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Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy is reluctant to ask young players to make big changes to their game during the regular season. Often, changes that require thousands of repetitions are better suited for the offseason. That includes changes to shooting technique.
Multiple times when talking about working with rookies to change their game, Hardy has used a golf analogy — asking a new NBA player to change their shot would be like someone making it onto the PGA Tour and then telling them they need to change their swing. It can be confusing and hard to understand and can create distrust.
Even with that in mind, Hardy approached Kyle Filipowski with a suggestion earlier this season. He wanted to make some small tweaks to the rookie’s shooting release. That kind of change would mean that there would be games Filipowski was playing in when he was in the middle of figuring out a new release, and it could be uncomfortable.
“I went to Kyle directly, and he and I sat down and had just an honest conversation about where he’s at, where he’s going,” Hardy said. “But ultimately, it was Kyle’s decision. I recognize that he has to play in the games, and there’s going to be the psychological barriers that show up at different times, and so it needs to be his decision so that he’s really invested in the work and doesn’t feel like it’s something that’s being pushed on him.”
Filipowski appreciated the choice. He didn’t feel like he was pressured and was told that there was nothing wrong with waiting to make some tweaks until the offseason.
The conversation happened on the team plane as they were traveling to a road game and before the flight was over, Filipowski was on board for the change.
“I had a very open mind about it, because it wasn’t like a big change that he had for me,” the rookie said. “It was just these little tweaks. So I really thought it would help me in the long run, and I think it’s been much better than what it was.”
From the beginning of the season through Jan. 30, Filipowski had a 3-point shooting average of 30%. That includes the time when he was actively working to revamp his shot. That means that after weeks of work to tweak his release and only practicing the release close to the basket and then from the midrange, Filipowksi still had to play in games when he was still shooting from long range without having practiced his new release from that distance.
But the awkward, transitional phase passed and eventually Flipowski started to see that things were getting easier and smoother. He said that something clicked and it started to feel natural.
Since Feb. 1, Filipowski is shooting a staggering 51% from 3-point range.
“I was just very grateful that he gave me the option,” Filipowski said of the conversation with his coach. “You know, he wasn’t like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.' He said, ‘this is what I think we should do. But let me hear your thoughts.”
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