If the Nuggets are to pull off the impossible and rally from a 3-1 deficit to come back and beat the Lakers, they need one of their core members to elevate his play. (Impossible may be a slight exaggeration, but the ‘highly unlikely’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it) All season long, Arron Afflalo has been a the definition of ‘steady contributor’. His blue-collar attitude and accurate shooting were one of the key reasons why Denver remained afloat despite a myriad of injuries and a blockbuster trade mid-season.

Against L.A., however, Afflalo’s has seen that steadfast marksmanship dissappear. Perhaps competing possession after possession with Kobe Bryant on the defensive end of the floor plays a role, but his shooting numbers are a far cry from his 47.1 FG% and 39.8% he posted in the regular season. In fact, Afflalo has yet to shoot over a measly 42.9% from the floor the entire series. If Denver is going to win Game 6, much less buck long shot odds and win the series, the former Bruin must find a way to regain his shooting touch.

A possible solution to this problem could be a return to the off-ball action Denver used near the end of their Game 5 victory. Afflalo’s high hoops I.Q. lead contributed to great reads off the ball that lead to a number of great looks for him. Late in the 2nd quarter, we see an example of why he is so dangerous in these situations.

Denver tries to run a double stagger for Afflalo on the left wing. Bryant, being the wily defender that he is, positions himself to deny Afflalo from getting to the screen, essentially forcing him to backcut into help. However, because Afflalo makes his read so decisively, he leaves Bryant flat-footed and beats an attempted switch from Matt Barnes. Thanks to a nifty Andre Miller pass, the play ends with a layup.

Now the threat of Afflalo moving off the ball becomes even more fearsome when he’s involved in screening action with JaVale “massive threat to slip the screen for a dunk” McGee (nickname is an unofficial working title). After running some pin down action between Afflalo and McGee in a few previous possessions, the Nuggets staff either calls for (or alerts McGee to) a slip. Thanks to a disengaged Andrew Bynum, the result is a massive dunk by McGee.

Slightly later on the 4th quarter, the two are back at it again. This time Bynum, worried about the lob and generally disinterested in defending, doesn’t show up to the level of the screen and Afflalo is able to attack the rim and draw a foul.

The final act between this screening duo is a mixture of the all three of the previous examples. Steve Blake is checking Afflalo this time, and similar to the first video, tries to deny him from getting to the screen. Bynum, still allergic to proper help positioning, doesn’t even attempt to slow or impede Afflalo in anyway. Thanks to this, Afflalo simply pins Blake on his back as he cuts across the paint and receives another pass from Miller for an easy layup.

Thus far in the series, Afflalo has found little success in isolation attacks. Mirroring the fact he ranked 195th in this category (per SynergySports) during the regular season. If George Karl can put an emphasis on screening action involving his shooting guard, they could perhaps get Afflalo back on track. Something the Nuggets desperately need if they want to beat the odds.

There is perhaps no more pressure-filled, part-time role in basketball than that of the shooting specialist. They enter the game with a sole purpose; to soak nets with ridiculously wet jumpers. Defense, rebounding and perhaps even the ability to dribble are often overlooked if one of these players can change a game with his deadly accuracy from behind the arc. If the shots fail to fall however, this player often finds his minutes and value to his team spiraling downward.

With this type of existence, a shooting-specialist sounds about as desirable as being a kicker in the NFL. Despite all this, they dot rosters around the league in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some hail from the East (Steve Novak) and some from the West (Daequn Cook). Some are tall (Vlad Radmanovic). Some are short (Boobie Gibson). And some are gingers (Matt Bonner).

But no matter height, race, creed or hair color, the effectiveness this type of player is normally measured solely by raw percentages. However, when letting that type of empirical data rule the day, one can sometimes miss the many subtle impacts a shooting specialist can have despite their lack of a well-rounded game. Sometimes, even when not making shots at a blistering rate, these marksmen impact a game in ways that can’t be measured by the traditional box score.

Kyle Korver is one of these snipers. His particular set of shooting skills just so happens to include what is arguably the quickest release in the game today. The main component in that release is his ability to set his feet (and be balanced) at lightning speed. Twice in last night’s game against the Heat, he showed off this hair-trigger release with great results.

