In addition to a good base, proper shooting motion, and a solid release one of the most important things for a good shooter to master in the NBA is moving into open areas or “spotting up.”

It is important because if you stand in one spot waiting for the basketball, you are never going to be open.  When a shooter’s defender helps, even a short slide from the top of the key to the wing gives him enough space to get a shot off.  We saw a perfect example of this during last night’s Blazers-Nuggets game.

Rudy Fernandez gets the ball kicked out to him at the top of the key and he quickly swings it to Nicolas Batum.  Batum takes advantage of the defense closing out on him and penetrates, attacking the lane.

Arron Afflalo (Rudy’s defender) sees Batum’s drives and starts to get sucked into the lane.  The second Afflalo turns his head away from Fernandez, Rudy slides towards the wing.  ”Slides” is the key word here.  As he goes from the top of the key to the wing, he always keeps his shoulders and body facing Batum ready to catch a pass thrown to him and shoot quickly.

What Rudy’s slide does is it creates distance between Fernandez and Afflalo.  So when the pass gets made, Afflalo has more ground to cover, making it harder to close out.  In addition to that, Rudy’s slide also creates a better passing lane for Batum, making his kick-out pass easier.

After Batum makes the pass, Fernandez makes the catch with his feet already set ready to knock down the three.  Here is the play in real time.  Pay close attention to Rudy’s slide, terrific form.