A lot of guys go into the NBA not being able to shoot the ball well, but then they become great shooters.
The most difficult thing with a new shot is if you go two or three games without making it, or you struggle, and people start saying, 'You can't shoot 3s,' or, 'Why do you shoot 3s?'
I do realize that it's important to be a threat at the 3-point line.
I made a lot of big threes throughout my career, but it was the 3-point shot that allowed me to maneuver inside the paint, post-up, mid-range game and so forth.
The things I've worked on in the offseason have mostly been on my footwork and pick-and-roll - using my size and not just always trying to face up and go by a guy.
Passing the basketball - I feel like I've gotten better with that.
When I came into the NBA, coaches wanted you to shoot a midrange shot or two before you shot your 3 - you know, to get an 'easy one' first.
Great shooters are one dribble guys.
I've always thought I could shoot from the outside.
I don't shoot shots just to shoot shots. I'm always working in a rhythm, working on mechanics. I've got a checklist of the things I need to do with my form, my legs, my arms, all of my mechanics.
You've got to learn the footwork, the positioning, how to box out, how to pass, how to shoot your free throws. All these things are necessary, not to be the No. 1 player in the world, but maybe you can play against him.
Being in the D-League, I might be able to get into a rhythm and start shooting the ball well and get some confidence and get some reps.
Besides shooting, I think I need to work on everything. I need to get stronger, quicker, work on my ballhandling, and develop a go-to move.
In college, the line is so close that you can kind of half-heartedly shoot the ball off-balance and fading away. To shoot an NBA three, because the arc of your shot has to be a little higher, you have to be squared up and get your legs into it more, which can be tough in the fourth quarter.
A lot of guys can shoot two, three, four, five, six, seven, 10 feet behind the 3-point line. A lot of people can do it. It's just, when is it going to be considered a good shot? When are coaches going to encourage you to shoot that shot?
For me, it's just finding ways to create shots. I feel like if I got a shot off, it has a good chance of going in. So it's finding ways of creating different shots. Being smart. I watch film a lot, and different tricks that I can do to get my shot off the ball and creating ways to get shots off of pick-and-rolls or one-on-one situations like that.
All truly great shooters - Dale Ellis, Larry Bird, Craig Hodges, Chris Mullin - we always believed that we were the best shooters in the world.
If you shoot with mechanics where you've got your knees bending in all the way, you're not using your hips properly, you get all of this tendinitis and knee pain.
To improve my free throws I went back to the mechanics and really learning how to have form and shoot the ball, so I have to get comfortable with that.
It's tough for a jump shooter, especially in a triangle offense.
Yeah, D-Wade called me up last night and said that he saw some film of me in high school and thinks that my form then was better and that I should shoot like that. I told him I'd think about it and then my pops called and said something like that so I decided to revert back and then.
You don't ever want to be a mechanical basketball player, but as far as technique and things, I like to have certain check points in my shot, certain things that I can count on and think about. It kind of helps me to be consistent.
I'm working on everything, especially staying balanced when I shoot the ball. That's the biggest thing, as well as taking good shots within the offense.
My type of basketball is about how to create space, how to maneuver, how to get your shot off.
Offensively, Lowry is a great catch-and-shoot player from deep, and he's very comfortable shooting the trey off the bounce in isolations and pick-and-roll.
