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Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Toward the end of shootaround Friday, Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash approached Dwight Howard and offered up a couple of tips on how to shoot free throws.
Though Howard is shooting just 46.9 percent from the foul line this season, while Nash is tied with Mark Price for the best free throw percentage in NBA history at 90.4 percent, the Lakers center said he's had enough of people giving him advice.
"Listen, he was just suggesting some things, but it's not something that we've already talked about or anybody else has suggested," Howard said. "My mind cannot get clouded with everybody telling me how to shoot a free throw. I just have to go up there and shoot it my way and not get caught up in what everybody else is saying, because that's when I miss."
Howard has missed a lot lately, as the Lakers have lost two recent games at least in part because of the opposition employing a "Hack-a-Howard" strategy by intentionally fouling the big man and sending him to the line. Howard was just 9-for-21 from the line in a 113-103 loss to the Orlando Magic and just 8-for-16 from the line in a 107-105 loss to the Houston Rockets.
Kobe Bryant said Howard's deficiency from the stripe can be blamed on how he was coached to play basketball from an early age.
"I think it all depends on how you're raised, how you're taught the game from when you were little," Bryant said. "I think that's why it's such a critical thing in how we develop our players growing up, whether it's AAU and all these other camps.
"I think they pretty much wanted (Howard) to play inside the paint his entire career, ever since he was 12 years old. They wanted him to dunk everything and finish everything at the rim. They didn't want him shooting it because he was bigger than everybody and as a consequence, they left out the shooting aspect of his game.
"If you contrast that with some of the European players growing up, they're taught at an early age how to play all aspects of the game -- from ball-handling to shooting. So I think it's really just about our system here in the States and how we teach kids how to perform."
Bryant did not believe that Howard's 58.4 career free throw percentage was a lost cause.
"I think it's just facing the issue and dealing with it and taking it on head first," Bryant said. "'This is something that I have to conquer. This is something that I have to master.' And I think he will."
Bryant cited former teammate Shaquille O'Neal as an example of how Howard can improve at the line if he makes it a priority.
"Shaq, he had a tough time at the free throw line, but he got to a place where the critical stretches of ballgames, he really knocked them down," Bryant said of O'Neal, who played a crucial role on four championship-winning teams in Los Angeles and Miami despite shooting just 52.7 percent from the free throw line for his career. "Maybe he was about 50 percent, but it seemed like in games where there were big ones, it seemed like he didn't miss them. He got to that place just by working. That really meant a lot to him and he took on that responsibility of having to make them."
Free throw shooting has plagued the Lakers, as they rank last in the league at 66.7 percent. The Oklahoma City Thunder, whom the Lakers play on Friday, rank first at 83.7 percent.
"I think it's taking the responsibility of when you're at the free throw line, 'I'm bearing the responsibility of my team over my shoulders at this moment,' and it's holding that significance when you step to the free throw line at the same time," Bryant said. "We've lost ballgames where we've missed 19, 20, 17 free throws and end up losing a game by five or six points. So, that's really shooting ourselves in the foot."
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Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
i can't think of many other sports where so many of the top players lag so much (to put it politely) on their fundamental technique. that, and are so resistant to learn / change.
probably not the majority, but the ones that stand out REALLY stand out. it's something that's always brought the NBA down in my eyes, even though it's still one of my favorites. but at times it feels like a circus full of clowns who think of themselves as dramatic actors.
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How I feel in ur head
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
This guy pisses me off more and more every day
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NBA Legend
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
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Clipper Nation Soldier
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Dipshit acting like a dipshit. Not surprised.
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Mohamed Bamba
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
In his defense, black basketball players are supposed to be better, no?
Screw the numbers.
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How I feel in ur head
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Seriously this guy is the biggest ****ing idiot.
No no no I'm going to ignore the career 90% FT shooter.
"I gotzta stop lisnten to ppl and jus hv to go out der nd do mah own thang u here?!"
How's that working for you Dwight? ****ing clown
Last edited by maybeshewill13; 12-07-2012 at 09:12 PM.
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Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Basketball is the only sport where, at least in one aspect, a 7th grade girl in a wheelchair can dominate a 7 foot black guy.
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How I feel in ur head
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Originally Posted by stephanieg
Basketball is the only sport where, at least in one aspect, a 7th grade girl in a wheelchair can dominate a 7 foot black guy.
I'd guess 75% of people above 8th grade are smarter than Dwight.
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Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
He makes shooting FTs sound like such a difficult thing. Stick any kid in America in a gym for a few hours, teach him proper technique (I was taught BEEF) and he'll shoot better than 50%.
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Very good NBA starter
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Eh, all he said was that he doesn't want to just switch up his style mid-season to something that's he's never practiced before.
And he said that he has 100 people telling him how to shoot a free throw, and all of that just starts to get confusing and chaotic...so he's just going to stick with his routine he's had forever.
There's not much wrong with what he said.
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How I feel in ur head
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Originally Posted by tmacattack33
Eh, all he said was that he doesn't want to just switch up his style mid-season to something that's he's never practiced before.
And he said that he has 100 people telling him how to shoot a free throw, and all of that just starts to get confusing and chaotic...so he's just going to stick with his routine he's had forever.
There's not much wrong with what he said.
So you're saying sticking with the routine he's had forever which has got him under 50% FT is right?
You're as retarded as Dwight.
Last edited by maybeshewill13; 12-07-2012 at 09:26 PM.
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Good college starter
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Originally Posted by tmacattack33
Eh, all he said was that he doesn't want to just switch up his style mid-season to something that's he's never practiced before.
And he said that he has 100 people telling him how to shoot a free throw, and all of that just starts to get confusing and chaotic...so he's just going to stick with his routine he's had forever.
There's not much wrong with what he said.
I'm not the biggest advocate of messing with your style....look at what it did to Shaq.
But he has never changed it and has gotten progressively worse.
I think it's time for a change.
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Very good NBA starter
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Originally Posted by maybeshewill13
So you're saying sticking with the routine he's had forever which has got him under 50% FT is right?
You're as retarded as Dwight.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3818
Look under FT pct.
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How I feel in ur head
Re: Nash, a career 90% FT shooter, offers D12 some pointers and ignores it
Originally Posted by tmacattack33
I see the last 3 years..
59
49
46
Progressively getting worse. Yeah stick with your routine Dwight
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