Clippers want to encourage Luke Kennard to shoot more

Luke Kennard is he one of the ten best shooters in the league? To this question, the interested party replied “yes” with a laugh, before adding that he was certainly the tenth on the list. With his 48.9% success rate behind the arc, the former Pistons player nevertheless has the arguments to appear a little higher in the standings.

His problem for Tyronn Lue? Luke Kennard is too selfless. The Clippers strategist thus encouraged his protege to take more 3-point shots, while he takes only 4.2 on average per game this season.

“He doesn’t want to be selfish. I’m not saying the other guys are, but he’s the type to make the pass if he’s just taken two shots in a row. When he’s on the floor, he has to take those shots.” said Tyronn Lue. “If you go by the number of shots made, he’s at the top: he’s one of the best in the league. But the other guys go get their shots. They do not refuse them. Based on that, Luke is 10th. But if you look at his achievement, he’s in the top two or three.”

Using the spaces generated by the George-Leonard pair

The player did not contradict his coach’s version, assuring that he will always choose to pass to a “wide open” teammate even if he has a good shooting position.

However, he recognizes that he could sometimes be more aggressive in order to take more shots from distance, as he was able to do last season for example, with six attempts on average over 63 games.

“There are definitely opportunities where I can be a bit more aggressive, maybe more on the ball. But I said it before, I just want to keep it simple. Do the right thing for the team, let the game play out, and see what happens.”he explained.

However, there has been an improvement since his return from a calf injury from which he says he is definitively rid. In December, he is slowly approaching six attempts per game (5.7).

Despite what one might think, the returns of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George do not necessarily represent a brake on his number of attempts from distance since the two superstars will attract defenders to free up more space for their teammates… Including Luke Kennard .

“Teams have to respect them, put two defenders on the ball most of the time. Nico (Batum) is also shooting very well at the moment and I’ve been pretty good so far this season. So credit also goes to PG and Kawhi for trusting us and making the right passes, and Nico and I for being ready to shoot and put them in. It’s fun to play with them. I feel like I have a lot more open shots than in my career so far”he noted.