Jazz head coach Snyder encouraging Enes Kanter to shoot threes
The Utah Jazz are employing a full-court press in their campaign to transform power forward Enes Kanter into a floor-stretching big.
It started with the Jazz bringing former sharpshooting center Mehmet Okur to camp to give shooting tips. Now, head coach Quin Snyder has joined the charge.
"Coach Q came to visit me and we went to a gym," Kanter told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. "He said, 'You know you’re going to shoot some threes this year, right?' I was just like shocked that the first time he met me he gave me that confidence. It means a lot to me."
Kanter certainly has the shooting stroke to stretch his range out to the three-point line, but the hulking big has only attempted three triples in his three NBA seasons.
“I’ve been working really hard on the three,” Kanter said. “My teammates and my coaches give me that confidence. I really appreciate it.”
The Jazz have a rather cramped frontcourt with Kanter and center Derrick Favors' overlapping skillsets. Favors isn't a credible threat to score anywhere except at the basket and Kanter prefers to post-up, which affords defenses the option of sending help to protect the paint without significant recourse.
“We want those guys to be threats on the 3-point line. … Anytime you have people that can space the floor, it helps driving lanes,” Snyder explained. “It helps bigs in the post. So yeah, it makes it easier for Enes, too. He’s able to stretch the floor.”
(H/T EOB)