How Jerami Grant Became an Elite Shooter & What It Means for the Young Portland Trail Blazers Wings

How Jerami Grant Became an Elite Shooter & What It Means for the Young Portland Trail Blazers Wings

In today’s show Jeremy Grant’s blueprint for the Blazers young Wings trying to find their shot in the league Ryan rupe’s hard work is in the spotlight and Scoot Anderson might be a little bit ahe of the curve thanks to the Nerds welcome to lockdown Blazers let’s get into

It you are locked on Trailblazers your daily Portland Trailblazers podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what’s up world it’s your past first point guard and Trailblazers reporter Mike Richmond you are listening to another episode of Locked on Blazers part of locked on podcast network

Available wherever you get podcasts and also on YouTube thanks for making this show your first listen coming at you each and every weekday Monday through Friday so make it a part of your daily routine make it your first listen and tell your friends to do the same in

Lockon Blazers your team every day in today’s show got a fun one for you on a Friday we’re talking about Jeremy Grant as a blueprint for the Blazers young wings I had an interesting conversation with Jeremy that I’m going to share with you to open the show then I want to talk

About Ryan ruper who’s in the spotlight because his hard work is finally getting to Showcase itself on the main stage and to close the show the the Nerds they think we’re shooting too many threes the Nerds are usually right about this stuff ahead of the curve they say

That the league has gone two three-point happy and I got some good I got some news why that might be meaningful for a certain Blazers rookie point guard that’s what we’re going to do in today’s show it’s a it’s a fun Friday episode let’s start with Jeremy

Grant Jeremy Grant took 20 threes in college 20 20 he was six of 15 as a freshman and 0 of five as a sophomore he was a non-shooter did not make a three-pointer hit sophomore he came to the league as a non shooter and he looked looked like it

During his rookie season Jeremy Grant shot 31.4% from the from the three-point line in year two it dipped down to 24% yikes he was a non-shooter that was getting worse he was of course playing for the process Sixers in a in a quite a situation but but Jeremy Grant

Was a guy who couldn’t shoot coming out of college but had some promising tools and couldn’t shoot his first two years in the league and had some promising tools he was going to eventually stick and become a valuable role player and then a handsomely paid one after

That but he knew he had to be able to shoot and to me doesn’t that sound like a lot of his current teammates if you’re a longtime listener to the program or a regular listener or as I like to call you an everyday or shout out to my every

Dayers you know that one of the big things I’ve been thinking about D during the stretch run of the season is the Blazers young wings and who can separate at and differentiate themselves that’s Jabari Walker that’s Tani Kamara that’s uh to some extent matis thel that’s

Chris Murray and and and all of a sudden it’s also Ryan ruper it was a quartet now it’s a quintet and what I I’ve been so curious and you can kind of drop ma SL he’s 27 but we’ll talk about the courtet of of of ruper and Walker and and Kamar and

And Murray I’m thinking about here as as as we go through this all of those guys do some stuff and then the caveat is well right now they’re not a shooter if they could shoot they would be this if they could shoot they’d be this uh Jabari Walker’s dipping down to

Like Mak it a quarter of his threes he does a lot of good stuff but if he can’t shoot he’s probably not um probably really really really limits his ceiling in the league tone kamaro’s making more of his threes recently but on low volume and he’s such a good defensive player

That if he was a three and D guy he’d be he’d be like really solid in the league all of a sudden Ryan ruper you know we just haven’t seen him very much um but shooting will be a swing skill for him as well and Chris Murray has a lot of

Defensive chops and he’s getting big defensive assignments but he has not shot well in his rookie season and in fact some of his misses have been uh way off uh so you’re talking about toolsy forwards with varying degrees of athleticism and defensive chops that their swing skill is going to be shooting

Sounds like Jeremy Grant that sounds like Jeremy Grant that sounds like year three Jeremy Grant it clicked for him in year three in his third season in the league Jeremy Grant shot 37.1% from three on 114 attempts this was in 201617 um the volume was we were just

Hitting the sort of uh the the downhill slope of what was going to be a a a lot of momentum picking up with teams chucking away from three but this was you know this was year two this is what the 73 win Warriors team um or excuse me

