Blazers’ Jerami Grant Conquers ‘Shooting Slump’ With Help From Special Coach

Portland Trail Blazers star forward Jerami Grant, 28, has taken yet another leap in his career this season with volume scoring on eyebrow-raising efficiency rates.

However, a brief four-game cold spell — which coincided with four straight Blazers losses — diminished his numbers from distance.

Jason Quick of The Athletic detailed how Grant found his hot hand again with the help of shooting coach John Townsend and how it has correlated with two-straight wins for Rip City:

Mired in a 3-for-24 slump from 3-point range, Grant went a combined 7-for-9 from 3 as the Trail Blazers swept a back-to-back against Dallas [Mavericks]. Grant’s return to form came after he had an hour-long shooting session Friday with Townsend at the University of Portland,” Quick noted.

“I was in a little bit of a shooting slump, so I brought him out to get my focus back,” Grant said. “And there was carryover for sure. For sure. It definitely helped get my rhythm back.”

Grant said Townsend sent him through a series of drills that re-emphasized the angle he held the ball, where he released the ball and his balance. The two have been working together for the past seven years, during which Grant says Townsend has rebuilt his shot.

During this dry spell from beyond the arc, he also produced a negative plus/minus in all four games. This was his second longest negative streak of the season. He scored under 20 points in three of those four contests, marking his longest streak without a 20-point game on the year.

Grant was instrumental in both bounce-back wins against the Mavericks, averaging 18 points on 68.4 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 percent shooting from 3-point range. His 80 percent clip from distance in the second game of the back-to-back marked his second highest three-point percentage in a game this season where he attempted more than one three-pointer.

Quick went on to accentuate how Townsend has encouraged Grant to shoot at a high release point to offset his incredible 7-3 wingspan, which has been evident when watching the standout forward play.

Grant looks to ascend back to his three-point shooting levels in the month of November, where he was connecting on nearly 48 percent of his attempts from deep. He will have his hands full against the conference-leading Denver Nuggets tonight in their season series finale — a team he is shooting 6-19 against from three-point range.