You mean the 37% from deep, 53 TS% Josh Smith?
Fluke year. He shot 0% last year.
Nowhere is the surge more surprising than in Atlanta. Smith, the same J-Smoove who abandoned the three ball last season when he attempted -- and missed -- just seven shots, is now among the best three-point shooting power forwards in the Eastern Conference. Making 36.9 percent of his treys, Smith is shooting better than such feared marksmen as Danilo Gallinari and Rashard Lewis.
...
For Smith, the transformation required both a technical and mental shift. He thought abandoning the three to focus on shotblocking and rebounding would be his ticket to the 2010 All-Star Game. Instead, all he got was runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year and an uneven game. Enter Idan Ravin, the personal trainer known as the Hoops Whisperer for his unorthodox drills and positive reinforcement. In a two-week session prior to the season, Ravin, who has worked with Chris Paul and Elton Brand, straightened out Smith's lefty stroke so that the ball rises in a perfect vertical line instead of being brought over from the right side of his body. He also patched the hole in Smith's psyche with texts containing affirmations such as "You don't need their approval, so stop looking in their direction."
"Instant results," Smith says. "More than anything, he gave me confidence in myself." He needs it. Even now, Hawks' fans groan when he readies a three. Which is understandable. Such transformations aren't supposed to happen.
Players, even Josh Smith, can mature. It is not unheard of to think that maybe one day, we'll be hearing about how Andray Blatche is the steading influence on a volatile rookie.
Amare is shooting 50% from deep this season... I still think other teams will welcome him to shoot from out there.
He shoots on average 1 every 3 games.
Josh Smith shoots 2 a game, and its becoming a larger piece of his arsenel. 20 total in November, then he almost doubles it in Decemeber.
Dismiss those numbers at your own risk.
