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Zeller Evolving his Skill-set with Face-up Game
by bobheckler Sun Nov 01, 2015 12:07 pm
http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/zeller-evolving-his-skill-set-face-game
Zeller evolving his skill-set with face-up game
October 31, 2015, 6:30 pm
BOSTON -- If you arrive early to a Boston Celtics game, there’s a good chance you’ll find Tyler Zeller on the court with assistant coach Walter McCarty shooting jumpers. Lots of jumpers.
It was like that last season, although you wouldn’t know it by the way Zeller played.
Zeller stayed in his comfort zone offensively, rolling to the rim for lay-ups as often as he could.
But this is a new season and Zeller, looking to build off of his first season with Boston, is looking to expand his game -- and the potential opportunities that come with it -- by becoming more of a face-up shooter this season.
“Ever since the moment I got here, (McCarty) has been trying to get me to face up,” Zeller told CSNNE.com. “And so, I’m trying to put it in there.”
Last season, Zeller had a shot frequency of 16.9 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts, and just 2.0 percent on pull-ups.
In the first two games this season, Zeller’s frequency on catch-and-shoot attempts is up to 41.7 percent while pull-ups are also on the rise at 8.3 percent.
Rolling to the rim will remain a staple in Zeller’s game, but he understands the importance of being more than just a rim-runner.
“It is something we’re trying to incorporate,” Zeller said. “And I keep getting more comfortable with it. It is a work in progress for me, for sure.”
McCarty said he recognized early on the potential Zeller had in becoming more than just a big man who could finish around the basket in transition.
“He has really good form,” McCarty told CSNNE.com. “He shoots the ball really well; he shoots the ball straight. He’s not the most athletic big but he’s pretty athletic.”
McCarty, a 10-year NBA veteran, which included eight seasons (1997-2005) with the Celtics, was a 6-foot-10-inch forward with the ability to stretch the floor with a shooting touch that extended beyond 3-point range.
Zeller is not going to develop into a 3-point shooter, but he does have the potential to add perimeter shooting to his game, which is become more the rule than the exception when it comes to 7-footers like Zeller.
“For us, it’s imperative that our bigs can face the basket, make passes and score,” McCarty said. “I thought if he could add that to his game, it would allow him to play more minutes and enhance his ability to help us out and make him look good. It’s something we’ve really worked on.”
Zeller has been the Celtics’ starting center in the first two games, averaging 8.0 points while shooting 50 percent in 13.6 minutes per game.
McCarty has been pleased with Zeller’s willingness to put in the work to improve his perimeter shooting skills, but admits he was at times frustrated with the 7-footer last season.
“Last year I was frustrated because we could put all this work in and I would see very little of it in the game,” McCarty said.
McCarty believes part of that is Zeller simply becoming more comfortable with that part of his game.
“He’s not even thinking about it,” McCarty said. “It’s coming automatically. It’s on him. He put the work in. It’s something we’ve tried out and it’s working out well for him.”
Zeller said his evolution facing the basket more often is similar to how rolling to the basket became a staple of his game.
“When I got drafted they all wanted me to pop,” Zeller recalled, chuckling. “My second year, (former Cleveland head coach) Mike Brown forced me to roll. He told me he didn’t ever want to see me pop.”
Zeller, drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, acknowledged there was some pushback on his part.
That’s not surprising.
Zeller was a standout on every level he played at, primarily because of his back-to-the-basket game.
So the idea that now all of a sudden he had to roll to the rim often to be a contributor on the floor … let’s just say it took a little time to get used to.
Zeller would spend time with the Cavaliers assistant coaches after practice and during shootarounds -- similar to what he does now with McCarty -- working on becoming better at finishing around the rim.
Eventually it became a staple of his game.
He’s not anticipating a similar development to occur with his face-to-the-basket game.
But he does see its benefit not only to the Celtics but also to his NBA career.
“You definitely want guys who are versatile, can do a lot of different things offensively and do them well,” Zeller said. “Having a better face-up game can definitely help me and the Celtics.”
Said McCarty: “He works hard at it every day. It’s not something we just work on and never work on it again. We work on it, every day. I’m happy that it’s transferring over to the game.”
bob
MY NOTE: This is a key statement here, for me: "For us, it’s imperative that our bigs can face the basket, make passes and score,". That says tons about the Stevens' Way. He wants his centers to be effective high posters, like Dave Cowens and Bill Walton were. To be effective at that you have to be able to hit the elbow J or the defense will just fall off you, like the way the defense used to go under the picks with Rondo, daring him to take the outside shot.
.
Zeller evolving his skill-set with face-up game
October 31, 2015, 6:30 pm
BOSTON -- If you arrive early to a Boston Celtics game, there’s a good chance you’ll find Tyler Zeller on the court with assistant coach Walter McCarty shooting jumpers. Lots of jumpers.
