Is Ben Simmons Shooting with the Wrong Hand?

[ItsThatEasy]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/2/16/10966798/ben-simmons-nba-draft-scouting-report-jump-shot

Could've posted this in the Ben Simmons draft thread but I really think it's thread worthy.

81% of Simmons Non-Jump Shots are taken with his right hand.
3.8% of Simmons Non-Jump Shots are taken with his left hand.

That's a staggering number. Watching him play you don't really take note of how often he uses his right hand, you just sort of brunch it off as a strength, "he's so ambidextrous". The fact that he converts these right handed attempts only adds to the intrigue. Simmons is shooting 57% on his right handed floaters yet has only taken 4 with his left, missing them all.

What's really interesting is that Simmons has acknowledged this before, stating: "I think I was supposed to be right-handed," but "it's all natural now."

We've seen Tristan Thompson switch from his left to his right in the pro's, do you think it is at all possible that Simmons could begin shooting with his right in the off-season and actually improve as a jump shooter?

[laploutocratie]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/2/16/10966798/ben-simmons-nba-draft-scouting-report-jump-shot

Could've posted this in the Ben Simmons draft thread but I really think it's thread worthy.

81% of Simmons Non-Jump Shots are taken with his right hand.
3.8% of Simmons Non-Jump Shots are taken with his left hand.

That's a staggering number. Watching him play you don't really take note of how often he uses his right hand, you just sort of brunch it off as a strength, "he's so ambidextrous". The fact that he converts these right handed attempts only adds to the intrigue. Simmons is shooting 57% on his right handed floaters yet has only taken 4 with his left, missing them all.

What's really interesting is that Simmons has acknowledged this before, stating: "I think I was supposed to be right-handed," but "it's all natural now."

We've seen Tristan Thompson switch from his left to his right in the pro's, do you think it is at all possible that Simmons could begin shooting with his right in the off-season and actually improve as a jump shooter?

So are 15.2% of Simmons' non-jump shots taken with his feet?

[Drop Shot]

So are 15.2% of Simmons' non-jump shots taken with his feet?

No, from both hands.

[Marcus]

100% of his free throws are taken with his left hand.

all jokes aside. He's fine with his left. He doesn't take enough jumpers to call it a problem just yet. Not enough jumpers to say whether or not he should be switching his dominant hand. He finishes around the cup with both hands very well and I don't think we should be making that big of a deal about it just yet.

[TKainZero]

Not everyone is HIGHLY versed with Simmons shooting.

You need to know he is a LEFTY shooting on jump shots.
But in more natural shots (where instincts take over), he seems to be favoring his right hand.

15.2% of simmons non-jumpshots are 2-handed dunks. (is how I read it)

It honestly wouldn't hurt for him to try shooting right handed I guess.

[GimmeDat]

I think it's too late in development to change shooting hands, Tristan Thompson is an exception because he only really shoots at he FT line. Ben's form's pretty fluid on his left, I think he'll develop it fine.

[og15]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-basketball/2016/2/16/10966798/ben-simmons-nba-draft-scouting-report-jump-shot

Could've posted this in the Ben Simmons draft thread but I really think it's thread worthy.

81% of Simmons Non-Jump Shots are taken with his right hand.
3.8% of Simmons Non-Jump Shots are taken with his left hand.

That's a staggering number. Watching him play you don't really take note of how often he uses his right hand, you just sort of brunch it off as a strength, "he's so ambidextrous". The fact that he converts these right handed attempts only adds to the intrigue. Simmons is shooting 57% on his right handed floaters yet has only taken 4 with his left, missing them all.

What's really interesting is that Simmons has acknowledged this before, stating: "I think I was supposed to be right-handed," but "it's all natural now."

We've seen Tristan Thompson switch from his left to his right in the pro's, do you think it is at all possible that Simmons could begin shooting with his right in the off-season and actually improve as a jump shooter?

So are 15.2% of Simmons' non-jump shots taken with his feet?