This is the year after the 73 win Warriors team this is like this is the three-point revolution has now taken hold we’ve got a young a young Dynasty uh with we know and Steph Curry is a two-time MVP winner and the league is going to bomb away from three and and we

Have just headed in that direction since then more on that in the third segment and Jeremy Grant all of a sudden in year three as it traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder is now a 37% three-point shooter so I was curious how’d you get there how’d you get there so I asked

Jeremy Grant about how he went from a guy who took 23s in college 23s in college shot 31% his rookie year and 24% his sophomore season in the NBA to someone who now in back-to-back Seasons with the Blazers has shot 40% from three on volume it’s been in the league a long

Time and one of the reason reason he’s been in the league in a long time is because he’s evolved Jeremy Grant told me a couple things one is that he hired a shooting coach he worked with John Townsen who’s uh former been worked in and around the league for a

Long time a long long time work for the Blazers briefly and work for the Memphis Grizzlies briefly and and as a shooting coach and and and Jeremy Grant hired John Townsen to fix his shot some of it was that Jeremy Grant was shooting on the left side of his

Body as a right-hander he was coming across his face to shoot he had to totally rebuild his shot from scratch break it all the way down and build it back up to a point where it looked better it was like more aesthetically pleasing so that could get help as as as

I discussed with him help teams have more faith in it if it looked better they would teams would be more ready to believe in it and helps him feel comfortable you know Pro approve the Aesthetics while helping him find a comfort zone as a shooter totally rebuilds the shot and Jeremy Grant said

You know he said he had some he had some stuff going for him he said I had the athletic ISM and I had some defense and I’m going to quote here but to be a great player in the league I had to shift that and be able to

Shoot doesn’t that sound like his current young Blazers teammates I had to shift that and be able to shoot I joked with him that it was the $200 million skill Jeremy Grant sitting on about $250 million of NBA contracts it’s worked out well for him transforming from a to become a better

Shooter and it really didn’t it really you know in year four his fourth season League he didn’t shoot very well but from uh basically year five on he’s been a solid solid shooter and it’s been you know he had a down year in Detroit one season but like he’s legitimately good

Shooter so where does it start you hire that coach get in the gym and the Reps matter in the summertime that’s what was a big takeaway from talking with Jeremy about this the Reps matter in the summertime says it starts in the summer but the game reps is what gives you true

Confidence to keep shooting I’m a big believer that the hard that the most skill work NBA players can like the most the place where they improve where an individual NBA player improves their skill the most is in the summertime that’s when you can improve your ball handling that’s when

Improve your shooting those summer months summer is serious that’s when you that’s that’s when you find out if guys are going to be able to stick in the league is how much can they improve when you don’t play basketball four times a week in four different ities like when

You actually have time to go to the gym and get that work in and work on you and your game and and skill work right but to be able to do it according to JG skill work is important working with JN Townsen and rebuilding a shot was important the Reps gave him confidence

That he could do it but it wasn’t until he started seeing that ball go through the net in Oklahoma City that he said yeah I’m a shooter I’m a shooter I’m going to be a shooter and this is going to be part of who I am it’s going to be

My identity in the league move moving forward I can do this it strikes me that this is a huge summer for Jabari walker and a huge summer for toari Kamar and a huge summer for Chris Murray and and some extent thr Ryan ruper in that as well this is when young

Guys make big jumps they make big jumps but the Reps matter and I think to end the season the final 21 games the Blazers going to have an opportunity for the Young guys to get reps they’re not going to have the skill work built in and then next year who

Knows what the Reps will be at some point probably in the very near future the Blazers are going to have to make a tough tough decisions about which young wings are still on the roster which young wings are not they got draft picks and they’re going to have to make some

Decisions about um you know how many rookies they they are willing to willing and able to bring in and how many young players that are currently on the team do they want into the near in the future I don’t think they have to immediately make those trades but certainly there

Could be a situation where some young players they make a decision on as early as June of 2024 the swing skills matter Jeremy Grant is a perfect example of it he was an interesting role player an intriguing really athletic long rangey Defender playing in Philly and then he

Found his role in OKC as this backline kind of even playing a little bit of weird small ball Center in some of their lineups and as a Defender and an athlete but he reasoned that he’s stuck in the league and that and and that he was so

