Shooting Coach Says Jeremy Lin A ‘Great Shooter’; Charlotte Hornets To Play Two Point Guards?

Newly signed Charlotte Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin has been described as a streaky shooter or inconsistent shooter by NBA announcers and writers.

But his shooting coach, Doc Scheppler, insisted in an interview with Hoops Habit that the so-called experts couldn't be more wrong.

"They don't realize he's a GREAT shooter. In drills, he hits threes at an 80 percent rate," he said. "Then in games, how many shots did he get? Well, he's got to get the ball in his hands in order to shoot, doesn't he?"

"He shot 37 percent from three-point range last year, not the 75-80 he does in drills. He's just too good a shooter to hit only 37 percent."

And Scheppler promised that Linsanity will rise again this year as Jeremy Lin has been working so hard on his shooting during the off-season, which should translate on the floor when he dons on the Charlotte Hornets uniform.

"We worked on his jump shot," he said. "Basically he was getting his shot off too slow. So we worked on speeding up his release."

"Another reason his shooting percentage was down last year was he got tired in games because he was putting too much power in his legs when he shot. We worked to correct that, too."

A version of Linsanity will bode well for the Charlotte Hornets, a team which has been trying to erase the stigma of losing.

One of the strategies that coach Steve Clifford is thinking of adopting this year is to play both point guards, Jeremy Lin and Kemba Walker, which would open the floor more.

"It's always good to have two pick-and-roll players on the floor," he told the Charlotte Observer. "That way you can put pressure on the defense at one side, then switch it to the other. That makes more room to play similar to how Golden State does."

"You've got Steph (Curry) on one side, so defenses have to load up there, and then you've got Klay Thompson on the other with room to operate."