AFTER UP-AND-DOWN ROOKIE SEASON, HUNTER LOOKS TO GET STRONGER

http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics/after-and-down-rookie-season-hunter-looks-get-stronger



AFTER UP-AND-DOWN ROOKIE SEASON, HUNTER LOOKS TO GET STRONGER



By A. Sherrod Blakely


April 29, 2016 4:00 PM




WALTHAM, Mass. – R.J. Hunter no longer has to worry about summer days spent with his nose inside a textbook (or tablet) while taking summer school classes.

But make no mistake about it.

The Celtics rookie knows he has a lot to learn in what will be an important offseason in his growth as an NBA player.

There were many things to like about Hunter, who was selected by Boston with the 28th overall pick in last June’s NBA Draft.

But like most rookies, Hunter’s play was an up and down affair throughout the season.

He appeared in 36 regular-season games, averaging 2.7 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game. In the playoffs, he appeared in five games and averaged 1.0 points, 1.2 rebounds in 8.2 minutes.

He had flashes of big-time talent like the 12-point performance against the Atlanta Hawks in November. But those type of games were few and far between as that would serve as his only double-digit scoring game of the season.

“It was up and down, but a lot more ups than downs,” Hunter said following his exit interview on Friday. “I was further along than I thought I would be. It’s kind of cool to see what I have to work on for the summer and not have summer school or any other summer obligation. I think it’ll be a fun summer.”

The big thing for Hunter this summer is to, well, get bigger.

He came into the NBA amid concerns that his lithe frame would not withstand the physical rigors of the NBA.

And while there’s no question Hunter had his problems at times defensively due to not being stronger, he seemed to know where he needed to be and what to do most of the time when he was no the floor.

That’s why for him to solidify himself as a viable option for the Celtics next season, it’s important that he put in the time to improve his overall strength.

Hunter said he will be doing that throughout the summer with half of his time spent here in Waltham.

“That takes time and a lot of dedication,” Hunter said. “But I’m definitely up for it.”

In addition to strengthening his body, he’ll also look to improve his understanding and knowledge of the game through studying video.

Among those he will study is Atlanta Hawks guard Kyle Korver, a player Hunter said he has been watching video of all season.

“You look at how hard Kyle Korver cuts all game long,” Hunter said. “It’s things like that. It’s about getting conditioning, getting stronger and doing a lot of preparation before the shot.”

Hunter said this will be the first time he has watched video in the summer months.

“That should put me two or three steps ahead to when the season starts,” he said.

Which would then put Hunter in strong contention to see his role next season expanded, especially when you consider his strength – shooting the ball – is arguably the biggest weakness on this Celtics’ roster.



bob


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Adding some strength certainly will help, kid has the Bball IQ and feel for the game to me that was his best attribute.

I question if he deserves the reputation as a good shooter though.  His %s this year were bad, and I just looked back at his last year of college and he shot 39.5% overall from the field and 30.5% from three.  Both numbers were down from his previous college years and perhaps as a junior defenses were keying on him, but I think he would be well served to practice his outside shot all summer after he gets out of the weight room.

Overall I'm looking forward to his second season in green, and hope there is significant improvement in his game.  If not, he can play Prince in the film......

Hunter can only get much better with some additional strength added to his skinny frame. He will be quicker, faster and not get pushed around so often as well.

Having a great hoops IQ is nice, but I also have to question his shooting "reputation" at this point. He never looked comfortable in the limited time he did get to play during either the regular season or in the playoffs. Certainly, he had many shots contested, but he also had a lot of uncontested shots that banged off the rim a whole bunch of times, too.

He will be better next year even if he does not get stronger, but can he make a step forward and find some minutes in the rotation by next season?