In the mailbag there were 2 questions about Luke Kornet’s lack of 3-point shooting.
PDCeltics: Why doesn’t Kornet shoot the 3? It was a big part of his game.
klam05: Is there a chance Mazulla gets Luke to exploit his 3-point arsenal? It was used as a big stretch in his Knicks days. What are the chances that Joe knows this and keeps it at the right time?
Let’s look at that for a second. At one point in his career, Luke Kornet made seven three-pointers in a game. We have video evidence.
This year, he hasn’t even attempted a single 3-point shot. Which give?
Sometimes the statistics page tells the whole story. In his first two years in the league, he shot at respectable rates of 35.4% and 36.3% with a fairly high volume (around 4 per game). After that, however, his percentages dropped into the mid-20s as he bounced from team to team, trying to find a place in the NBA.
You will notice that his attempts also failed. After attempting 380 three-pointers in his first three seasons, he attempted only 141 for the rest of his career (3.75 seasons). This could be a chicken-and-egg debate. Did he stop shooting because he wasn’t shooting well enough or are his shot distributions skewed by the low sample size of attempts?
Our own Bobby Manning actually asked Luke directly on his early career. He talked about some injuries he suffered earlier in his career and the impact they had on what he focuses on.
“The time in Chicago was really, really difficult, especially because all your abilities seemed to be, okay, what’s going on? You didn’t even know what was happening, but I think in many ways it was great because it helped me accept a certain role that I had that was different from what I had done on numerous occasions. my career and being able to improve in that area, and I think that’s come in handy here in Boston, helping out as a screener, roller, offensive rebounder and all that. Without my injuries, I would never have taken the time to improve and fix these issues. At the time I wasn’t grateful for it, but I think I appreciate it now. It was really very difficult and hard, with dark days.
It looks like he decided to focus his efforts on skills that could allow him to stay on an NBA roster and get back on the court. That means doing the dirty work he mentions (screening, rebounding, etc.) and generally using his 7’1″ frame in a more traditional way. This speaks to the tough decisions some guys have to make regarding their game when they are on the sidelines of the league.
From the Celtics perspective, this team has a lot of shooting from the perimeter. They need guys who can do the heavy lifting and guard opposing backup centers. Sure, you see Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford stretching the court. But they are proven shooters whose reputation impacts scouting reports.
If Luke and the coaching staff were confident enough in his shooting, I suspect he would be encouraged to go for it. However, if he only makes 25% of his shots, that’s not going to stretch the defense and he would be more useful focusing on pick and rolls and boxing out for rebounds.
Perhaps this is something he could add to his game in the offseason. But for now we’ll have to live with his other talents… like his epic celebrations!
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