LOS ANGELES – Even if DeAndre Jordan doesn’t eclipse Wilt Chamberlain’s single-season shooting mark, he could still break another record offensively this season.
With just a slight increase the rest of the way, Jordan, who’s shooting 69.6 percent this year after shooting 71 percent last season, could become the first qualifying player in NBA history with multiple seasons shooting at least 70 percent – and he’d do it in back-to-back years.
Last year, no one else even reached the 60 percent mark as Jordan blew past his competition. This year, Jordan’s leading the category once again by more than eight percentage points, though he’s still chasing Chamberlain’s single-season mark of 72.7 percent set back in 1972-73.
Jordan’s mark last year came as close as anyone has to Chamberlain’s record.
“I’m put in positions to either dunk the basketball or lay it up, and it’s super close,” Jordan said. “So I have a high percentage chance of making those shots, but it would be cool. It would be something I would definitely take pride in.”
While the highlight dunks largely lead to that percentage and still come in full force, Jordan showed another way to score Monday against the Suns. He was fed the ball in the paint, and on three separate occasions, he successfully made a move to his right and hit a hook shot with his right hand.
Jordan said those were post moves he never would’ve even attempted until recently.
“I work on it every day,” Jordan said. “Whenever I do get the ball down there, I’m not just stuck. I feel like guys are trying to get it to me either on duck-ins, to where I’m turning and shooting a jump hook or finding cutters…Every day, I’m getting more and more comfortable with the ball.”
That’s a bonus for someone who’s already respected offensively by opponents for everything he does without the ball.
Hawks All-Star power forward Paul Millsap called Jordan a tough guard because of the way he sets screens and gets everyone open. Then, Millsap said defenders need to respect Jordan’s roll to the lane because he’s one of the most athletic bigs in the league.
Detroit center Andre Drummond, also an All-Star this year, said what Jordan brings to the pick-and-roll with Chris Paul can be lethal.
“He rolls so quick it makes you second guess if you want to stay in front of Chris Paul,” Drummond said. “He just makes his team better.”
Jordan’s known more offensively for his work that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet -the picks he sets, the rolls to the rim and the space he opens up for shooters because of his lob threat off those picks. But Paul Pierce said the duck-ins Jordan showed off Monday aren’t out of the ordinary for anyone who watches Jordan practice.
The morning of the Suns game, head coach Doc Rivers emphasized to Jordan the advantage he has when smaller players switch on him, as they did against Golden State in the game prior. He wanted Jordan to utilize his size when given the chance.
Jordan went on to score 17 points that night, marking the third time in his last four games he’s posted at least 16 points.
“We used that to our advantage, and that’s something we’re going to have to do, especially going down the line when teams switch and have smaller guys on him,” Pierce said.
But that’s not going to happen overnight. As Rivers put it, “We’re not going to make him Jabbar today,” in reference to Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Rivers said it’s “piece by piece” and going to take him time.
Rivers has emphasized to Jordan the importance of slowing down when he’s given an opportunity to go to work against a smaller defender. Jordan’s starting to understand that, especially as he’s given more chances with the ball.
Until recently, Jordan said he’d only get his opportunities late in the shot clock.
“Now, I’m getting it with like 18 seconds, so I can make a decision,” Jordan said. “I feel like guys are more confident in me down there to make a play for somebody else, or whenever I have a shot I feel like I can make, I’ll take that one.”
Jordan’s game hasn’t drastically changed. He’s still a defensive-minded big known for his athletic displays attacking the basket off pick-and-rolls, and he said he’s still looking for cutters on the chances he gets inside.
But, as he showed Monday, he’s growing more comfortable in the paint. If he can successfully incorporate the hook shot the way he did against the Suns, it gives him another way to further open the floor and add to the nervousness of opponents, who already respect what Jordan can bring for more reasons than his defense.
“He catches in the paint, it’s automatically a bucket for him,” said Anthony Davis.
That’s evident in Jordan’s league-leading shooting percentage, and while most of those high-percentage shots are still dunks, Jordan showed off finishes Monday that many hadn’t seen.
Jordan joked that maybe a 3-point shot is next.
“Who knows,” he said. “I showed you that last year in Dallas.”
