He shot under 30% from 5 - 15 feet last year. Suffice it to say that when the drive is not working for him, he tends to throw up some junk. Also Harden wasn't a good 3 point shooter until recently. So if he can learn to shoot the 3, I am sure he can work on his mid-range game and improve it. And yes, it does need work. I've seen him play and the type of shots he puts up when its not a layup or open jumper - it's not pretty. But he is young.
I think he's capable, and we'll see more of that from him. But his bread-and-butter will be attacking the basket and fill it up from 3.
sounds like another guy who used to play for the rockets some years back....who had a klller mid range game until his knees went bust. that pull up 15 foot jumper is key. the post up game can come later in his career.
The difference is that McGrady increasingly became a jumpshooter and a half-court player. Harden attacks the basket, he runs hard in transition, he has a more energetic pace to him and he has a cleaner jump shot. I think his playing style is more Manu Ginobili. If we can get prime Ginobili for 36 minute a night, that's a bonafide superstar-level player.
Harden hit a couple mid range jumpers last night. The thing about the mid range game is that it's usually for players who aren't as potent with the three and for guys who iso quite a bit. In this offense where Mchale wants constant motion and ball movement harden's mid range game isn't going to kill us. I'm sure he'll look to add things to his game as be ages and matures, but the most important thing right now is consistently playing at a high level. Making plays for himself and others. Making plays when it matters. And tbh, I'd like to see Lin develop a good mid range game and consistently knock down shots from inside the arc.
Actually, Lin has a very reasonable mid range game. FG %age broken down by shot locations and ranked amongst ALL PG's who played 10+ games, 15+ minutes per game. 3-9 Feet - 41.4%, 16th 10-15 Feet - 48.3%, 9th 16-23 Feet - 43.0%, 11th http://www.hoopdata.com/shotstats.aspx?team=%&type=pg&posi=PG&yr=2012&gp=10&mins=15 Just some stuff to keep in mind...
Yeah he does but we have yet to see a lot of it. That is why I feel that he is still trying to feel his way in the offense. I think he wants to focus on setting his teammates up & running the show & just playing a complete game (steals, rebounds, blocks, assits) as opposed to scoring a ton. Honestly I love that. But it would be nice if he could improve his finishing around the rim. Still lacking the explosiveness.
He was on 790 earlier with Charlie and Lance and they asked him. His reasoning was that TJ hadn't played enough against stretch 4s so he didnt like that match up against Jerebko.
Harden hits a couple from midrange in yesterday's game. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cCAFdBWuNhw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Check 0:53 (though this is more like a 20-footer than a 15-footer) and 3:23 (probably the better example). Just cause he doesn't shoot the shot doesn't mean he doesn't have it in his arsenal, but why shoot it when there are better shots on the floor that he can get?
Lin can and needs to get better. He will maximize his effectiveness if he can be Nash like in his jump shots.
What do you guys think about Eric Maynor following Harden after this year? drop TD after the season and put Scott in the DLeague to get reps or use as trade bait in another big trade
I think during preseason as he was the sole playmaker on the team, he opted to distribute rather than shoot the mid range jumper (plus the fact that his shot was off. It happens.) more often than not. However, with Harden holding an creating himself, hen the ball gets kicked out to him, he'll start taking and buryin those jumpers or faking and driving for an and 1 or another dish. I had lowered my expectations on his scoring totals this year based on the dynamic I saw during preseason, but I believe now that he will he producing 18/8 quite handily. That's what having a good player who can create does for your game, the "makes players around him better" quality that often gets tossed around.
I agree. Overall, it was a good trade. My concern about his mid-range game....he's so young and I think he can develop that - he has the talent. Plus he plays good D so that's a plus. And I didn't realize how great his passing is - that bounce pass is ridiculous. I am optimistic.
Honestly, of the things Lin needs to improve I would put mid-range shot fairly low on the list. 3 point shooting needs significantly more improvement. And he needs to find his finishing touch at the rim. Other than that, I just want to see him find his chemistry/groove with the team. He's got great chemistry with Harden right now... the rest of the team is still out of sync and I think Lin's and Harden's stat lines are suffering as a result. How can they NOT suffer when the rest of the team (barring Delfino) was shooting so abysmally?
