Gordon Hayward’s Three-Point Shooting
Ok, so I realize this one is a little unfair given that it’s early in the season and Gordon Hayward is dealing with recovering from a fractured finger. Even though it was on his non-shooting hand, anyone who has played much basketball can tell you that a hurt finger is a huge irritant that can drastically affect your shot no matter which one it is.
While he’s only shooting 24.3 percent from deep so far this season, it’s more than likely that sooner or later he’ll get his mojo back from beyond the arc and get closer to his career percentage of 35.7.
.@GordonHayward had 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists - leading the Jazz to victory in Miami. #UTAatMIA 📽📽📽 https://t.co/5PzbSg2RJG
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 13, 2016
Yet, perhaps that is precisely why this has been such an annoying aspect of the Jazz’s play this year, given that we all know Hayward is a more capable three-point shooter than what we’ve seen so far. Although his struggles are very much justified, it’s been hard to watch due to the simple fact that we have frankly grown accustomed to expecting more out of him.
There’s certainly no reason to panic about Hayward’s shooting woes just yet, but after watching him go just 1-of-7 from deep in a very winnable loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, his inability to hit the deep ball has truly become a detrimental nuisance for this team.
And while there’s no questioning just how important Hayward is as the team’s leading scorer and just how much he brings to the table on both ends of the floor, in order for the Jazz to get on track from a shooting and scoring standpoint, they’ll need Hayward to lead that charge.