Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“It’s the growth mindset,” Betchart said. “If you are going to master shooting, you’re gonna have to miss a lot of shots. It’s kind of like learning to walk. When you were learning to walk, you don’t remember but you fell down all the time. You didn’t say, ‘Oh I’m not going to walk. I’m just going to stay on the ground.’ You just picked yourself up and eventually you learned. When you get to the professional level, your game is analyzed on where it is right now. And right now, he’s 19 years old. There’s no way he’s going to be as good a shooter now as he’ll be at 23 and 25. And so if he embraces the growth mindset and just continues to focus on his process, which is taking the shot, being assertive, taking your shot, it’s all going to work out. I know this to be factually true.”
Another one of Betchart’s clients is Orlando forward Aaron Gordon, who came into the NBA as one of the worst free throw shooters in college basketball. In his lone season at Arizona, Gordon shot just 42.2 percent from the free throw line.
In his two NBA seasons, the 6-foot-9 forward has shot 68.1 percent.
Okay, so yeah, on the one hand, that all sounds good–and there’s a lot of truth to it. But you know, that’s not all there is to it.
If you’re just taking shots and missing them, you’re not going to get much better at shooting. That’s one of the things that bugs me about this whole Malcolm Gladwell “ten thousand hours” stuff. It’s like, you have to actually be doing constructive things with that practice, not baking in bad habits–like inconsistent shooting form, etc.
At any rate, I think Brown will be fine. I think his combination of attitude and athletic ability is promising. As were his crazy free throw attempt averages in summer league. Although I think he’s going to pick up a lot of charges his rookie year, for pretty much that reason.
Edit: The “Growth Mindset” concept isn’t Betchart’s idea. It’s Dr. Carol Dweck’s (hat tip to Jay O. for pointing that out), and Brad Stevens is a big fan.
Page 2: Where Al Horford is Miss Congeniality
Best newcomer projections
1. Kevin Durant
Golden State Warriors | SF
First-place votes: 37
Total points: 201
2. Al Horford
Boston Celtics | PF-C
First-place votes: 10
Total points: 132
I have absolutely no idea how 10 people voted Al Horford as ‘Newcomer of the year’. I really don’t. I’m a big Celtics fan, and I think the Warriors put themselves in a really precarious position by deciding to go with 11 guys on vets minimums, basically.
And I wouldn’t have given Horford a first place vote.
Page 3: Where David Lee’s a Spur
I recommend not watching him on defense. https://t.co/zyXojNZ840
— Chuck M. (@RedsArmy_Chuck) July 28, 2016
Chuck with the grimace and nod take on that move.
The rest of the links
MassLive: Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown uncorks big dunk during offseason workout (video) | Boston Celtics notes: Demetrius Jackson’s contract details; looks like cap holds for Ante Zizic, Guerschon Yabusele still on books