Good on those OKC teams and eventually on those Denver teams it’s cuz he could shoot it’s the swing skill it’s what changes the trajectory for these guys Grant did it by getting in the gym with someone who could rebuild his confidence and then you g you gain the confidence

By putting in the work and then you keep the confidence by having that positive reinforcement in the games the Blazers are going to have a chance to have some positive reinfor young Blazers going to have a chance to have some positive reinforcement in the games but this

Summer is going to be huge for him Jeremy Grant is the blueprint he’s blueprint he’s blueprint you can be a non-shooter and figure it out it’s one of the skills you can definitely improve in the league and Jeremy Grant is proof of it and if Jabari Walker and Tani Kamara and and

Chris Murray and Ryan ruper are going to stick I would talk to Jeremy Grant about how he did it I’ll talk to Jeremy Grant about the what the work looked like in the summertime what the confidence felt like in the fall he’s proof that you can get there they

Got to follow that path Jeremy Grant is absolutely the blueprint for those youngsters in the second segment I want to talk about Ryan ruper specifically speaking of speaking of youngsters I want to talk about Ryan ruper he’s he’s in the spotlight right because when I asked chony Bops

About Ryan rupar and where he he’s improved bips gave a a glowing answer about how not only had RUP improved in every asset every uh part of his game every facet of his game but he was the hardest worker on the team glowing praise from the coach let’s talk about

The youngster to close the show a teenager getting an opportunity for the Blazers down the stretch join me in that second segment won’t you but first I want to tell you about eBay Motors they’ve teamed up with locked on Fantasy Basketball host Josh Lloyd to bring you some of the best fantasy picks

Each week all season long whether prepping for daily fantasy or you’re in the heat of the playoffs in your season long fantasy uh season long fantasy team every week right here I’m going to provide you with players that are guaranteed to fit your roster so let’s

See who has Josh has picked out for us on this week’s eBay’s guaranteed fit fantasy picks of the week the name you need to know Kyle Anderson the big news in the NBA today you listening to Friday March 8th show and on Thursday was announced by the Minnesota Timberwolves at Carl

Anthony towns has a miniscus tear in his knee and is undergoing surgery and be re-evaluated in four weeks a month away four weeks is basically the start of the playoffs Town’s out for the remainder of the regular season meaning he’s out for the remainder of your fantasy season no matter when it wraps

Up so why not get one of joshy’s picks Kyle Anderson who moved into the starting lineup tonight for the wolves with towns out of there he’s going to see a larger role he’s he started the first game um Josh notes that uh because Josh is the best of this that the the

Wolves only play two games next week so if if that is Meaningful to you in your fantasy world just know that but Anderson’s going to he’s going to fill up the the non-scoring stat stuff he’s going to rebound he’s going to pass uh and he’s going to play Big minutes now

With this opportunity he play he fouled out in 27 minutes on Thursday evening but if he doesn’t foul out he’s pushing 30 um and he’s he’s going to get you those secondary non-scoring stuff so Kyle Anderson a name to know Josh Lloyd from Lockdown fantasy basketball going to help you win that fantasy

Championship and eBay Motors knows the championship is about each player being a perfect fit it’s the same with your vehicle with over 122 Million Parts to choose from for your number one ride or die you can make sure your ride stays running smoothly whether you need brake kits LED headlights roof racks bumpers

Whatever it is eBay Motors has it and with eBay’s guaranteed fit it’s guaranteed to fit your ride the first time every time or your money back plus at these prices you’re burning rubber baby not cash keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com eBay guaranteed fit only available to you customers

Eligible items only exclusions apply all right let’s talk Ryan ruper So he’s he let’s let’s start in a little a little further back with ruper go all the way back to Monday’s game he plays against Minnesota Timberwolves he hits three threes uh one off the the dribble one off a little bit of like like a step back one off a

Little bit of movement a stand still three he scores off the bounce driving to the rim he’s playing competitive defense he’s 19 years old he’s got extremely long arms the Blazers say that he’s grown a little bit even since they’ve signed him and that Monday game was a culmination

Of a lot of like so where is Ryan ruper because over the last maybe six weeks as the Blazers have been really beat up it’s finally been appropriate to be like hey why isn’t ruper playing because if you go further back than just Monday night and join me in the actual Wayback

