GAME 10: DAL (6-4) @ ORL (3-9) | 87-94 Loss

[KillerLeft]

I like THJ, but he has to quit doing the kangaroo rat and pirouette prayer shots.  Coaches need to work with him to square up to the basket before he shoots.  At this stage in his career I doubt that he can make the change.  THJ is what he is.  Bertans is similarly guilty.  At the very least the upper body needs to be square and/or anchored to the basket.

This is great analysis. 

I agree with your assessment of what causes both THJ and Bertans' struggles, but I disagree that "they are what they are" and that the problems are set in stone. From my seat, those guys are tasked with getting a much wider variety of shots off than DFS/Bullock types, and what comes with that is much, much more variety in how they integrate the catch into their shooting motion, how they stop their feet and set them, etc, etc. I think JJ Redick is the best I've ever seen at mastering dozens of different "solutions" for getting effective shots off in crazy, short windows, and most guys who find their niche in the league as shooters seem to struggle from time to time. The injuries and missed time surely don't help either, but we've seen THJ have stretches wherein he's handling all of that stuff much better, as if the game is moving a little more slowly for him out there. 

I feel like Carlisle's staff might have been a little better at going over and over those type of fundamentals, while it seems like Kidd and staff are much more concerned with putting as much practice time into defense as possible (this is just my feeling, based on what I've observed) and they hope the offense will just kind of take care of itself. Time will tell if this approach will work out, but the point is that THJ can play offense at a really, really high level. Whether he's here for the long haul or it's all about trading him, here's hoping he can get straightened out. This latest injury sucks because he was showing signs of finding his way again during the first half the other night.