feelosofer
#ninergang
It depends a lot on the player and how flexible their mindset is. It's not common though, mostly very good/elite players are the ones that can do that.
Realistically How Much Time Can Elapse Before You Give Up On A Player Improving Their Skillset?
- Thread starter Devil Plisken…CMS
- Start date
Goat poster
KANG LIFE
I’m starting to realize how rare it is for a player to change drastically after his first 3 years.
Most players are what they are
Most players are what they are
It might be less about years in the league and more about the age of the player.
Guys add new wrinkles to their game when they need it.
If this thread is about Ben…
It’s a failure of coaching and management to not force him to shoot more. And it makes sense. They’ve had great success with him and Joel due to their sheer talent and athleticism. Health and bad trades around their key guys have been more of an issue than Ben shooting. However… as Ben’s athleticism fades with age it will become essential for him to shoot. And maybe he will when he stops getting by on size mismatches.
If this thread is about Giannis I expect him to keep improving his shot. He’s not a terrible shooter. And if it wasn’t for a BK Nets super team popping up overnight would probably be on his way to the finals.
Guys add new wrinkles to their game when they need it.
If this thread is about Ben…
It’s a failure of coaching and management to not force him to shoot more. And it makes sense. They’ve had great success with him and Joel due to their sheer talent and athleticism. Health and bad trades around their key guys have been more of an issue than Ben shooting. However… as Ben’s athleticism fades with age it will become essential for him to shoot. And maybe he will when he stops getting by on size mismatches.
If this thread is about Giannis I expect him to keep improving his shot. He’s not a terrible shooter. And if it wasn’t for a BK Nets super team popping up overnight would probably be on his way to the finals.
I'm still not willing to go that far and say that Ben Simmons will never improve on jump shot as we've never actually seen him even try to do so. That's the difference between him and his other peers in the league. We know what they can/can't do as we've seen them try and fail at it.
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mbewane
Knicks: 93 til infinity
A lot of factors come into play...the motivation of course, but also the environment I'd say. There might be a reason that Indiana had like 3 or 4 MIPs in a decade. Part of it is that those players put in work, but probably the team also gave them what they needed to improve.
What about a guy like Chauncey Billups? Iirc he was drafted high but didnt really get it together before getting to Detroit a couple of years later. I didnt really follow him his early years so can't say if it was because his game wasnt that good or that the situation wasn't good for him
What about a guy like Chauncey Billups? Iirc he was drafted high but didnt really get it together before getting to Detroit a couple of years later. I didnt really follow him his early years so can't say if it was because his game wasnt that good or that the situation wasn't good for him
Chauncey was the same player his entire career. He didn't improve, but his situation did....or he found a situation that complimented his skill set. That's the main part.
But you know who a player is by year 4. They've shown you their best, and their worst...and which was it more of. Now, the question is can you utilize it for your team/coach/game plan.
The problem with Ben as opposed to other non-shooters who learned to shoot such as Rondo, Kidd, Rubio, J Will, etc. is that those guys still attempted shots when needed and understood and openly acknowledged that they needed to improve that aspect of their game. As they grew older they became decent shooters (Rubio probably the least consistent shooter on this list but he's improved nonetheless.)
Ben's attitude is "why the fukk would I need to shoot?", he actually scoffs at the idea of shooting and believes he's a superstar and will continue to be a superstar without shooting, and that's why we don't think he will. He doesn't even believe that becoming a shooter will make him any better than he already is, and I suspect that he believes that about the rest of his game as well, because he hasn't had any noticeable improvement in any aspect of his game. I don't think he has any work ethic, and I even question his love for the game at this point.