Machine when to when I was first encountered Ryan ruper in summer league he he looks bad he looks bad um I I I think uh you know I had I knew the name I guess from doing draft stuff but I hadn’t really I hadn’t watched him I hadn’t seen a

Single minute of him even even in the even in the sort of my YouTube Scout right of of ruper but I I maybe I watched 12 minute video on him once the Blazers drafted him but I had really seen him play I hadn’t seen to play game until summer league gets into summer

League and it’s like oh he can’t even dribble like he’s a long way away and then not only is a long way away the blazes have a bunch of young wings that are ahead of him the aforementioned guys from the previous segment with with Walker and Kamar and Murray are all

Going to be ahead of him in the pecking order matis thel’s going to be ahead of him in the pecking order the Blazers had four guards um that that are all going to play serious minutes so Shaden sharp was going to play a relatively um significant portion of his minutes when

The roster was healthy at small forward there’s just no time for ruper to play so between how bad he looked in July and how clearly buried he was as a second round teenager on this particular roster I didn’t think we’d see much of him but it was only till recently when the the

Injuries hit the Blazers and and that it started to be like hey I’d love to see Ryan rup ruper play and he gets in on Monday’s game and he plays pretty well and he gets into Wednesday’s game and he didn’t play particularly well but he got

A real opportunity and they asked him to guard shild as Alexander and and it’s like hey he’s he’s getting his chances so I asked Chancey bips after the last game where have you seen Ryan ruper improve the most like what what is what has been the spot since from July to to

Now where you’ve seen him improve the most and bip said everywhere in fact let me play you bip’s response to my question after uh Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder seriously everywhere he’s our he’s our hardest worker nobody works harder than Roots nobody puts up more shots than rops

Nobody comes back at night more than RS RS is our hardest worker was that true in July yes yes but what he didn’t have in July was game minutes you know but um he’s improved everywhere his understanding you know has improved his shot has really improved his drib dribbling has really improved

Um I really think sometimes like um cuz I’m out there and I’m hollering at them and um I think I really think the language barrier as fast as we C I don’t feel like I talk fast or us but when it’s not my language it probably needs to be a

Little slower well that can’t really happen when you in the hit you know um so I think that kind of has has led to some of his breakdowns out there as we try to change up stuff and change up covers and he’s also very aggressive so

He’s into the ball and he can maybe not hear the change um but every mistake he makes which is what I always I love about him and I tell him that the mistakes that he makes he makes him aggressively um and he’s Fearless man he’s Fearless so I think he he’s

Improved all over the place he he he really has but he’s he’s worked for it man the hardest worker on the team the hardest worker on the team nobody comes back more often nobody gets more shots up and you know why I believe it from Pony bips because I’ve saw how how

Raw and how far away ruper looked in July and where he got here to where he is in March I’m not sure that I you know am watching him this week and say like oh he’s he’s a star in the making but he looks like a really intriguing young

Player um he’s 19 with a bunch of tools right if he follows the Jeremy Grant blueprint and becomes a pretty darn good shooter in year three and Beyond he’s going to have a long NBA season and hopefully if he’s successful as Jeremy Grant will get a whole bunch of money for his

Troubles I think it is telling that it’s like you know bips is he’s he’s bips is really good about praising his guys right he’s he’s he’s pretty positive I’ve mentioned on the show before this like the thing I like most about bips is that that I think he’s pretty honest um

Sometimes he’s like we played well when they don’t play well but for the most part when you ask him a question he gives you like he he he sells it straight um when I asked like where has he improved I thought he was going to talk about more how he answered this the

My follow-up question there when I said was he always like this and you know he says like yeah he was but like the difference is he gets game reps I thought it was going to be more along those lines but but instead it was like he’s improved a lot and he’s improved a

Lot because he’s put the work in and he’s proud of how much work he’s put in it was effusive praise and it was immediate ause of Praise mostly unprompted like I asked a question about him playing better and improving but I didn’t ask like does does Ry is Ryan

Ruper the hardest worker on the team that was unprompted praise from phips it tells you what he thinks about him and I believe it I believe it because ruper probably had the longest way to go of of anyone on the roster to get to get to where he is

