Utah Jazz big-man Derrick Favors averaged 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 30.2 minutes per game last season. For 2014-15 and beyond, he hopes for a better jumpshot. Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune reporting:
“I knew I could make shots between the free-throw line area and 10-15 feet,” Favors said after shootaround on Monday. “But I’m trying to extend it to maybe 18 [feet], toward the 3-point line. I try to keep working on it, keep making shots … so hopefully in the future I can move out to the 3-point line.”
Jazz coach Quin Snyder has given big man Enes Kanter the green light to fire from distance this year, but he hasn’t quite asked Favors to do the same.
“I think it’s just taking good shots,” Snyder said. “I think it’s a process. He’s probably 15-18 [feet] right now. That’s my feeling. He and I haven’t talked about in a whole lot of detail. It’s not like he’s feeling like he wants to go out and shoot 3s. We’re comfortable with him taking open shots. I think that keeps people honest. It allows him to attack in other ways too.”
The jumpshot was Favors’ primary focus this summer.
“I took a lot of jump shots this offseason,” he said. “That was my whole plan this offseason was to work on my jumper. Around the free-throw line area, around the baseline. Try to add that to my game so guys respect me more, so it can help me out on my driving game. … During the summer I probably took maybe 500 shots a day, every day.”
