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THT 20 LB Weight Loss

I think we are all really overanalyzing the weight loss if we are talking about the jump shot. This isnt that drastic of a change. It's not like he is going from some out of shape slob to a distance runner.

Better conditioning, slightly quicker first step, easier time elevating, quicker feet, those are the hopes.

I also dont think we should worry about him losing too much, he's still a beefier built guy. Dude has the natural waist of a brick house. Which I think is K's overall point, he's a guy who can comfortably hold weight and still be very athletic, so weight loss might not necessarily be a great move. It will be cool to see though, it's probably the first time in his career where he's intentionally lost weight so it will be a newer experience.
 
I'm not sure how you can separate things this distinctly lol. Its really not how things work. For example... Kyle Korver's shooting and athletic training was intertwined because one affects the other. And you just presented a great example of weight loss and improvement yourself. While it may not affect Key's open three point shots... he is a better shooter with more separation... you get more separation when you are faster... the shots might be layups or middies... but that separation also helps him have bigger passing lanes and would open them up earlier... all the stuff is connected and I would actually be shocked if improvement in the body didn't improve his performance of certain skills. Stand still three pointers? Maybe or maybe not... but distilling it down to body improvement not helping that one particular thing... kinda silly.


I wonder if you play or if you played in the past... its exaggerated because I'm not an nba athlete and am older but the difference between my game at 205 and 225 is DRAMATIC. Its amazing how much my decision making and shot making improve when I am able to get to my spots with more ease. I'm sure NBA players the difference is sooooo much smaller but its all connected. If it wasn't his number 1 issue I get it... but if it helps him with all his strengths, will have some impact on most of his other issues, and does not take away from anything else he has or is working on... well I think that is more than a "meh". To each their own.


Well, after hearing your account of weight loss I'm convinced now.
 
I think we are all really overanalyzing the weight loss if we are talking about the jump shot. This isnt that drastic of a change. It's not like he is going from some out of shape slob to a distance runner.

Better conditioning, slightly quicker first step, easier time elevating, quicker feet, those are the hopes.

I also dont think we should worry about him losing too much, he's still a beefier built guy. Dude has the natural waist of a brick house. Which I think is K's overall point, he's a guy who can comfortably hold weight and still be very athletic, so weight loss might not necessarily be a great move. It will be cool to see though, it's probably the first time in his career where he's intentionally lost weight so it will be a newer experience.
Yeah its not exclusively about the jump shot. Its about a poster deciding something that is pretty relevant is "meh". I'm simply trying to shed some light on how it could affect a bunch of other things. If you don't think having a better quick step will help someone be a better decision maker or make more shots... well then I guess it doesn't matter. While this isn't a slob getting in shape... the margins in the NBA are thin and gaining an advantage on those margins is going to help... no?

I doubt THT lost any functional strength while losing the weight. Thinking it would hurt him is lol worthy imo. He's not some center leaning on guys in the post. That bad weight ain't doing anything for him and he had plenty of bad weight (for an NBA player anyway).
 
Well, after hearing your account of weight loss I'm convinced now.
I mean I qualified it a bunch... I simply wondered if you have felt the difference yourself... cuz I have... but go ahead and meh that too. I will go look for a spreadsheet or chart that shows shooting/basketball skill correlation.
 
Yeah its not exclusively about the jump shot. Its about a poster deciding something that is pretty relevant is "meh". I'm simply trying to shed some light on how it could affect a bunch of other things. If you don't think having a better quick step will help someone be a better decision maker or make more shots... well then I guess it doesn't matter. While this isn't a slob getting in shape... the margins in the NBA are thin and gaining an advantage on those margins is going to help... no?

I doubt THT lost any functional strength while losing the weight. Thinking it would hurt him is lol worthy imo. He's not some center leaning on guys in the post. That bad weight ain't doing anything for him and he had plenty of bad weight (for an NBA player anyway).
I mean, you are losing functional strength if you lose 20 lbs of anything. Acting like like K is saying is lulzy, saying that is equally as lulzy.

A lot of THT's defensive strengths were predicated on his ability to guard up, which his mass definitely helped with.

There's a world where his loss of mass results in him being a worse defender. Yes, there will be a tradeoff to where he is probably quicker, but it isnt a guaranteed equal tradeoff and he might be an even worse screen navigator at a lighter weight.
 
I mean, you are losing functional strength if you lose 20 lbs of anything. Acting like like K is saying is lulzy, saying that is equally as lulzy.

A lot of THT's defensive strengths were predicated on his ability to guard up, which his mass definitely helped with.

There's a world where his loss of mass results in him being a worse defender. Yes, there will be a tradeoff to where he is probably quicker, but it isnt a guaranteed equal tradeoff and he might be an even worse screen navigator at a lighter weight.
Lol
 
quicker feet + easier time elevating..... and it will not have any affect on his jumper?
This is one of the more hilarious arguments I've had on this site. There are a **** ton of examples of guys losing weight and being better at basketball... whether it helped in one particular silo'd off skill like set shooting when wide *** open is up for debate but saying it is "meh" is just something else.

Think of the best shooters in the world... while they all certainly practice and work on their craft... they were also maniacs about their bodies... why? Is it because a lot of shooting is in your legs... maybe they should have cut that work out for like 15 more minutes shooting and they would be better shooters.
 
