We're very privileged to have Coach Doc Scheppler, Jeremy' shooting coach, give
us some first hand insights on the Knicks and Jeremy Lin:
After beating Toronto 106-87 (18 pts, 10 assists, 6-10 fg-a, 2-3 3pm-a, 4-4 ftm-a), then @ Phili 82-79 (16 points in 4th, 10-10 ftm-a), here are Doc's takes:
"Very impressed with Jeremy's on ball defense the last 2 games. He's
very motivated to become a great all-around player and that means
having the focus and intensity to contain his opponents dribble
penetration. What's different about his background as compared to
some of his teammates is that he has a strong foundation in the
principles of being a capable defensive player..
There are 3 major criteria for being a great defensive player. 1)
Athleticism- Quickness,1st step explosion and the ability to change
directions quickly and reactively are attributes that put athletes in
a position to become great defensive players.....
However.......sometimes players that have this only utilize these
abilities on the offensive end.... which leads to ...2) Mastery of
defensive principles.... When you develop an individual defender you
drill them on making action/reaction decisions based on cues...Much like
hitting a ball and running to first is a baseball reaction learned at
an embryonic stage,,, so are defensive reactions to defending someone
with the ball..On a shot ....bother the shooter and check off... if
they drive... contain it... dead dribble harassment...on a pass...
jump towards the ball. These reactions become instinctive like
running to first after you hit the ball...The reactions away from the
ball are also developed... either helping or denying...
Jeremy had great developmental coaching in his jr high, high school,
and college experience that are a major reason why he can be a great
defender at the highest level. 3) The focus and intensity of which a
player plays at is the last factor that completes a player at the
defensive end..This urgency, intensity, "motor", "plays hard", takes
an aggression (By definition, a disposition to dominate...)
When the Heat smacked the Knicks before the All Star break you saw a
great team of athletes playing with intensity and playing with great
principles....Possessing those 3 criteria are going to make them
difficult to beat.
I see a focused effort by the Knicks at the defensive end that will
improve with more focus and with more time together.. A lot of these
players have never been great individual or team defenders because
they didn't have a strong foundation of principles or have any desire
to excel at that end. i think Coach Wooodson, with his strong
fundamental background playing for Coach Knight is bringing that to
the team,
Although jeremy struggled with his outside shooting last night, he
still showed why hes a special player. He LOVES to win, and embraces
the moment where he needs to make the winning plays. The beauty of
his belief in himself was so evident last night...after struggling for
3 quarters.... He's so tough mentally . 16 points in the 4th quarter
and draining all of his free throws in "end of game" situations...
Very impressive..
His shooting will go through times of inconsistency because of not
keeping his arc tight and controlled...He will drift back a little on
his shot in certain situations as well, but he knows his shot and is a
great learner who can self correct on off days to put him back
inrhythm..Thats part of the beauty of Jeremy as an athlete.. In a
change of possession last night , he gathered the ball and showed
himself his release in the middle of the game at the opponents basket
before giving the ball to ref prior to inbounding.
He's starting to incorporate different finishes in his repertoire,...
floaters, runners, up and unders,step throughs. this will add to his
effectiveness and decrease the charges and PROTECT him from getting
hurt.
He's 23 years old and theres a huge upside to his improvement and
theres nobody more motivated to get better than Jeremy. Hes a humble
learner who listens and accepts feedback better than anyone. I'd like
to see him have a better shooter's mindset away from the
ball...constantly moving into passing "windows" with the ball.....with
the "plan" to catch and shoot... He catches the ball and it's like hes
saying hmmmmmm let me see if I'm open... then he shoots... Got to be
no doubt....This "plan" will speed his feet up and make his shot more
rhythmical and polished... I saw it everyday in workouts over the
summer.... but it's just another thing to continually get better at
and make it a part of who he is...and he will.... very motivated!
Cant wait to watch the next game...."Next one's in"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doc"
I like Doc Scheppler, but he just gave me a huge headache by writing...with so many periods....and
ReplyDeleteindenting so much. However, what he said was spot on, especially by saying that Jeremy has a strong foundation in defensive knowledge. Very grateful to have Doc as Lin's shooting coach.
He was writing while shooting baskets. Just picture him shooting every time you see the three periods.
DeleteLOL...
DeleteLol.
ReplyDeleteDoc: I'd like to see him have a better shooter's mindset away from the
ReplyDeleteball... with the "plan" to catch and shoot... Got to be no doubt..."
I wonder if it's Lin's dicision. It's known that Melo is always waiting in his favorite spot (would be easy for *anyone* to do)asking for the ball.