Um there’s some other candidates to be sure but um rupair is in the SP R’s hard work behind the scenes and I think the way the Blazers handled it as well right they knew he wasn’t he was going to be buried behind the rest of the wings so

He got some time with the remix um you know he wasn’t playing like huge huge huge huge huge minutes with the remix but he was getting opportunities there and they were prioritizing him getting on the court playing real games with their g-league affiliate as opposed to him kind of like you know traveling

Around the country and not playing for the big club and he puts the work in behind the scenes and he looks um you know he’s not he hasn’t been spectacular but he’s been so darn intriguing and I think those as bip said like those game reps matter it’s like

You can you put that work in you get those you know you you build up your confidence you play some games in the G league and you know you sharpen your skills and then you get out in the court and you’re like oh yeah I can do this so

When the Blazers asked him to go guard Shay Guild Alexander on Wednesday he accepted that challenge now he got cooked by a dude who was might win the MVP of the league but just the willingness of the coaching staff and the enthusiasm of ruper to to accept and

Go after that assignment and go get it tells you what kind of guy he wants to be and tells you what the kind of guy the Blazers hope he can be ties back into what jery Grant talked about with me in that first segment you get the work like you you

Get the confidence from the work you put in behind the scenes you get the confidence from going back to the gym at night you get the confidence from getting shots up that’s how you build that’s that’s how you build it and you keep the confidence by getting opportunities out on the court and

Getting that positive reinforcement and ruper is doing that and his hard work is getting the spotlight and I hope um regardless of what how much healthier the Blazers get over the stretch run the season I hope ruper they can figure out a way to get him regular minutes most

Nights because he is intriguing and the more time right now is the perfect time to send a 19-year-old out there to figure it out it’s a perfect time for it the health of another 19-year-old scoot Henderson I hope just gives rupair more opportunity to kind of go chase it down

Right to go to go see if see if he could his his hard work can continue to pay off um just a just a a fun little story and I wanted to share um uh Chon’s Chon’s input because I thought it was an interesting um an unprompted praise

Really tells you how much phips has appreciated how far ruper has come from a very dear in the head lightsy summer league to like a really intriguing week here in the first week of March okay to close the show the Sloan the the MIT Sloan analytics conference uh which is like the sports

Analytics I was going to say l paloa but it’s a conference for sports analytics enthusiasts to share the sort of the the research toour and and uh and trade their thoughts on the on the latest trends across Sports and there was two writers I regularly wrote about it and I

Think there’s some interesting findings about the league shooting too many three-pointers and why that might be good news for scoot Henderson he might already be ahead of the curve in terms of Market inefficiencies let’s talk about that to close the show but first let’s talk about Linked In

Jobs when you’re hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role and that’s why you have to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right Professionals for your team faster and for free it’s not just another job board

LinkedIn has a vast network of more than a billion professionals which makes it the best place to hire it gives you access to professionals that you’re just not going to find anywhere else LinkedIn does all of that while making the process easy and intuitive hiring is easy when you have that many quality

Candidates so easy in fact that 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours when they post on LinkedIn LinkedIn knows that if you are a small business owner or running a small business that you’re wearing a lot of hats so you might you just might not have time or

The resources to hire so they’re constantly finding ways to make the process easier they’ve even launched a feature that help you write out job descriptions making the process quicker for you and easier to find the best candidates with the with swiftness there’s over 2 and a half million small

Businesses that are already using LinkedIn for hiring so why not get on board post your job for free at linkedin.com locked on NBA that’s linkedin.com lockon NBA post your job for free terms and conditions apply still a pass vs point guard I’m still Mike Richmond and you are still listening to locked on

Blazers the good Folks at Sloan the analytics Conference held at MIT the Nerds went to Boston and they talked about shooting three-pointers I first read this in a story by John Hollinger on the athletic and I’m going to I’ll I’ll have both stories I’m about to talk about here John Hollinger

Stories and also the true hoop story from Henry Abbotts linked in the episode description whether you’re an audio listener or YouTube listener is linked down below just go check it out or I don’t know what direction it is if you’re an audio listener in my in my

Podcast app it’s linked next to this um but I first read about this in hollinger’s weekly Roundup he writes a column each week um and he he reported reporting live from Sloan or returning from Sloan and and and and Hollinger wrote an interesting thing about how for

