Korver struggling to find form after surgeries

[Guest]

By Jeff Schultz - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution



 

Kyle Korver was running down his medical resume …

“Had my wrist ‘scoped. Foot ‘scoped. Knee ‘scoped twice …”

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Hawks guard Kyle Korver, who has stuggled of late, watches game from the bench Wednesday night after getting his work in ... Read More

Because when a player is in his 13th NBA season and just a few months away from turning 35 years old …

“Broken nose twice. Tore my MCL in college. Wait, did I tear it? No just partial tear…”

People start to wonder if age and wear has caught up with one of the NBA’s most prolific three-point shooters …

“I’ve thought about that: Is it an age thing? I’ve actually thought about that a lot. I don’t think so. But you watch guys around the NBA and you think: What it does it look like? Is it a gradual thing? Or do you just all of a sudden fall off?”

It was late Wednesday night following a game and the Hawks’ shooting guard says he feels great, the standard post-game visual of his knees wrapped in ice bags notwithstanding. Look great? No. Feel great? Yes.

Korver’s right ankle, which succumbed to Matthew Dellavedova’s undercutting, bowling-ball-like rugby dive for the ball in the Eastern Conference finals, required surgery to ruptured ligaments. But it “feels great.”

Korver’s right elbow, which throbbed increasingly in the second half of last season and the playoffs, required surgery to remove two bone spurs (inside and outside the elbow) and multiple bone fragments. But it also “feels great.”

But his shooting so far this season is not great, and that’s something only time, not surgery, can fix. Korver made two of four three-point attempts in Wednesday’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers, who hope to be back in the NBA again one day. But that raised his season shooting percentage outside the arc to .400 (48 of 120) for the season, a significant drop from .492 last season, and .472 the year before, and .457 the year before that, and almost every season of his career.

This is no minor problem because the Hawks, who’ve stumbled out of the gate to a 15-12 start after going 60-22 last season, are largely dependent on their three-point shooting, and therefore largely dependent on Korver. With two-thirds of the schedule to play, the concern is not quite at DEFCON-1 level yet, but there’s uneasiness.

“When I’ve had conversations with Kyle, he feels good and he feels like he’s in a good place,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s going to take time. He works so hard in the summer, he puts in so much time and effort, and it wasn’t a normal summer for him. There were two or three months of lost time.”

The ankle surgery was May 27. The elbow surgery was June 30. Korver normally rests for a month off after the season, then begins shooting drills for one to two hours a day. But this year, he said, “It was September before I could shoot without pain. Then I came (to Atlanta) and it was a week and a half before the season started.”

Korver says this isn’t a case of an older player breaking down. The elbow surgery, while obviously needed, messed him up in two ways, limiting his offseason prep and taking away needed time to re-adjust his shooting motion. Korver wore a compression band on his elbow to limit the pain last season and and he had to change his technique.

“I had to generate a lot of momentum with a big dip, and really bringing the ball up,” he said. “It slowed down my shot and gave defenders more time to get to it.”

He’s no an excuse-maker but that was the reality. The problems were illustrated in the postseason, when his three-point percentage dropped from .492 in the regular season to .355 in the playoffs, including .312 in the second round against Washington. He’s searching for normalcy again.

“I’m kind of caught between two shots,” he said. “I’m locking in on my mechanics, thinking about something when I’m shooting the ball, and it’s weird. But I feel like things are starting to come together. You’ve just got to have grace for yourself.”

The Hawks will give him time. They have no choice. They’re a poor rebounding team that isn’t playing with the rhythm or consistency it did a year ago. Budenholzer said when Korver “shakes free and does knock (shots) in, it just creates more opportunities for our whole group and it gives him confidence and juice.”

Until that happens again, the Hawks will struggle.

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/basketball/korver-struggling-to-find-form-after-surgeries/npmgC/

 

This is for you @Peoriabird

[Hawkmoor]

Korver is a very good player. He might be putting too much wear and tear on his body with his off season regimens.

[benhillboy]

Every split second makes such a big difference for Kyle.  His mechanics were perfect for him, I can't be surprised he's slumping  badly from three after having to modifying them because of injury.  

