Jerryd Bayless's "New Jumper"

Where was the answer for “Ben’s even more obsessed with Bayless than we previously imagined”?

This is the biggest problem with his shot (something he does in both videos) and why he can look good in practice and horrible in the game. The double motion takes a really long time, so in a game setting the defense can close out faster on him, therefore changing his entire release. It’s actually a relatively easy fix, and somewhat surprising to me that no one has noticed it before.

I agree that JBay’s jumper seems improved but I see two continuing flaws. First, everytime he catches the ball, he takes it down towards his waist and then brings it back up. This motion and the delay it causes makes the shot much easier to either block or disrupt. Second, JBay still releases the ball from a low point close to his head. When combine with his slow release, this makes defending him much easier. A good comparason is with Rudy.

I am heartened to see that JBay has shown improvement. Perhaps, he can improve his form even more. However, without a quicker release, I fear that JBay will be consigned to the role of NBA journeyman.

That’s all I care about. I looked at both videos and learned that I have NO CLUE what a good stroke and bad stroke look like. None whatsoever.

It’s sorta hard to tell from the video. He does get a good arc on his shot (especially compared to Sergio). But when he receives the ball Bayless doesn’t seem to attempt to get the seams on the ball positioned, like Rudy does. Then when he shoots, it’s hard to tell if the ball is rotating well.

elbow at shoulder height, 90 deg angle with forearm – shoot it like you are in a telephone booth. Other fine points to good shooting include letting the ball roll off your index/forefingers and following through with a 180 degree or better wrist action.

Based on what we can observe of Bayless’ shot – he is getting into good shooting position and shooting the ball UP – which is a good mechanical feature. He also appears to have good follow through. He is low and slow on the start – but that is a correctable feature….

For all you youngsters, telephone booths were these weird contraptions found on every street corner, back in the day.

There are a number of things that could speed up his release that he doesn’t routinely do.

1. First and foremost the thing that would speed up and help his shot the most is to stop dipping the ball/bringing it down before he goes up for the shot.

2. I also noticed that he doesn’t usually have his wrist back in the set position when he recieves the ball, small thing, but could make a difference. In a related point he could probably stand to recieve the ball lower than where he currently puts his hands, I think that has a little bit to do with why he dips the ball so often.

3. I also noticed another small thing , in that he seems to bring his right foot forward after his shot which could be throwing off the balance of his shot a little bit. His release point looks good to me, if you want to be really critical I guess it could be a tad higher. His follow through looks good to me, but he should continue to refine it if he wants to be a great shooter.

I don’t think he’ll really have any problems with the elevation on his shots so I won’t critique that part.

His lack of wingspan to me is really noticable in this video, as even though I think he has a good release point for himself, people seem to think its low and close to his head. It really seems to me that perception is more a function of his short arms than it is of bad shooting form. I think he’ll be able to get his shot off well in the NBA if he can get rid of that habit he has of bringing down the ball before he shoots.

is that he is releasing the ball higher but not jumping as high. Releasing the ball higher is good. He may not be jumping as high because he shooting threes and\or he just finished a long practice. Two flaws are lowering the ball before he goes into his shooting motion and not completing his follow through.

Funny, I did not see him play a lot in college (and only on TV) but i remember being impressed by how he caught the ball and elevated with the ball in shooting position as it is clasically taught to teenagers in shooting clinics (lower arm parallel to the ground and upper arm perpendicular to the ground) and with his shoulders very square to the basket (old school approach . . . now days many shooting coaches don’t care if shoulders are square to the basket). Most good shooters shorten their stroke as they get older by starting closer to their release point and Bayless seems to be making that transition. However, I can’t believe that lowering the ball first is acceptable to his coaches (maybe its a way to get him to be more relaxed when he shoots?) and shooting coach I’ve ever seen encourages players to fully extend the arm and bend the wrist on the follow through. In short, the flaws are correctable, but why haven’t they been corrected. But then again, no one if offering me money to teach shooting.

Notice that when he throws up a brick, he seems to have a little hitch to it and the release comes a little late in his jump. It’s not a terribly fluid motion and there’s a bit too much wind-up. He also seems to lean back and off-balance on misses. You can see it about 40 seconds in.

That said, he seemed to shoot well off the dribble in summer league, but I wasn’t keeping stats.

was his explosiveness in getting to the rim. I Assume that is why so many think it is worth working on all of these deficiencies in his game.

what good is getting him to jump higher going to do? He already jumps as high as anyone on the team. Unless you get that elbow a bit more under his hand and his hand a bit more under the ball, the shot will not improve. And can we get him to shoot the ball without looking like he’s wearing oven mits?

is there any more worthless and wasted energy on a basketball court then the “vicious throw down”? The ball is already through the rim. Hanging on it and trying to tear it down doesn’t get you extra points. Maybe a ripped callous or two on your hands….

ok i watched it this time, it looks a little better. But still way to much arm and elbow. The ball doesn’t apear to sit in his hands correctly. It looks like he shoots the ball with the outside of his palm rather then his fingers. Does his wrist not bend naturally or something? The left hand is supposed to steady the ball, but he looks like he uses both hands to shoot like he’s 4 years old or something…… a little better, but that isn’t going to cut it in the NBA. Seriously this is all he could achieve in a whole summer? I expected a totally different looking shot, one with fundamentals included……..

I sat yes.

“Fixing” a jump shot can take a long time. Like, years, really. And in the interim you aren’t going to be a very good shooter. Since Baybay isn’t going to be playing or shooting much this year anyways, I say he should just put in the work to fix it. Get that elbow in, release point up, arc on the ball, ball on the fingertips and not on the palm. He is a grown man now, not a kid. He should shoot like a man. Jimmy Chitwood, now there was a man who knew how to shoot the basketball.