Why I still have hope for Kris Dunn

[Monster]

Several problems with Dunn's shot, Monster. His form is inconsistent and shaky. More often than not, he doesn't square up and fails to follow-through. His shots are all moon-shots, the sort of shot that tends to be inaccurate. Ricky's shot has historically lacked arc, but even his flat shot seems to track from his hand to the hoop. Ricky's shooting potential has always been apparent in his very high free throw accuracy. Recently, as Ricky has increased his arc a bit and started squaring up better, we've seen his shot improve. Watching Dunn's free throw shooting, I don't see any sort of base from which I can see major improvement in his shot. Nevertheless, I'm a firm believer that any player can significantly improve his shooting, even when they're in their early 20s. Given Dunn's work ethic, I actually do expect him to improve his shooting. It's just a matter of how much and how fast.

Thanks for responding I agree with a lot of what you said there. What I see from Dunn is he has some good things to work with.

Yep he has a crazy high arching shot which is probably why that floater is a great shot for him. Unlike Ricky if he gets it in the tim it's more likely to go in. Like you said Dunn and Rubio have the opposite problems.

His fluidity seemed to improve as the season went on. You also see him having a nice sway to his lower body and has a nice angle of his body. Most good shooters are completely square to the hoop that's a myth. Now like you said it's not always consistent but he has some things to work with.

To me if Dunn just become more fluid with his jumper it has a chance. Rubio had to rework his shot because it was like a kids shot and credit to him he did it and now we are seeing maybe the hard work paying off.

The problem with Dunn is that FT line because he doesn't get that rhythm that he does on the jumper. That makes his mechanics break down ever more. I said that back when we were talking about him as a draft pick.

So to me the questions are for Dunn's jumper are:

Can he become consistent with his current shot and therefore become more fluid each time and therefore a higher rate of success?

Or does he change his shot to be a bit more compact and lowering that arch some to help have more consistent mechanics?

It's a VERY different situation but Lavine reworked his shot to a certain extent Drew Hanlen the Trainer for Lavine and Wiggins talked about it on a podcast I listened to last year and it's pretty awesome how that worked out. I think a lot of his refine their shots as the progress but it doesn't always work out. I remember Derrick Williams was working on his shot coming out of college and it felt like it didn't work. It was probably because he just isn't that good but anyway...back to Dunn time will tell.

One last thing I will add was that Funn seemed to make some catch and shoot 3's later in the season and he didn't put the ball on the floor to get a rhythm which is something Lavine used to do a lot and because of Dunn being a guy that was used to being able to have the ball a lot in college etc that was a concern in that area. There was some positive signs. All I am trying to say with this post is I see some small signs with Dunn's shot to be cautiously optimistic. I'd be curious to hear more thoughts.

[Mr. Brightside [enjin:16464947]]

If Dunn became Avery Bradley, would anyone be upset? I wouldn't.

[Lipoli390]

Good analysis, Monster. I think Dunn will have to change his shot to be more compact with a lower arch. LaVine had beautiful shooting mechanics the minutes he hit the floor with the Wolves. For him it was a matter of refinement. In my view, it way beyond refinement for Dunn as it was in a different way for Ricky.

I want Dunn to re-work his shooting mechanics this summer. That will give him the foundation to improve his shooting over the course of next season. I also want Dunn to work just as hardon his ball-handling this summer. Dunn reminds me of Rajon Rondo, except that Rondo had a better handle when he got to the NBA. But as I mentioned, unlike Wiggins, I don't think Dunn's handle is bad. Unlike his shooting, Dunn's handle just needs some fine-tuning.

You know how big I am on a player's motor. Dunn has an A-level motor. He would be on my Wolves "All-Motor Team" along with Ricky, Gorgui and Bazz. Those guys all bring it on every play, both ends of the court. Unlike the other three, Dunn's motor is combined with a level of physical talent that can make him a game-changer on the defensive end.

[Lipoli390]

I should have added Tyus Jones to my Wolves "All-Motor Team." The guys is a hyper-competitor on both ends.

The Wolves will become championshiop contenders if either KAT or Wiggins end up on my All-Motor Team." NBA contenders tend to have at least one star-caliber talent who also has a star-caliber motor.