For a long time and he was maybe maybe the main proponent of this in in the analytic circles was that the strongest correlation between one of the strongest correlation Corr like statistical correlations for winning was just three-point attempts not makes attempts if your team shot more threes and

Limited the other team from shooting threes you were going to win he mentions like converting marasol to shoot three-pointers because that was like literally just volume of Threes was the strong one of the strongest correlators to to winning Brook Lopez you know Everyone likes to point to sort

Of the late season evolution of of late career Evolution or you know midcareer evolution of Brook Lopez unlock these dudes let them launch threes now everybody launches threes everybody does and Hollinger says that with a League average at I’m quoting here League average at 36.7% on threes and

54.5% on twos we’ve roughly hit the threshold where a typical three no longer has an higher expected return than a typical two said oh that’s interesting we’ve reached the diminishing returns era of of launching three-pointers you got to make them everybody shoots them and if you’re at

If you’re you know if the league average just under 37% from on three but everyone’s shooting 40 a game there’s probably a market inefficiency out there on just getting layups the league is always prioritize layups it’s always been a layup League it’s just we’ve cut out the mid-range so heavily that every

Jumper that if you can’t get to the rim te teams are taking threes and where guys stand has drastically changed so like every role player spaces to the three-point line and and some teams say like like some of the Dan Tony Houston teams like do not cut into the paint

James is going to drive into the paint you are going to stand at the three-point line don’t clog the lane but everyone has always prioritized layups and and threes it’s just we’ve probably gone too far at over prioritizing threes and so when I read Henry Abbott’s piece

On true hoop that kind of um Hollinger sites a paper that was discussed at SL and then Hollinger just straight up breaks down the paper for you and even links to the abstract if you want to read it again those those stories are linked in the episode description um two

Researchers from Syracuse Erick and Sanders uh which kind of has a real has a real Shakespearean vibe to me erli and Sanders found that for a half decade five years teams are hurting themselves by shooting too many threes quoting from from their writing here we find a significant and deepening three-point

Dis premium at the league level since 201819 that’s the sort of end of the Kevin Durant Warriors Dynasty season in 2122 this just premium swelled to negative .066 points per three-point shot Henry and Abbott goes on to explain because that number might not mean anything to basically for every 15 threes you are

Losing a point relative to the average two and the reason that you’re losing a point relative to the average two because of free throws getting to the free throw line is incredibly important and because teams shoot so many threes now and you’re less likely to get fouled on shooting

Three-pointers you are you are losing opportunities to take twos that you hit at about League average 54 and a half% plus when you factor in the added chance of getting a free throw on the two-point shots because you’re getting you know into the paint closer to Defenders you’re not taking jumpers you’re driving

Etc you are losing you are losing points on shooting threes here’s the thing and and and and Abott writes the following the Syracuse researchers took a page out of hollinger’s book and said essentially you’ll win more if you choose more efficient shots what’s changed is the definition of effic

Efficient shots it used to be simply threes now it’s about shots that you earn the shooter the most likely points when you’re shooting when with your shooting ability and free throws are F when free throws are factored in teams still need to shoot a bunch of Threes

It’s not like drop down to 12 a game back like um from you know the early 90s you don’t even need to go back that far back early 2000s it is it is you know the the sort of in this post step Curry era where teams are

Taking you know 30 and 403s a game it’s that probably taking probably maxing out around 30 is probably better and if you can if you have don’t have the shooters and if you can get to the rim better like Boston is the Celtics are going to be best team in

The league they launch threes more than anyone they have a bunch of dudes who can shoot they’re crazy on on offense and a lot of it is is because they’re they shoot so many threes and they have so many dudes who can do it if you have

The Personnel to do it it’s probably still valuable the where you you know that matters but on the whole we’ve probably gone we’ve you know the the research says we’ve probably gone too far a dis premium a word I didn’t know until I read Henry Abbott’s piece a dis premium on

Threes so that brings me to scoot Anderson scoot has not been a good offensive player he’s shown some flashes but on the whole he’s been downright bad um I think it is uncontroversial to say he’s been bad on offense as a rookie but the one thing that scoot does at a high

