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What’s Happened To Kyle Korver’s Shooting?

By Adam McGee

Feb 2, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) looks on during the third quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 2, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver (26) looks on during the third quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Hawks 115-100. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kyle Korver is probably the greatest sharpshooter in the NBA. Not many guys cause opposing defenses quite the same amount of chaos with their work off the ball as the 33-year-old does on a nightly basis.

This season he’s been shooting the ball better than ever before too. For so long, 50-40-90 was the yardstick for which great shooters were measured against, that is shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from behind the arc and 90 percent from the free throw line.

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For most of this season, it looked as though Korver’s play was going to set a new benchmark though. A line of 50-50-90 has never been done before, but with Korver entering the All-Star break at 51.2 percent from the field, 52.3 percent from deep, and 91.1 percent from the charity stripe, it seemed like now was going to be as good a time as ever.

There’s just one problem though. Korver’s shooting has fallen off the edge of a cliff in his past six games. Post All-Star break his percentages have dropped to 33.9 and 31.9 percent from the field and three-point range, respectively.

Not only has he been less efficient though, but he’s also shooting more. Korver is attempting 1.2 field goals more per game than he did before the break, and he’s making 0.9 fewer of his shots anyway.

It may not necessarily be making headlines at the moment, but that’s because the Atlanta Hawks have developed into a team that don’t rely on Korver’s shooting to win. What they do lean do heavily on is the threat that he provides, and his ability to be the perfect decoy.

That’s why, even with his terrible recent shooting, Korver still has a plus-minus of 4.5 since the All-Star break. It’s simple, with Korver on the court, Atlanta is a better team. You won’t find defenses backing off Korver and inviting him to shoot for quite a while yet, but if he continues to shoot off the boil, that could then create a different challenge for the Hawks.

I suppose the bigger question in all of this is why Korver looks to be in a bit of a slump? When did it start, and can we expect to see it continue?

Well, one possible explanation would be that his involvement in this year’s All-Star festivities has left him more fatigued than normal for this time of year. Korver had been persistent in turning down invites to the three-point contest for years, but this year he finally caved in, and didn’t exactly perform to his best on the night itself either.

The problem with this theory is that there’s a historical pattern of Korver’s shooting dropping off at this time of year. In four of his last five seasons, Korver’s field goal percentage has dropped off. The problem this year is that such a high percentage of the shots that Korver takes are now three-pointers, that if he loses his touch from deep, it will drag both figures down.

With Korver currently averaging out for the season at 49.2 percent from the field, 49.6 percent from three, and 90.7 from the free throw line, it’s not over just yet. In fact it’s far from it.

For those who want to see history though, you better hope that Korver regains his touch sooner rather than later.

Next: 25 Greatest Shooting Seasons In NBA History

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