[Monster]

Good analysis, Monster. I think Dunn will have to change his shot to be more compact with a lower arch. LaVine had beautiful shooting mechanics the minutes he hit the floor with the Wolves. For him it was a matter of refinement. In my view, it way beyond refinement for Dunn as it was in a different way for Ricky.

I want Dunn to re-work his shooting mechanics this summer. That will give him the foundation to improve his shooting over the course of next season. I also want Dunn to work just as hardon his ball-handling this summer. Dunn reminds me of Rajon Rondo, except that Rondo had a better handle when he got to the NBA. But as I mentioned, unlike Wiggins, I don't think Dunn's handle is bad. Unlike his shooting, Dunn's handle just needs some fine-tuning.

You know how big I am on a player's motor. Dunn has an A-level motor. He would be on my Wolves "All-Motor Team" along with Ricky, Gorgui and Bazz. Those guys all bring it on every play, both ends of the court. Unlike the other three, Dunn's motor is combined with a level of physical talent that can make him a game-changer on the defensive end.

Go back and look at Lavine's shot at UCLA and you will see he did a little more than just refine his shot. He had his arms out more and the ball in a different spot in relation to his head. He had great easy shooting mechanics to work with obviously and his game really is based on his shot more than a lot of people realize.

I'm certainly not suggesting it's the same as Dunn or Rubio just the point was that players can and do typically need to adjust and improve their shot as they progress. It's worth mentioning that Dunn may have not refined his shot more than he did because he had those shoulder injuries earlier in his college career.

I also wanted to give Lavine a lot of credit for the hard work and being willing to change what he had been doing to get better.

[Lipoli390]

Monster -- I'll take a look at some college videos of Zach. But I'm confident that he had far less wrong with his shot than Dunn. I think you make a good point about Dunn's shoulder injuries as potentially holding back his shot development. In any event, I consider Dunn's shooting mechanics fixable with good coaching and hard work. I just think he has far more ground to cover than Zach had when he first came to the Wolves. I think we're both seeing things pretty much the same way with perhaps a little disagreement over the degree of difficulty Dunn faces.

[Monster]

Monster -- I'll take a look at some college videos of Zach. But I'm confident that he had far less wrong with his shot than Dunn. I think you make a good point about Dunn's shoulder injuries as potentially holding back his shot development. In any event, I consider Dunn's shooting mechanics fixable with good coaching and hard work. I just think he has far more ground to cover than Zach had when he first came to the Wolves. I think we're both seeing things pretty much the same way with perhaps a little disagreement over the degree of difficulty Dunn faces.

I think we are probably on the same page. I don't think my point bringing up Lavine was well communicated. Yep Dunn has much farther to go than Lavine who had so much right just as a freshman with his shot. I'm not sure what part of Dunn's shot you can say for certain is an asset to build on. Like you said it's fixable but the major thing to me is getting whatever he does more consistent. Sometimes to do that you need to make a change.

To me Dunn sorta shoots the ball like it's a feel shot more like he is shooting a floater. Rubio used to shoot more like everything was a stand still set shot. He needed to change so he could get more feel and flow into that shot. Dunn probably needs to compact the shot more so he can harness the flow. Another set of teammates on another galaxy or universe of the shooting spectrum are Klay and Steph. Klay has a more classic compact or defined shooting motion and Steph has a motion where he can just fling the ball. Both are great shooters but they have a different way of getting there to some extent and it's fun to see except when they are ripping your team to shreds by burying 3's. Lol

[Coolbreeze44]

The arc is what stands out to me. It's beneficial to have decent arc on your shot, but his exaggerated arc is detrimental. His release is also too slow.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Dunn's free throw percentage through college and his rookie year is what scares the hell out of me. I mean, a guard that can never achieve 70% or better from the line suggests that there isn't much of a foundation to work with. Free throws have usually been a good proxy for shooting in general (and I realize Rubio is a major exception).

Still....he does enough other stuff to potentially be a difference maker, even as a role playing combo guard that provides elite defensive energy and production.

[Monster]

The arc is what stands out to me. It's beneficial to have decent arc on your shot, but his exaggerated arc is detrimental. His release is also too slow.

Agreed Cool. Do you have any thoughts on what you would suggest he change mechanically?