Los Angeles Lakers forward Julius Randle is not much of a jump shooter. He can score in the paint, but can't punish defenses that dare him to shoot. It's just about impossible to improve as a shooter during a season, so the Lakers plan to work with him on changing his form next summer, via the Orange County Register's Bill Oram:
Coaches say his form is loose. His left elbow juts outward, and Lakers’ first-year shooting coach Tracy Murray laments a hitch in Randle’s form that results in a catapult effect, rather that one smooth motion.
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Next summer Randle will be asked to unlearn the shot he has always had and start focusing on things as fundamental as forming an “L” with his elbow.
“I’m just not sure if he knows how much work it’s going to take to do it,” Murray said.
Randle has pretty good touch around the basket, but he's shooting just 42.8 percent from the field this season. That's because he's shot 9-for-35 (25.7 percent) from outside of the paint, per NBA.com.
This is what it looks like when he takes a jump shot:
In the Orange County Register story, Hall of Famer James Worthy draws a comparison to Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin, who struggled with his jumper early in his career. Griffin's development can be instructive for Randle -- he was a star before he had a reliable midrange game, but now he's a superstar and a threat from just about everywhere on the court.
Randle has a long way to go before his game is complete enough to be compared to someone like Griffin. When he has success, it's because of his combination of speed and strength when attacking off the dribble. In order to have more opportunities to do that, though, he's going to need to need to make his jump shot a threat. This will likely be a multi-year project.