Also I don't know how the young fella can be so level-headed, but Lin is playing in a somewhat hostile environment (Thoughts and attitudes do vibrate, which is why there is a saying "the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife". Just the other day, Lin told a reporter that Woodson's style is "less spaced out".... I wouldn't be surprised if the reporter "set up" Woodson, but instead of saying everybody knows that or whatever (what is wrong with the so-called "conventional system" anyway), Woodson responded antagonistically with: “It’s not less spread... but I’m the head coach now and that’s what I’m going to do.”
That quote from Woodson sounds like his college coach Bobby Knight speaking.
DeleteThe irony is that Bobby Knight and has disciples tend to emphasize more freedom on offense than a lot of other coaches. That's because Knight was the master of teaching motion offense.
I am like the only guy on the planet who firmly believes that Bobby Knight would have been a better NBA coach than an NCAA coach. I think that Bobby Knight would have been less frustrated and more flexible and even more housebroken in the NBA than college. I firmly believe that Knight would have interacted better with pros than with collegians.
KHuang - Wow, you apparently have a photographic memory; and is a walking encyclopedia on NBA. haha
DeleteBy the way, some Melo fans were wondering why he wasn't used as the *closer* (having had more points through 3rd qtr). It seemed contrary to Woodson's stated intention, but Woodson is no dummy (outside of his PR, lol); he is auditioning for a permanent head coaching job - He noticed that Melo was struggling also, except worse in the sense that Melo was missing easy baskets and turning over in non-difficult situations. Also, I noticed that when Davis was on the floor, the Knicks' small lead (by 4 or so) evaporated and the Sixers at that point took the lead for the first time by one point. So much for wanting to use experienced players as a "go to" guys. This game has shown that Woodson is paying a close attention and that despite what he says, he is flexible.
I laugh when people, even Knicks fans who love Jeremy, say that he's a poor or average defender. He's already a superb defender who has only one flaw: he over-helps on defense, which results in his man getting a wide-open 3pt look.
ReplyDeleteThis bad habit likely comes from Jeremy's past teams, where he was by far the best player (Pal Alto, Harvard, D-League) or the only motivated defender (Golden State). That is to say, it was necessary for Jeremy to over-help in order to cover up for his teammates' defensive deficiencies.
Luckily, this flaw is easily correctable, and I've already seen him do it less of late. He's surrounded by quality defenders now (Tyson, Shumpert, Jeffries, Smith, even Amare and Melo are helping out now), so he can stick to his own man a lot more.
That's why I don't listen to people who have tendencies to say wrong things. Remember when Jeffries was booed? Remember when people say J Smith can't defend? What about when fans booed Shumpert and Landry during the draft? Quite a turn of event now that these players have proved that they can help the Knicks tremendously.
DeleteMany people do not have independently-observed or researched opinions; they just repeat what they have heard or read. The same thing with politics (most people believe what their parents and friends believe), which is why so much money is spent on trying to persuade the huge number of gullibles.
DeleteYou are spot on! Rarely do you see Jeremy get beat one v one. Part of being a great defensive team is defending the most prevalent action of the hi ball screen for the point guard. Jeremy gets limited help from his bigs in this situation. Amare as the screener's defender doesn't even reach the abyssmal state. It's an embarrassment to basketball. Don't think the other teams watch film and say hey, that Stoudamire is awful in ball screens, whoever he's guarding go set a pick and we'll get our guys to turn the corner and get us a high quality shot. Jeremy gets a bad rap with no hedge or trap or containment. Amare has no fundamental background in basic defensive concepts. It's pitiful.
DeleteI'd like
ReplyDeleteto see him have a better shooter's mindset away from the
ball...constantly moving into passing "windows" with the ball.....with
the "plan" to catch and shoot... He catches the ball and it's like hes
saying hmmmmmm let me see if I'm open... then he shoots... Got to be
no doubt....This "plan" will speed his feet up and make his shot more
rhythmical and polished...
I agree...to an extent.
This would definitely make Jeremy a more consistent jump-shooter. However, as we all saw last night, Jeremy's game is getting into the lane and creating. When he's settling for outside shots he isn't as effective.
That's not to say that he shouldn't improve his shot preparation in the catch-and-shoot, but the last thing we need to see is Jeremy become a predominantly standstill jump-shooter, which is basically what happened to Mike Bibby after he got traded to Sacramento. Bibby had been a creator-type PG before that. However, once he got to Sacramento, he became more of a shooting PG, as Rick Adelman utilized a Princeton offense, where the team was run through Chris Webber and Vlade Divac.
But that said, Doc has done a great job improving Jeremy's shot and approach to shooting and even more work this offseason should make it even better.
