This isn't completely atypical, as some people prefer this setup, and some do teach it as well. Rather than his toes pointing towards the basket, they come across his body and actually point a little bit to the left of the basket. Curry is a little bit different in that his feet are angled. The angle of the feet is open to some variation depending on the preference of the shooter.Feet should be roughly shoulder-width apart.Feet should be staggered, with the dominant-side foot slightly ahead of the other (in this case, right foot in front of the left since Curry is a right-handed shooter).A few key points here when I'm looking at a jump shot: It's relatively easy to get the upper body motion down, but where form breaks down most frequently is in the lower body and balance. The basis of a jump shot is the lower body. That in itself is amazing, but you have to respect Curry, even from that far out. The image above is Steph pulling up off the dribble, as he had actually just pump faked his man from ~25 feet, who is now out of the picture after closing out too aggressively. Curry is one of the best shooters off the dribble in the NBA, and the consistency in his form is one of the major reasons why. But I would not bet on a substantial enough improvement for it to get to the point where it won't always be a concern.īefore looking at Michael Carter-Williams' form, it's good to take a look at somebody who has exceptional form: Stephen Curry. I'm not saying it can't improve, I'm not saying it won't improve. All it takes is two people to have different views on whether his form is correctable for them to project him differently long-term. If he's still struggling with his jump shot at 25 and about ready to come off his rookie contract? The opinion about his ability to improve would be less. Right now he's a 22 year old rookie who put up incredible counting stats and won ROY, with time to improve upon his jump shot. But he's a rookie, and many believe he can improve his jump shot over time.
The fact that he struggled is not news: he shot 26.4% from 3 point range, 32.7% on jumpers overall, and only 28% on catch and shoots.
One of the areas where you have to try to project improvement in MCW's game is with his jump shot. The players themselves don't change all that much, yet their perceived value does. Value is frequently a pendulum based on perception and expectations, with players swinging back and forth as situations and expectations change. It's based on whether or not there's another team who thinks he will improve more than Hinkie thinks he will improve.Įven if Michael Carter-Williams improves on some of his deficiencies - say he cuts down on his turnovers and bad shots - if he doesn't improve as much as many projected, his value could drop as his weaknesses begin to appear to be more long term holes than areas in need of improvement.
Hinkie can like MCW, think he has room to grow, and still trade him. Whether or not MCW gets moved isn't so much an indictment of the quality of player he is, or even the player he can become. Regardless of if we like Michael Carter-Williams, we have to be ready for the possibility that Sam Hinkie could move him. Regardless of which is true, and I tend to think that nobody is truly safe until Hinkie gets the foundational pieces that he wants, the moves of last year's draft have everybody on edge.