Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on new jumper: 'It's going in a lot more'
Starting anew with a jumpshot has to be a difficult task for an NBA player. You've been shooting one way for years, it's deemed ineffective, and the work begins to re-build it from the ground up.
That's been the offseason task of Charlotte Hornets forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and it's been a great deal of work.
"I told everyone in management this was going to be a process," assistant coach Mark Price said. "I always knew this was going to be a big summer for Mike and I give him a lot of credit. We started in May and really broke some things down."
The early returns are encouraging, with Kidd-Gilchrist speaking optimistically about the changes.
"Does it feel that different? Well, it’s going in a lot more," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "I believe in the process. I started in April and it feels great."
It was necessary work, based on Kidd-Gilchrist's performance through two seasons. While he has the tools and early returns to suggest he could be an elite wing defender, the No. 2 pick in 2012 has been woefully ineffective at the offensive end. As a sophomore, he failed to improve on his scoring efficiency, and his numbers declined as a result.
| MKG | PPG | PER | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-13 | 9.0 | 14.0 | 50.6% |
| 2013-14 | 7.2 | 12.0 | 51.6% |
More concerning than the raw numbers is that Kidd-Gilchrist is a non-factor with his jumper, making things easy on opposing defenses. Without representing a 3-point threat in the corner, Kidd-Gilchrist requires the offense to be inverted or allows the defense to collapse the interior, removing space for Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson.
It's not just bad, though - Kidd-Gilchris was 1-of-9 on threes last season and shot just 29.4 percent on jumpshots overall.
(Courtesy NBA.com)
Kidd-Gilchrist doesn't need to become Ray Allen overnight to prove a more useful piece. His defense is going to earn him run under head coach Steve Clifford, but some semblance of a jumper could turn him from rotation player to core piece moving forward.
Of course, it's preseason, and everyone is in better shape or has improved their game or has added muscle and so on. An improved stroke means little in practice if it can't be utilized in games, but Kidd-Gilchrist's jumper at least looks more like a proper jumpshot now:
(Dap EOB)