It was like that last season, although you wouldn’t know it by the way Zeller played.
Zeller stayed in his comfort zone offensively, rolling to the rim for lay-ups as often as he could.
But this is a new season and Zeller, looking to build off of his first season with Boston, is looking to expand his game -- and the potential opportunities that come with it -- by becoming more of a face-up shooter this season.
“Ever since the moment I got here, (McCarty) has been trying to get me to face up,” Zeller told CSNNE.com. “And so, I’m trying to put it in there.”
Last season, Zeller had a shot frequency of 16.9 percent on catch-and-shoot attempts, and just 2.0 percent on pull-ups.
In the first two games this season, Zeller’s frequency on catch-and-shoot attempts is up to 41.7 percent while pull-ups are also on the rise at 8.3 percent.
Rolling to the rim will remain a staple in Zeller’s game, but he understands the importance of being more than just a rim-runner.
“It is something we’re trying to incorporate,” Zeller said. “And I keep getting more comfortable with it. It is a work in progress for me, for sure.”
McCarty said he recognized early on the potential Zeller had in becoming more than just a big man who could finish around the basket in transition.
“He has really good form,” McCarty told CSNNE.com. “He shoots the ball really well; he shoots the ball straight. He’s not the most athletic big but he’s pretty athletic.”
McCarty, a 10-year NBA veteran, which included eight seasons (1997-2005) with the Celtics, was a 6-foot-10-inch forward with the ability to stretch the floor with a shooting touch that extended beyond 3-point range.
Zeller is not going to develop into a 3-point shooter, but he does have the potential to add perimeter shooting to his game, which is become more the rule than the exception when it comes to 7-footers like Zeller.
“For us, it’s imperative that our bigs can face the basket, make passes and score,” McCarty said. “I thought if he could add that to his game, it would allow him to play more minutes and enhance his ability to help us out and make him look good. It’s something we’ve really worked on.”
Zeller has been the Celtics’ starting center in the first two games, averaging 8.0 points while shooting 50 percent in 13.6 minutes per game.
McCarty has been pleased with Zeller’s willingness to put in the work to improve his perimeter shooting skills, but admits he was at times frustrated with the 7-footer last season.
“Last year I was frustrated because we could put all this work in and I would see very little of it in the game,” McCarty said.
McCarty believes part of that is Zeller simply becoming more comfortable with that part of his game.
“He’s not even thinking about it,” McCarty said. “It’s coming automatically. It’s on him. He put the work in. It’s something we’ve tried out and it’s working out well for him.”
Zeller said his evolution facing the basket more often is similar to how rolling to the basket became a staple of his game.
“When I got drafted they all wanted me to pop,” Zeller recalled, chuckling. “My second year, (former Cleveland head coach) Mike Brown forced me to roll. He told me he didn’t ever want to see me pop.”
Zeller, drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, acknowledged there was some pushback on his part.
That’s not surprising.
Zeller was a standout on every level he played at, primarily because of his back-to-the-basket game.
So the idea that now all of a sudden he had to roll to the rim often to be a contributor on the floor … let’s just say it took a little time to get used to.
Zeller would spend time with the Cavaliers assistant coaches after practice and during shootarounds -- similar to what he does now with McCarty -- working on becoming better at finishing around the rim.
Eventually it became a staple of his game.
He’s not anticipating a similar development to occur with his face-to-the-basket game.
But he does see its benefit not only to the Celtics but also to his NBA career.
“You definitely want guys who are versatile, can do a lot of different things offensively and do them well,” Zeller said. “Having a better face-up game can definitely help me and the Celtics.”
Said McCarty: “He works hard at it every day. It’s not something we just work on and never work on it again. We work on it, every day. I’m happy that it’s transferring over to the game.”
bob
MY NOTE: This is a key statement here, for me: "For us, it’s imperative that our bigs can face the basket, make passes and score,". That says tons about the Stevens' Way. He wants his centers to be effective high posters, like Dave Cowens and Bill Walton were. To be effective at that you have to be able to hit the elbow J or the defense will just fall off you, like the way the defense used to go under the picks with Rondo, daring him to take the outside shot.
.
bobheckler- Posts : 62620
Join date : 2009-10-28
Re: Zeller Evolving his Skill-set with Face-up Game
by wide clyde Sun Nov 01, 2015 12:38 pm
Zeller has not really looked great yet, but he will still end the season as an improved player this year and an important part of the rotation.
Two games into the season, so lets not kill him yet.
Two games into the season, so lets not kill him yet.
wide clyde- Posts : 815
Join date : 2014-10-22
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