Republic: Suns give Jacobsen a shot to make 3s

[George O'Brien]

Arizona Republic

Suns give Jacobsen a shot to make 3s
More minutes help accuracy

Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 6, 2004 12:00 AM

Casey Jacobsen can break down all the mechanics in his evolution from a Suns rookie hitting 31.5 percent of his three-pointers to the NBA's fifth most accurate three-point shooter at 43.3 percent.

He can show you how he keeps the ball higher during his shooting motion. He can explain how he was jumping too high and holding his release too long.

But he could not fix the one thing his shot needed most: more minutes. After the Jan. 5 Phoenix-New York trade, Jacbosen's role expanded and his accuracy improved.

"Last year, I'd play seven minutes in one half and five in the second half and that's hard to get in a rhythm and shoot three-pointers," Jacobsen said. "When I'm playing 10 or 15 minutes at a time, I can get in a rhythm where I feel confident I'm going to make threes. I'm feeling more confident about my shot than any time since I've played for Phoenix."

The second-year swingman's numbers bear that out.

• Jacobsen hit just 23.4 percent over the Suns' final 37 games last season.

• He improved to 37.9 percent on threes this season through Jan. 5, the day of the Stephon Marbury trade.

• He has made 48.5 percent of his threes since.

• After averaging 15.9 minutes last season, he has played 26.5 minutes per game since the trade.

"He's going to have to be a knock-down shooter, coming in off the bench and really heating up quick," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He does get into the zone a lot. He's been doing a heck of a job."

Jacobsen tweaked his shot during the off-season after getting input from former coach Frank Johnson and comparing video of his three-pointers made and missed.

Taking at least 100 three-point shots a day last summer, Jacobsen changed his shot so that he keeps the ball in his midsection when he rises. He cut down on his jump after noticing how smooth and quick the NBA's best long-range shooters looked to him.

"I can still shoot when I'm tired, and that's a big difference," Jacobsen said. "It looked like I was using so much energy just to get the ball to the rim.

"I'm strong enough where I don't need to do that. I tried to take out all that unnecessary motion."

The next step: Develop a midrange game. His two-point shooting (.429) is worse than his three-point accuracy (.433).

"I know people scout my game and say, 'He's going to either take it all the way to the basket and try to draw a foul or he's going to shoot the three. He rarely ever pulls up for medium-range jumpers,' " Jacobsen said. "I know that's what people say, and that's what I need to do. That's going to be an easy shot for me.

"I'll be able to get that open look. That's a shot that can definitely help me in my future games to open up everything else I do."

 

[elindholm]

• He has made 48.5 percent of his threes since.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by elindholm
• He has made 48.5 percent of his threes since.

The second-year swingman's numbers bear that out.

• Jacobsen hit just 23.4 percent over the Suns' final 37 games last season.

• He improved to 37.9 percent on threes this season through Jan. 5, the day of the Stephon Marbury trade.

• He has made 48.5 percent of his threes since.

• After averaging 15.9 minutes last season, he has played 26.5 minutes per game since the trade.

 

[Joe Mama]

Originally posted by elindholm
• He has made 48.5 percent of his threes since.

Now he just needs to do a better job of getting himself open for the three-point shots and making sure his teammates find him.

I've been resisting the urge to praise CJ for a couple of weeks now because last time I did it he suffered a bid of a swoon. I think he's been playing very well though. I just wish somebody other than Amare Stoudemire could get the respect of the referees. Shawn Marion, CJ, and especially JJ get fouled with regularity going to the basket without the benefit of the whistle.

Joe Mama

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
Now he just needs to do a better job of getting himself open for the three-point shots and making sure his teammates find him.

Joe Mama

I don't think the Suns offense is geared to set picks and screens off the ball like the Pacers do for Miller. At the same time, I think they would work to get him the ball more if he could hit the medium jumper better. It looks like Casey only shoots if he wide open, but getting inside to about 15 feet would make him a much bigger threat if he can get the ball off quickly.

 

[slinslin]

When Amare draws the defense inside Casey has to make sure he doesn't just stand around.
He has to move into spots where Amare can find him.

Amare doesn't really need to improve his passing. The improvement has to be made by the team. They all need to take better advantage of Amare.

Tim Duncan really isn't that good of a passer, definately not Garnett, Divac or Webber like.
But his teammates move into spots so Duncan can pass it out of the post for assists.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by slinslin
When Amare draws the defense inside Casey has to make sure he doesn't just stand around.
He has to move into spots where Amare can find him.

Amare doesn't really need to improve his passing. The improvement has to be made by the team. They all need to take better advantage of Amare.

Tim Duncan really isn't that good of a passer, definately not Garnett, Divac or Webber like.
But his teammates move into spots so Duncan can pass it out of the post for assists.

The idea of having a center who gets double teamed is a relatively new concept to most of these guys. I'm sure the coach has emphasized "spacing" so much that they are reluctant to move around and screw up the alignment. It is a big switch to constantly be me moving and still maintain good spacing like the Kings do.