The LA Clippers can score in many ways, but it’s Kawhi Leonard’s mid-range ability that might be the factor to push them to a championship.
The art of the game is making shots. If you can make more shots and do it efficiently than the other team you will win more times than not. Yes, stopping teams works but eventually you’ll need to score baskets.
How you do that makes your odds of winning championships better than the rest of the teams. The Golden State Warriors were finally able to prove that a 3-point shooting focused team could win a championship. It took a while but the 3-point line was thought of as a gimmick.
The nineties were tough and you had to be able to score on the inside efficiently. The Chicago Bulls with their tenacity were able to relentlessly dominate other teams.
The mid-range game has become a lost art in the NBA. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant mastered the mid-range jumper and they won championships because of it. If you have a superstar with a superior mid-range jumper it has been proven that you can win a championship.
LA Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard is the player of today that can shoot a mid-range jumper efficiently to carry a team. Leonard was able to shoot 50.8 percent from 16ft to the 3-point line during the playoff run last year.
Leonard was again another example of a player carrying a team to a title because of his ability to shoot from mid-range. The mid-range jumper is an easy jumper to shoot when you practice it often.
Usually, players with a high motor who can practice like crazy can master it. Kawhi, along with Bryant and Jordan are legends in the gym and they work to perfect their craft more than often.
Bryant actually worked out with Leonard before his one season with the Toronto Raptors. Bryant passed down his mid-range gifts to Leonard and it clearly paid off.
Throughout his career, Kawhi Leonard has been able to shoot efficiently from the field. He has shot 49.1 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from the 3-point line and 85.4 percent from the free-throw line.
His ability to shoot efficiently has led him to be able to get two NBA championships in his career with a long way to go. He has the complete package. Ne can play defense, play in transition, drive to the hole and shoot the mid-range jumper from the line and the 3-point shot all efficiently.
He will be able to win more championships because he simply can put the ball in the basket more efficiently than other superstars. A player that will be big competition for him is Kevin Durant because he also can shoot efficiently from anywhere on the court.
The beauty of the mid-range jumper is that it’s the shot you want to do off the dribble the most. If you can shoot the mid-range jumper, more times than not you will be able to create your own offense.
In half-court situations when things get tight and you need your superstar to make a basket for you, it will often be a mid-range jumper. Most game-winners are shot from the mid-range.
A player like Kawhi Leonard will always be able to win big because of his ability to create shots from the mid-range. In the clutch, he can consistently hit those shots. The iconic Game 7 shot against the Philadelphia 76ers was a deep mid-range jumper. In the playoff run last year when Leonard was with the Toronto Raptors, he was fourth in terms of clutch time points per game.
Leonard’s mid-range ability will help carry the Clippers in the playoffs when points are tough to come by. A deep playoff run is in the Clippers sights.