Kidd transforms into shot man for Nets - 布魯克林籃網 Brooklyn Nets

再一篇關於 Kidd的投籃，不過我覺得這篇寫的更好些，
也加上 Kidd 自己的一些看法。

Friday, March 02, 2007
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff

Jason Kidd tells his friends that he'll play four more seasons -- two in New
Jersey, and two wherever they'll have him -- and when he reaches the end of
this Hall of Fame journey, he'll undoubtedly be a different player than the
one he is today.

But the Nets have been witness to the start of the transformation this
season, and at times, it can be startling.

Think about it: How many players can hit five 3-pointers and score 15 points
in 189 seconds, as he did against Washington on Tuesday night?

Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant immediately come to mind, and then you have to
start scratching your temple.

"Probably Gilbert," Carter added, referring to Gilbert Arenas. "Ray (Allen).
That's about it, really. Oh, and T-Mac."

But a going-on-34 point guard with a bad back, who isn't exactly known for
lighting it up?

As his coach sees it, this is a hint of what Kidd might become in two or
three years.

"As you get older, you understand that some of your strengths (diminish),"
Lawrence Frank said. "Jason understands, and he wants to continue playing
beyond his contract. He's still very fast with the ball, but he knows that as
you get older there are certain things you may not be able to do at the same
speed, so his ability to improve his shot makes him even a better player."

So Kidd decided to become a shooting impresario. He just wishes he started
working on it a little sooner.

"You know, when you're young and naive ... you always feel you have time to
work on whatever you need to work on," Kidd said yesterday. "And before you
know it, it's 12 or 13 years in the league. Yeah, I wish I would have started
it sooner, but I'm happy with where I'm at. I've always relied on passing,
but now its fun being on the other end."

The change began on the eve of the Indiana playoff series last spring, when
shooting coach Bob Thate suggested that they break down his mechanics. It was
too late to do anything dramatic, and as this season began, Kidd was still
too busy to fully commit the time to it.

Then two things happened: Thate, an enormously dedicated teacher, spent time
working with T.J. Kidd ("Lock it up," could be heard throughout the gym)
after practices, and the boy's father noticed his son's improvement. Then
Thate lost his prize pupil, Nenad Krstic, to a torn ACL, and a few days later
pulled Kidd aside and said, "Will you please work with me now? I'm running
out of guys to work with."

So they got to work, and Thate broke it down -- elbow positioning, release
point, follow-through, everything. The rest was repetition -- 300 shots a
day, sometimes more. And then Kidd found a partner who actually loves
shooting more than he did, in teammate Eddie House, with whom he has shooting
games every morning.

"There were a lot of shooters on the team, and I wanted to join in, and have
some fun with those guys," Kidd said. "So I tried to pair myself with Eddie
-- he's one of the best shooters in the league. We started the game, put a
dollar on it, and it became something that caught my attention. I just wanted
to be a part of it."

Said House, "He was up $20 on me at one point."

Kidd had perhaps the best shooting month of his career in January, with an
incredible 47 percent clip from downtown. Immediately thereafter, he
experienced back and rib problems, and his jumper touch suffered. Over the
first seven games of February, he slumped (5-for-36) from the arc.

Now he's white-hot again, connecting on 23 of 44 shots in the last three
games (.523), including 11-for-19 (.579) from deep. And very few players have
experienced the dream flow he had in the third quarter against the Wiz.

"Every play, he'd knock it in, and I'd be like, 'Damn, run it again,'" Carter
said. "It was incredible. You don't get to see that kind of thing too often."

"I kind of felt like Vince there for a minute," Kidd said. "I feel like all
of 'em are going in now. The thing with being a shooter, I've found out, make
or miss you have to keep shooting. That's the biggest thing I've learned this
season."

Notes: Carter didn't have any substantive thoughts about Bruce Ratner's
remarks Wednesday, when the owner said he wanted Carter re-signed this
summer. "It's great to hear," Carter said. "Believe me, if you have the
support of the owner who wants you back, and believes you're an important
part of this team, it's a great feeling." ... The Nets list Antoine Wright
(sprained right elbow) as day-to-day, and both Mikki Moore (sent home) and
Josh Boone (he practiced) had the stomach flu yesterday.


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