Dallas Mavericks: Jordan still improving on free throw shooting

Probably the biggest concern of DeAndre Jordan’s game is his free throw shooting and the use of fouls to slow the game and limit scoring. How is Jordan approaching this issue?

If you are concerned about DeAndre Jordan’s free throw shooting, let me tell you that you’re not the only one. When the Dallas Mavericks landed Jordan this summer, the pros far outweighed the cons and they still do, but that does not mean the free throw shooting is not worrisome.

When the free throw concern was brought up at Jordan’s press conference, people wanted to know what he is doing to continue improving in that part of the game. His answer was simple and concise.

“Shoot ’em.”

Most people would probably rather hear that there is more going into his attempts at improving free throw percentage, but the simple answer that he gave at least shows that he understands there is a need for improvement and he has to work to get that. Some players seem to give up on ever becoming a better free throw shooter, but Jordan has seen growth in his career thanks to his free throw shooting.

Jordan has gone from a low percentage of 37.5% in his second year in the league, all the way up to 58% last year. A 20% increase in free throw percentage is pretty incredible in itself. DJ has gotten better and better over the years and, if he can get that free throw shooting up over 60%, his ability to stay on the court at all times will be important.

Coach Carlisle is not the type of person that will just accept poor free throw shooting, so expect him and the rest of the coaching staff to be involved in the continued practice of free throw repetition and consistency for DeAndre Jordan.

I am not sure exactly what to expect yet from DeAndre, but I do believe that he will show even more improvement from the charity stripe this year. His excitement to be in Dallas and the change in scenery from the past 10 years should both be helpful in his growth and we should expect a great year from the big man.