This combination of speed, shooting accuracy and off the ball movement causes an entire defense to account for Korver’s whereabouts at all times. This is when a shooting specialist becomes truly dangerous to an opponent as even a split second without focus can result in a quick three points. During that time, a player like Korver, averaging just a shade under 23 minutes per game, can find himself forcing three or more defenders to focus on his presence on any given play. A right normally received for superstars.

Korver, unlike a James, Anthony or Bryant, does most of his damage off the good ole’ NBA single-double screening action (where he can choose to go off a single screen on one side of the floor or a double on the other). The threat of a catch and shoot out of this action can not only create offense for Korver, but a create series of closeouts with a single well placed pass out of it.

Against Miami, Korver twice drew three defenders to himself out of this set, moved the ball and allowed a teammate to attack rotating defense. In both the following clips, he does exactly that only to find the ball coming back to him in the end. When that happens, well, he does what he does best; knocks down the shot. Take a look.

But sometimes that first pass leads directly to a great look for a teammate. In a set that may look somewhat familiar, Carlos Boozer sets a quick ball screen for Derek Rose then looks to free Korver with a pin-down late in the game. As Korver comes off the screen, Ronny Turiaf (Boozer’s defender) immediately jumps out to contest a possible shot. Korver delivers a deft hook pass over the top and Boozer drains a jumper over a late-rotating Chris Bosh.

However, the threat of a Korver shot attempt never had a bigger effect than during the Bulls final possession in regulation. Down three, out of a sideline out-of-bounds, Korver receives a dribble hand-off from Boozer only to find himself surrounded (once again) by three Heat defenders. With some quick and accurate ball movement, Korver and Boozer combine to find CJ Watson all alone on the opposite of the floor. Watson then uses a great shot-fake, dribble-adjustment against a Dwyane Wade closeout and ties the game. A game (spoiler alert) the Bulls eventually ended up winning in overtime.

Korver’s play last night helped his Chicago team take down Miami and all but lock up home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. While a player like Korver will never be the key to winning an entire series, his presence (especially during his more torrid stretches like last night) can certainly help the Bulls win a single game come playoff time. Yet Korver’s line (6-8, 17 points, 5-6 from 3), while impressive, fails to tell exactly how much his presence on the court for 19 minutes affected the game. Such is the life of a shooting specialist.

Evan Turner’s rookie season was a tough one and his role change offensively played a part in that.  The 2010 National Player of the Year as a junior for Ohio State, Turner went from a ball dominant point guard being used primarily in pick and roll sets for the Buckeyes to a largely spot-up role player for the Philadelphia 76ers, a role that put even more of an emphasis on his set shot.

The results were not pretty.  Turner had a tough time extending his range out to NBA three point territory, making only 14 three pointers in 78 games.  As a whole, his 0.8 points per possession on jump shot attempts were in the bottom third of the league, and he shot only 40.2% on no dribble jump shots, limiting his usefulness as a spot-up player.  Turner struggled to find a comfort zone on the offensive end last year, which caused both his confidence — and his minutes — to fall.

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Last week, Kate Fagan of Philly.com reported that Evan Turner was working with Herb Magee, also known as The Shot Doctor, looking to improve his shooting, and to be completely honest, Turner needs the work.  Turner, who isn’t the quickest wing player, needs that shooting threat to force the defense to respect it and close out/play closer to him.  Once that starts happening, that is when Turner can use that shooting threat to help him get to the rim and become an even better player.  For that to happen, he needs to knock down shots consistently and turn into a threat, something he couldn’t do his rookie season.  According to Synergy Sports, Turner shot just 37.4% on all jump shots (37.1% on shots inside 17 feet, 38.8% on shots outside 17 feet but inside the three point line, and 33.3% behind the three point line).