Level on offense the one thing that he has been above average at like he doesn’t shoot well he’s really bad at making a layups and I think the the layups thing is really um is going to be the the swing skill for him if he can’t finish he can’t

Play but he draws fouls at a high level there only uh 12 players rookies or sophomore is in the NBA currently who who draw fouls at a higher rate than than scoot Henderson who play regular minutes um he’s above average at it he draws shooting fouls at above average

Rate according to cleaning glass he draws non-shooting fouls at above average rate according to cleaning glass and he’s shot way better from the free throw line recently scoot Henderson’s best skill is getting fouled and if the market inefficiency is taking more twos getting more shots at the rim and or

Moreover getting more attempts and making more plays and I I I think it’s less about like the type of shots you shoot and and the the aggression that you play with making more plays to draw free throws making more more smart plays that would be more likely to draw high

Value shots and for scoot that’s going to be getting to the free throw line he might have already he might be a better offensive player he might have cornered a slight Market in efficiency that the league will eventually catch up on we’re shooting too many threes in the NBA and

Scoot can’t shoot can’t make layups but what he can do is get to the free throw line and there is real value there and if he can and to do that at his age not yet 20 to be a guy who gets to the free throw line at above average level bod’s

Really well for him the thing I I am Mo I’m high enough the the thing I’m most excited about scoot’s offensive game is his ability to get fouled and then reading this and thinking about how like well what if teams cut out five three-pointers a game in favor of go

Getting downhill getting to the rim well the Blazers have someone who on their team who’s already would love to play that style and it’s already shown an above average ability to get fouled despite not being good at making layups and despite everyone going way under and daring him to shoot threes if scoot

Improves a little as a shooter and a little as a finisher and continues to be a really highlevel foul drawer the market inefficiency the in the efficiency that that the researchers say is waiting for you the value of free throws adding in shooting more free throws because you take more twos and

Really it’s like it’s get it’s because free fre throws are always always wide open and always from the same distance the value of of of shooting those free throws when you factor in twos that there’s value there maybe maybe scoot is further ahead of the curve than we

Think how about that for your little how about that heading into your weekend how about that how about it maybe maybe Scoot and those goggles he knew he knew what the Nerds at Sloan were going to tell us um again those two stories uh Henry Abbott ends and Hollinger story

Linked in the episode description and and and Henry’s story has a link to the study if you’re if you’re further curious um I hope you enjoyed this one I I enjoyed it I it was a good Friday show for you next week we’ll do five more I

Had teased that I was going to do an interview this week it fell through we had to reschedule it’s coming next week it’ll be in your feeds um I believe it’s going to be uh Wednesday’s show but it might be Tuesday days depending on how

Things work but look for that one it’s a fun one you won’t want to miss it a guess that you will enjoy I promise trying to nail down another one so instead of one interview next week we’ll get two five days a week wherever you get podcasts also on YouTube plus a

Couple folks joining me next week that sounds like a bunch of fun don’t miss it tell your friends not to miss it either I appreciate you listening I’ll talk to you Soon

A fun one on a Friday. Talking Jerami Grant’s path to becoming a shooter and how it can serve as the model for the young Trail Blazers wings. Plus, Rayan Rupert’s hard work behind the scenes finally getting a trial run on the court. And, the league is taking too many three-pointers and that might be good news for Scoot Henderson

0:00 – Jerami Grant is the Blueprint

14:32 – Rayan Rupert’s Hard Work on Display

25:32 – Scoot Henderson’s Value on Offense

True Hoop Story on 3s: https://www.truehoop.com/p/3s-arent-everything

Hollinger on 3s versus rim attempts: https://theathletic.com/5315474/2024/03/04/celtics-nba-future-three-point-shooters-sloan-analytics-conference/

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOBlazers?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Watch the show and subscribe on YouTube
📺 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeE7WdPaNWwA-IZGfHek90Q?sub_confirmation=1

Music for Locked On Blazers by Drae Slapz. Find more of Drae’s work here: https://ffm.bio/thedraeslapz

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Nissan
Our friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level. Take the Nissan Rogue, Nissan Pathfinder, or Nissan Armada and go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

eBay Motors
For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel
Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your bet wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)
#TrailBlazers #NBA