The advent of so much dribbling has created a different kind of player, and it starts at a very early age. We have so many gifted ball handlers. Everything is pick-and-roll. Unless he's a catch-and-shoot guy, a player is going to put it on the floor and attack. Kevin Durant is a wonderful ball handler.
Offense at Indiana is not equal opportunity. Those players who shoot best are going to shoot most. It is important that every player know his offensive limitations. It is also important that a player know who the best shooter is on the team. When a passer has the option of passing to two players, I expect him to get the ball to the best shooter. I continually stop practice and ask players who the best shooter is and I expect them to know. It is important that you get the ball to your best shooter.
I used to catch and take a big dip down and then finally I'd try to shoot. That first year playing the NBA, I was realizing how little time you have to shoot the ball. The time you have from when you catch it to the guy closing out is just a split second. So I had to figure out a way to get my shot off quicker. Then it was just repetition.
When a coach tells you to shoot the ball, it's like a green light for you. You can't want that more than anything. But the catch is you got to be good enough to know that when you're not open, you gotta pass.
More than anything I prefer the ball on the floor. I think I play my best football on the floor. There is a delicacy to this big giant.
When you drop the ball, it's not about, 'Oh, he can't catch,' or none of that. If you put time into something, of course you can catch. I wouldn't have got drafted if I couldn't.
I catch the ball. You throw the ball, I catch it. You throw it close to me, I catch it. If you make me do something crazy to catch, I still catch it.
LeBron always tells me to shoot the ball. Don't worry about stats, don't worry about percentages. 'We know what you can do, just shoot the ball and be comfortable.'
Sometimes, the best shots you can put up are the ones when you don't shoot the ball - you gotta give your legs a rest sometimes.
At Kentucky, that was my job - coming off screens, catch and shoot, spacing the floor - no hesitations. Just go right into my shot - don't focus on the defender.
When I reach the line, I just know I'm going to dribble the ball twice, and when I shoot, I know it's going in. I get there and relax. I've put more in than I have missed, so in my head, I know they're going in.
The work I've been putting in, I've kind of just been preparing myself for every situation. I've been doing a lot of off-the-ball shooting, catch-and-shoot shots. And preparing myself to play on the ball as well.
Obviously the game is more enjoyable when the ball is shared and everybody looks for each other on both ends of the floor.
You know what's funny? There's times when you catch a ball and really didn't even see that ball. You're like, 'That couldn't have been all me.'
If you have an open shot, and you're a shooter, and you've put hours and hours on the practice court shooting the ball, you shoot the ball in the game. It's just that simple.
I've always been able to shoot the ball, so it's just about continuing to work on your shot and shoot the ball. That's the main thing. Got to get those shots up.