So what is Turner working on?  Well according to Fagan’s report, he was working on one specific thing having to do with his off-hand:

If you’ve made it this far in the blog post then you’re a Sixers fan and you watched enough games last year to know Turner needed some basic adjustment on his shot. He’s not a bad shooter, not by any stretch, but there were times his confidence seemed to affect his mid-range shot and there are some obvious corrections needed on his mechanics. Yesterday, Turner and Magee worked on the first of those changes: Turner’s placement of his off hand. Turner’s shooting hand is actually quite sound. He holds the ball correctly, keeps his shooting elbow in, and releases the ball off the correct fingers. On occasion, he snaps back instead of holding his follow through, but for the most part his shooting hand is not the issue. That information should relieve Sixers’ fans.

So what is the problem with Turner’s offhand?  The position it is placed on the basketball.  As a shooter, you want to use your off hand to hold the ball in place, but not to have it involved in the shot.  It should be still on the side of the basketball as the strong hand goes through the shooting motion.  What Turner does is he places the basketball right on top of the ball:

With the way Turner’s off-hand is positioned, there is no way that he can keep it from being involved with the shot and Turner is essentially shooting with two hands.  This release effects the shot because it effects the rotation, and any shooter can tell you if your rotation is off, your aren’t going to get those really good bounces.  Here is Turner’s shot live and slowed down so you can really see the effect of his off hand on his shot:

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The three point contest on All-Star Saturday brings 6 of the best three point shooters in the NBA (and one of the best shooters in the history of the game, depending on who you believe), and I think this contest is the perfect chance to break down some shooting forms.

Despite every shooter in the NBA having a different shooting form, there are four basic things that should be the same (and that are the same among the best shooters in the NBA). They are the hands, the lower body, the follow through, and the landing.  I thought it would be interesting to put these shooters side by side, and break down their shots at these four points.

The Hands

Hand positioning – Hand positioning is key because this is where your rotation comes from (maybe my favorite part of the three point contest is watching the competitors shoot the money ball.  Seeing the almost perfect rotation is fun to watch).  Rotation is important on your shot because this is what helps a shooter get some good bounces.  I am sure everyone has heard of the saying “shooters roll.”  Well if you think about it, this is only said about good shooters, and this is because they put the proper rotation on the ball.

As you can see, all of the players hand positioning is basically the same.  You have the right hand right in the middle of the basketball, and the left on the side, supporting it. Cook’s form is a little funky (he takes his left hand off the ball super-early), but he still has his right hand in the center of the basketball, so it works.   The only shooter who doesn’t have the right hand positioning is Channing Frye.  His left hand is too much on top of the basketball, and his right isn’t in the center of the ball.  The result can be seen in Frye’s rotation.  Instead of the perfect end over end rotation you usually see, Frye’s balls have a side-winding type of rotation, with the ball going end over end, but it also spins from right to left.

Release Point – Now everyone’s release points here are different, but that is ok as long as the hands are in the right spots.  I just thought it was interesting to look at how the taller guys (Danilo Gallinari and Channing Frye) have higher release points.  This helps get their shots off, because if they keep it high, nobody contesting the shot would ever be able to block it.

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Both games yesterday kind of stunk, with neither really being close late.  And now that we are at the All-Star break, there isn’t really much to talk about.  That doesn’t mean there isn’t any great basketball posts out there.  Today, the site Basketball Free For All did a great post on the League’s Best Shooters.  Here is a little taste:

Discussions of great shooters ultimately lead to a few questions. Who is the better shooter now? Who has been the better shooter over the course of their career? And how does the better of the two shooters stack up against some of the other historically great shooters of the three point era? And what can we learn about the players from looking at the numbers?

Ray Allen versus Steve Nash

They are often referred to as natural shooters ostensibly because they have some innate abilities that allow them to shoot the ball at an exceptional clip. But that is only part of the story. Both Ray and Steve are renowned for their work ethic and their practice routines. Allen routinely knocks down 247 out of 250 shots before every game and credits a lot of his practice work ethic to his college coach at UConn, Jim Calhoun. Nash credits his work ethic during practices and the offseason as one of the primary reasons he was even able to be successful in the League, as he wasn’t blessed with extraordinary athleticism or size that is normally a prerequisite for NBA hopefuls.

Check it out.  Real, real good stuff.