Dirk Nowitzki: 'Sky hook still a work in progress'

[satam55]

Dirk: 'Sky hook still a work in progress'

OCT 3 2:11PM CT By Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki has been working on a sky hook in shot doctor Holger Geschwindner’s lab for more than a decade.

It’s a shot all-time scoring leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made famous and fired effectively into his forties. But Nowitzki, entering his 17th NBA season, anticipates leaving his sky hook in the lab for at least one more year.

“The sky hook is still a work in progress,” Nowitzki said. “I might keep that for year 18. We’re still working on it.”

Nowitzki has knocked down a true sky hook or two in preseason games over the last few years. He’ll occasionally launch a running hook. However, he hasn’t gotten to the point where he feels comfortable swinging a sky hook after catching the ball on the block with his back to the basket.

“The sky hook is a tough shot, especially if you have no move, if you don’t come out of the rhythm and just turn around and shoot it,” said Nowitzki, who ranks 10th among all-time scorers, a mere 11,601 points behind Abdul-Jabbar. “That’s why no one else is shooting it like Kareem. I don’t know how he did it. That shot is unbelievable.

“Out of the move, it’s OK. Once I’ve got a running start, I can actually shoot it OK. The problem is I’m 36. I don’t get a lot of running starts anymore, so I’m screwed.”

Of course, the 7-foot Nowitzki has his own unique, virtually unblockable shot. The one-legged fadeaway has allowed Nowitzki to become one of the league’s most effective, albeit unorthodox, post scorers during the second half of his career.

Nevertheless, Nowitzki wants to expand his back-to-the-basket arsenal as he enters his NBA golden years.

“I don’t just want to rely on a fadeaway all the time,” Nowitzki said. “Sometimes you have to go middle, make a strong move there, get fouled or swing a little hook. I’ve just got to mix it up a little bit more than just a right-shoulder fadeaway all the time.”

So Nowitzki will keep working on that sky hook until he’s confident enough to use it in games or he retires, whichever comes first.


http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4703195/dirk-sky-hook-still-a-work-in-progress

 

[mbewane]

Dirk Abdul Jabbawitzki

 

[Originalman]

Defense is too. Parker and the Spurs were eating his ass up in the playoffs running pick and roll.

 

[dabestkeptsecret]

Ive always wondered why more people havent taken the time to master the sky hook. When done correctly, and especially at nowitski height, its almost unblockable. I remember this one kid in college who played pick up ball with us. He was prob 5'7 at the most, but he would be killing cats with the sky hook. Cats who are like 6'2.

 

[Akata Man Bromo]

 

[superunknown23]

He'll keep working at it... even in retirement

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

Impossible he learns it soon enough to use it. That shot took Kareem years to master, if Dirk somehow did add a true sky hook he'd be quite the threat offensively.

 

[duckbutta]

Who cares...Splitter and insert random spurs guard here are going to murder him again on the pick and roll like they did last year

 

[Originalman]

Who cares...Splitter and insert random spurs guard here are going to murder him again on the pick and roll like they did last year

Amen. They killed that fool last year and he was the weak link in the defense. Thankfully he got Tyson who will have to guard his man and Dirks simultaneously. Also last year against the Spurs in the playoffs the Mavs always made a run and had defensive stops once Dirk went on the bench. He was just too much of a liability on defense.

 

[Kal El]

Dirk's fadeaway is already unguardable, what more do you need? guess he's getting bored

 

[Crown Bearer]

10 years? At this point its a failure. The skyhook is Dirk's Detox

 

[GunRanger]

Defense is too. Parker and the Spurs were eating his ass up in the playoffs running pick and roll.

Parker was ass for most of the series, until game 7.


If Blair doesnt get suspended, that series is scary