Two handed dunks probably encompass the rest

DeAndre Jordan dunks with his right hand much more often than he does with his left, he's a left handed shooter.

[sixerswillrule]

Very strange. You often see players drive with their weak hand (non-shooting hand) and awkwardly try to finish with their strong hand (shooting hand), even though the defender is on that hand. You pretty much never see a player drive with his shooting hand and awkwardly try to finish with his non-shooting hand right into the defender. Yet Simmons seems to do it every time he drives left. Yup, very weird.

[YogurtProducer]

I have a buddy who writes left handed, shoots right handed, but does layups left handed and dunks right handed

[sixerswillrule]

I have a buddy who writes left handed, shoots right handed, but does layups left handed and dunks right handed

But is he incapable of taking right handed lay ups? Does he drive right and then try to finish with his left hand with the defender on his left side?

[76ciology]

Could lead to a solution or could raise the a red flag.

[E-Balla]

I think it's too late in development to change shooting hands, Tristan Thompson is an exception because he only really shoots at he FT line. Ben's form's pretty fluid on his left, I think he'll develop it fine.

Same for Ben. The man's taken 35 jumpers all year (12/35) and he took like 1 jumper in the first 8 games of the season iirc.

[GimmeDat]

I think it's too late in development to change shooting hands, Tristan Thompson is an exception because he only really shoots at he FT line. Ben's form's pretty fluid on his left, I think he'll develop it fine.

Same for Ben. The man's taken 35 jumpers all year (12/35) and he took like 1 jumper in the first 8 games of the season iirc.

TT and Ben have vastly different games though. People realize that Ben is going to have to work on his shot to reach his potential. Thompson is a role player, an under the ring energy guy through and through. Ben plays further out.

[sixerswillrule]

And Tristan is still pretty much the same shooter.

[og15]

I have a buddy who writes left handed, shoots right handed, but does layups left handed and dunks right handed

But is he incapable of taking right handed lay ups? Does he drive right and then try to finish with his left hand with the defender on his left side?

I'm a left handed person in life, write lefty, etc, but I shoot right handed, prefer going left when playing and I finish with my left, but I prefer dunking right handed if going off two feet. My body just does what it does.

[Prince12]

There are heaps of nba players who appear better and more comfortable finishing close to the basket with there 'opposite' hand. Admittedly it is weird but shows they have put the work in to be versatile and sometimes so much work that they become more comfortable with the other hand.

Not sure about the pros but i no a few below 5 handicap golfers that put with there opposite hand swell. Strange but must be fairly common.

[Jody Smokz]

Lebron and Dwight are both left handed...go figure

[WarriorsEFC]

I think the problem is more he is shooting with the wrong team and the wrong coach.

LSU is trash and coach Johnny Jones is absolutely useless. If only Simmons had a real coach like he did in High School that pushed him.

[sixerswillrule]

I have a buddy who writes left handed, shoots right handed, but does layups left handed and dunks right handed

But is he incapable of taking right handed lay ups? Does he drive right and then try to finish with his left hand with the defender on his left side?

I'm a left handed person in life, write lefty, etc, but I shoot right handed, prefer going left when playing and I finish with my left, but I prefer dunking right handed if going off two feet. My body just does what it does.

I'm also weird like that (e.g. I've never met anyone else who writes with one hand but eats with the other like I do), but I've never seen a player who will virtually always try to finish with his NON-shooting hand regardless of the situation like Simmons, even when it would obviously make more sense to finish with his shooting hand. There are a bunch of NBA players who have a tendency to drive with their non-shooting hand. Kyrie Irving is an example, who is a right handed shooter who likes to drive left and finish left also. But I think you'll almost never see him awkwardly try to finish with his left when he drives RIGHT and the defender is sitting on his left hand (I'm gonna guess it's the same for you?). That's what I'm getting at. What Simmons does is practically unheard of and actually makes things more difficult for himself.

[og15]

Yea that is kind of weird