His track record of hard work and shooting excellence in Atlanta is well-respected so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he'll find his groove by February.   Threezus shall have eternal life.

[benhillboy]

Every split second makes such a big difference for Kyle.  His mechanics were perfect for him, I can't be surprised he's slumping  badly from three after having to modify them because of injury.  

I haven't compared the numbers but I'm pretty sure his distance ran is a lot less than last year, too.  His off-ball movement is a large chunk of his game, or was.  We went from him getting clean looks against good defenders to bums forcing him into tough passes or flat out denying him touches.  The team not screening as well bears some blame too (Al with the chest and all).

His track record of hard work and shooting excellence in Atlanta is well-respected so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he'll find his groove by February.   Threezus shall have eternal life.

[Peoriabird]

20 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

By Jeff Schultz - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Hawks will give him time. They have no choice. They’re a poor rebounding team that isn’t playing with the rhythm or consistency it did a year ago. Budenholzer said when Korver “shakes free and does knock (shots) in, it just creates more opportunities for our whole group and it gives him confidence and juice.”

Until that happens again, the Hawks will struggle.

http://www.myajc.com/news/sports/basketball/korver-struggling-to-find-form-after-surgeries/npmgC/

 

This is for you @Peoriabird

This is what I've been trying to tell y'all.  Korver is the key to the offense...Has been and always will be until the offense changes.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

This is what I've been trying to tell y'all.  Korver is the key to the offense...Has been and always will be until the offense changes.

But the article on Teague also said this:

Quote

 Until Teague starts to play up to his regular level, the Hawks will continue to struggle on offense and defense.

 

[Peoriabird]

5 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

But the article on Teague also said this:

 

Teague and Korver are shooting the same  from 3 but Teague is struggling and Korver is excused.  Someone is a Sacred Cow!

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, Peoriabird said:

Teague and Korver are shooting the same  from 3 but Teague is struggling and Korver is excused.  Someone is a Sacred Cow!

Sacred cow argument is played out and tiresome. 

This team goes as Teague goes. Bud and his teammates refer to him as the 'engine' for a reason.  Teague's ability to run the team, get in the lane, and cause defenses to shift allows Korver to be effective and what he does. We know what his skillset is. Teague wasn't just struggling shooting, he was struggling at everything else. 

The way Teague (and Dennis played) last game is how we need our PG to play, everything happens off their action and penetration. 

Teague is supposed to be in his prime taking the next step, Korver is on the tail end, if you don't understand the difference and heirarchy I don't know what else to say.

 

 

[macdaddy]

I'm not worried about Teague of Korver.   Teague has always been up and down and I don't expect that to change.   But he is really our most dangerous player.    Korver is shooting 40% from 3 after an offseason of elbow and leg surgeries.   I mean come on.   40% is damn good.  only a few of these guys shooting 45% plus right now in the league will be there in the end.  It's not going to matter whether Korver shot 40% or 45% or 50% come playoff time.   Teams are going to have to watch him or else.   

[Dexmethylphenidate]

They need to get him back to being a 3pt specialist instead of letting him being a scorer. 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Dexmethylphenidate said:

They need to get him back to being a 3pt specialist instead of letting him being a scorer. 

Agreed, but that only happens if our ball and player movement picks up and we have more plays/penetration in the lane.

[BigDog90]

7 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Sacred cow argument is played out and tiresome. 

This team goes as Teague goes. Bud and his teammates refer to him as the 'engine' for a reason.  Teague's ability to run the team, get in the lane, and cause defenses to shift allows Korver to be effective and what he does. We know what his skillset is. Teague wasn't just struggling shooting, he was struggling at everything else. 

The way Teague (and Dennis played) last game is how we need our PG to play, everything happens off their action and penetration. 

Teague is supposed to be in his prime taking the next step, Korver is on the tail end, if you don't understand the difference and heirarchy I don't know what else to say.

 

 

True. Maybe ATL need to bring in some legit competition to get a consistent spark out of Teague. Maybe he got complacent since Dennis probably won't replace him full-time.