muscles and a smooth motion. it will make it feel natural and he won't have to think after it gets established as a habit

[lakerz12]

Op you are mostly correct. It is an obvious bad shooting mechanic that I have pointed out many times over the years as a magic fan. For some reason posters, people I talk to in person and his coaches dont pick up on it or dong think it is a big deal both of which are **** mind blowing lol. Why bend your knees if you are just going to lock them back up and THEN shoot? You are expelling needless energy that is adding absolutely nothing to your shot and if anything throws off rythym.

He is shooting all with his arms and none with his legs which is a huge issue.

But, op, the other problem is mental and at this point it is a sure thing that he has developed some type of psychological condition at this point. Dont expect people to listen to you, as they are mostly retards. Good luck.

Thank you. I'm glad someone else sees the same thing.

I agree there is a mental component now, but I think it can be overcome. I've experience a lot of mental hurdles playing years of competitive golf, and this is similar to when a guy (has happened to me) gets the "yips" and can't make a 4 foot putt to save his life. Once you fix the technique and build confidence, you can become great at them.

I truly think I could show Dwight what he is doing wrong and he could immediately start doing it better and gradually build confidence.

It just needs to be shown how the ball needs to be released AS the legs are REACHING full extension.

Also, a glaring thing I see now is that his elbow moves as if he is going to shoot, then it stops, then he shoots.

The fix for this would simply to tell Dwight over and over, "keep moving your elbow".. keep it going up.

Look at any good shooter, as soon as the elbow begins to move up, it never stops--it's one smooth motion.

As soon as the shot motion is started from the knee flex up, keep moving your elbow!

No one could shoot a good % just using their wrist, it's terrible to judge distance like that

I am convinced this can be fixed.

Call me crazy but I'm going to try to contact him/the Laker's office LOL

I am a little surprised that you think that something that coaches and a team has worked with him for 7 years, you sound like you could fix over night. People who make a living based on results, and havent been able to get him to do it in a game, in practice he does everything right, but in the game he mentally freezes up and you can change it. I tell you what, if you somehow get in someones ear and could do it, you could make millions because most big men in the game today cant shoot FT's in the games. But I would be surprised that you believe you see what hundreds of other people havent or dont and havent worked with Dwight on it.

I doubt he does what I'm talking about it practice. He probably just shoots better in practice with his mechanical focus on hands and arms because there is no pressure on him. In the game, that method falls apart because it's too technical and unnatural.

I am surprised if no one has showed him this either.

There are 2 options: 1) They have showed him and he is unable to implement it, 2) They haven't showed him

I believe it is more likely no one has showed him because it is not difficult to implement

Regarding making millions and other big men, this is a problem I have only noticed glaringly in Dwight and Blake Griffin. It isn't a problem with all bad FT shooters, they have other problems.

And, there would be little use for me after I show him what he's doing wrong .. it's a simple fix that just needs a lot of practicing after it's recognized and implemented

[Run-MKE 311]

Prayer? Hynosis? This is going to be an issue all season long. I would have to imagine that it is something mental with Howard as well, Shaq talked about that aspect of it in his latest book (not a bad read btw, he actually gives Kobe a lot of credit, which goes unreported).

Howard will have games where he will shoot FT's well, he will have games like last night where it is awful. Unfortunately that makes for a season line which is terrible, not something that will spoil a chip', but a cause for concern.

Hang in there everyone, it was one game of 82.