10-11-2005, 03:20 PM
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#5 (permalink)
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Kwisatz Haderach
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Coatesville, PA
Age: 25
Posts: 24,503
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Re: Cheeks increases Korver's role...
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Originally Posted by jpk
Are the pre-season games shown on NBA League Pass on DirecTV? Can't wait to catch a game!
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Tonight's game is on NBA-TV.
And here's a bigger part of the article they quoted..
Quote:
The first time he saw Kyle Korver play this summer, 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks marveled at the quickness of his release and his ability to shoot from beyond the three-point line.
However, since that game at the end of the Sixers' free-agent minicamp in August, Cheeks has decided that Korver must be able to do more than park himself behind the arc and pull the trigger.
"We want him to try to put the ball on the floor a little bit more, break down the defense and get to the foul line more, not just to stand out there and shoot three-point shots," Cheeks said yesterday after the Sixers' practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
"As the ball swings to him, certainly he's free to shoot the ball because he's a guy who can shoot the ball extremely well. But we want him to catch the ball and maybe break down the defense a little more."
Korver said Cheeks has "talked to me about that every day."
"Really, it's changing the mind-set more than anything else," Korver said. "I'm used to running right to the three-point line; that's what I was encouraged to do last year. Not that I don't want to do that anymore - I feel that's one of my strengths, so I don't want to totally get away from that.
"But also, at the same time, he wants me to be more complete, I guess, kind of change up the scouting report a little bit - pump-fake and drive it some, just to do more things like that."
Cheeks' plan could be considered a bit risky. Korver, in only his second NBA season, established a franchise record last year with 226 three-point baskets, a figure that tied him for the league lead with Quentin Richardson, then of the Phoenix Suns and now with the New York Knicks.
But Cheeks feels that with Korver putting the ball on the floor more, he can get to the line more. Korver made 85.4 percent of his free throws, but sank only 82 shots from the line last season - exactly one per game.
Korver said getting adjusted to the different style has been a work in progress during training camp.
"I understand where he's coming from," Korver said of his coach. "But what I've got to find this preseason is kind of: Where's the line where I pump-fake and drive and where's the line where I [shoot] it?
"I'm definitely working on that right now. I'm thinking about it a lot because I haven't really shot the ball that well [in training camp]. Should I drive it? Should I shoot it? But that's what preseason is for, so I'm not worried about it."
In addition to the personal change in Korver's style, he is also part of an offense that is adjusting to Chris Webber having the ball in his hands more.
"We had 20 games with Chris last year," Korver said. "He wasn't quite as healthy as he wanted to be. We didn't really use him quite as well as maybe we wanted to. We're still trying to get used to him some. It's a lot different with Allen [Iverson]; the ball is not in his hands quite as much this year. We're still trying some things out but in the end, I think it's going to be good."
Cheeks' defensive system also will be different for Korver from the philosophy of former coach Jim O'Brien, who had his players protect the paint and rotate out to shooters.
This season, Korver said, the Sixers are working on directing opposing offenses toward Samuel Dalembert, the team's 6-foot-11 center and top shot-blocker.
"I think it will be a much better defensive team," Korver said. "Last year it was about rotations, and we still have some of that, but really we just want to kind of push everyone to where we've got a big shot-blocker. We're going to be a lot more aggressive on the wings."
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Phinally!
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