DeleteWhen youre in a catch and shoot situation ..you have defenders ina close out 1 on 1 situation...of which it's easier to attack.. It wouldn't be a situation where he'd be "settling" for it. It's more like establishing another strength that would make it impossible for defenders to contain his penetration ability... The easiest shots to make for a shooter is a wide open catch and shoot where you're in line with the rim....I hate it when he turns down a shot like that, then someone forces up a bad shot with prssure... Oh the pain of poor shot selection!
DeleteI think doc is saying Lin should work on the above "in addition to" his current repertoire, it certainly doesn't hurt to improve his jump shot, which seems inconsistent atm.
DeleteI wonder if Jeremy should also work on adding 10 more pounds of muscle? Don't know if that could interfere with foot speed, but sometimes he falls down.
ReplyDeleteAnd by all means, install his own basketball court at home; a lot of players do that ; M Jordan did that to all of his many homes. It would be fun to see him make 3 pointer after 3 pointer.
I don't know if you can add a bball court to Landry's apartment..Wait Lin has his own pad now right?
DeleteI don't think JLin needs to spend too much time in the weight room trying to build more muscles. Instead, I think he needs to focus on his shots: 3 pt range, mid-range, and even around the hoop. He misses a number of layups, although I know it's not as easy as it sounds, especially when big defenders are trying to block his shots. If he continues to work with Doc over the summer, and perhaps shoot 1,000 shots a day, then I believe he could score 25 pts. a game.
DeleteLin lives in a condo at the W Hotel in downtown NY. I doubt he can get one installed.
DeleteI THINK his new pad has a basketball court, either rooftop or on one of those sky terraces. I remember seeing a news reel with pictures of his condo and they showed a small basketball court. He's renting from David Lee a former knicks? so maybe the basketball court was a draw.
DeleteLots of NBA players have learned to fall properly.
DeleteThe most notable example of this is Grant Hill. He said that when he was younger, he took a lot of damage because he kept landing awkwardly. But once he learned how to fall, he cut down on his injury rate.
If you watch Grant Hill go in for a contested layup, you will see him turn his shoulder as soon as he lets go of the ball. Hill will then land on the ball of his foot. As soon as Hill makes that ground contact, he then gently slides onto the ground leading with his upper arm.
Jeremy Lin seems to have a similar capability to fall in a way that avoids injury.
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DeleteI was thinking this Summer Jeremy could afford to buy a nice new house where he could install a basketball court that's a replica of the real one - not just a pole with a basket and some room.
DeleteHowever, he might not want to re-sign with the Knicks for several reasons; not to mention the excessive drama in NY. In my opinion, it's in Lin's best interest NOT to re-sign with them. And he doesn't have to play for NY to continue his endorsement appeal. The Knicks need($$$) Lin more than Lin needs the Knicks.
It's unusual for someone in Lin's position to not have signed a string of endorsements DURING the height of Linsanity; Lin is special; Lin and his inner circle also knew that his talent is real and that there was no need to capitalize in a hurry.
But then again, i may be wrong...can't really trust the media nowadays, they may have just slotted in a pic of the basketball court to represent Jeremy, lol.
ReplyDeleteYep, use him for excessive greed and milk it for all it's worth - all without sharing a penny.
DeleteLin's unusual situation got me thinking: The merchandise profits are shared by the team and the NBA (I'm curious about the % split) - But NOTHING goes to the players. It makes sense when probably the NBA's thinking is that the big stars and highly-drafted players are getting fat contracts in part because their mumbered-merchandises are expected to sell briskly, as well as the worth of using their images to promote the NBA. *MAJOR HOWEVER* - Jeremy Lin is getting ripped off biG time. This makes me think that agents representing rookies and sophomores should put in a special clause in thier contracts that says something like "If he plays way beyond what's expected of him, such and such stats, then it is agreed that he shall receive a __ % of the team's portion of the non-game profits to be due at at the end of the season".... sounds good?
I think according to the new CBA that the player's union agreed upon, the players do get a small percentage of jersey and merchandise sales. Although it's probably in the single digit %. I don't know.
DeleteThe difference between a high volume shooter, like Kobe, and a high percentage shooter, like Steve Nash, Ray Allen, Manu Ginobli is shot selection. They go for shots they know they can make, because if they miss jumpshots, the other team can lead a fast break off a long rebound (Like in Toronto yesterday).
ReplyDeleteSo the question is, how can Jeremy learn which situations are good to take the shot, and which ones are not ? I notice he sometimes passes up wide open shots, then tries to make difficult shots in traffic over defenders.
Shot selection is very important, almost as much as being a gifted shooter.
ABC- I love your knowledge of the game!
ReplyDelete