This is one of the more hilarious arguments I've had on this site. There are a **** ton of examples of guys losing weight and being better at basketball... whether it helped in one particular silo'd off skill like set shooting when wide *** open is up for debate but saying it is "meh" is just something else.

Think of the best shooters in the world... while they all certainly practice and work on their craft... they were also maniacs about their bodies... why? Is it because a lot of shooting is in your legs... maybe they should have cut that work out for like 15 more minutes shooting and they would be better shooters.

I repeatedly said it will make him a better basketball player. I questioned how much that directly relates to his shooting/decision making improvement. There are zero players who suck at shooting where I have thought, “man he needs to lose weight to get better at shooting”. If THT does indeed improve his shooting or decision, I will not chalk it up to losing weight. Like every other player who has improved those things, I will attribute it to their work towards those specific things and not to their weight.
 
For the record, I'm in the camp that this is 99% likely a good thing. But there are always tradeoffs.

And it will not have any affect on his jumper.

This is where I’m at. Of course it’s a good thing if he’s in better shape. Maybe there’s some room for debate for what his ideal body composition is….but who knows.

I just don’t think his weight loss has much to do with his jumper. My advice to anyone trying to improve their jumper would be to work on their jumper. Weight is hardly a factor in being a better a shooter.
 
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I repeatedly said it will make him a better basketball player. I questioned how much that directly relates to his shooting/decision making improvement. There are zero players who suck at shooting where I have thought, “man he needs to lose weight to get better at shooting”.
May not be the first thing you consider but as any good shooter knows a good jump shot starts with a sound base. There is a reason every great shooter is not only a maniac when it comes to mechanics and drills but also with regard to conditioning. I mean why is Steph doing this:


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Is it because he knows conditioning and his base will affect his shot... I mean if he cut out that conditioning and running he could get up like 2-3x the reps?

We have all heard of guys shooting poorly because of dead or tired legs... what a ridiculous premise right... guys missing shots because their legs are tired. LOL its about skill and nothing else.

If you are in better shape (because you are carrying less bad weight) could it be that you might be more consistent with your mechanics?

While it may not be the number one thing that improves I think there is a chance it helps out here. May not help with wide *** open set shot threes, but those are only a somewhat small percentage of shots a player will get. And hell if his legs are better maybe a few of the iffy shots turn into drives. I remember a year when Don came in heavy and it seemed he was shooting with heavy legs and had a slow start to the season... I don't want THT shooting a ton of pullups but maybe it will help his tragic 3p pullup percentage become just bad.

If THT does indeed improve his shooting or decision, I will not chalk it up to losing weight. Like every other player who has improved those things, I will attribute it to their work towards those specific things and not to their weight.
Fine... there are a ton of players that have gotten better once they lost weight. Not because they were dunking on everyone now. It improves a basketball skill somewhere. If you are faster/quicker you end up in less bad situations... and this is where I question if you have played before. There are turnovers and bad decisions that are direct result of fatigue... I've felt those on the court and seen them happen in NBA games. I'm sure these improvements had almost nothing to do with weight loss or improved conditioning in an endurance sport. All these guys are robots and fatigue/conditioning have no effect on the "skills" they display.

I'm going to go ahead and say improved athletic shape will affect performance in a variety of ways... many of which we won't fully quantify. If true this is more than a "meh".
 
Okur must be the GOAT shooter of all time because he was flames at 20%+ body fat. Someone should have told him he could have been Curry if he lost 20 lbs.
 
I think we are all really overanalyzing the weight loss if we are talking about the jump shot. This isnt that drastic of a change. It's not like he is going from some out of shape slob to a distance runner.

Better conditioning, slightly quicker first step, easier time elevating, quicker feet, those are the hopes.

I also dont think we should worry about him losing too much, he's still a beefier built guy. Dude has the natural waist of a brick house. Which I think is K's overall point, he's a guy who can comfortably hold weight and still be very athletic, so weight loss might not necessarily be a great move. It will be cool to see though, it's probably the first time in his career where he's intentionally lost weight so it will be a newer experience.
Yep. The weight loss and jump shot probably shouldn't be talked ablut together. The weight loss and attacking the basket are another story. A quicker and more explosive THT could be pretty nasty. The same thing goes for the defensive side of the ball. With his insane length he could really disruptive if he can turn up the intensity level.
 
Methinks there’s a big difference between Steph Curry and THT when it comes to conditioning/athleticism and how that affects their shooting. I don’t think the problem with THT’s shooting is that he’s winded after running around 20 screens with defenders in his face.

Curry’s extreme conditioning is what gives him that tiny amount of extra breathing room to get his shot off. But he’s a good shooter with or without the conditioning. It’s the difference between Steph and Steve Novak maybe, but not the difference between someone who is already a plus athlete and can’t shoot at all. If THT had Curry’s conditioning these past seasons I think he would still suck at shooting. He struggles to make the wide open ones with no one around him. THT is more than “athletic” enough to be a good shooter.

Losing the weight might give THT an extra step when he tries going to the basket. But when it comes to his jump shooting or decision making? I really don’t think the 20 lbs is what has held him back all this time.
 
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Yep. The weight loss and jump shot probably shouldn't be talked ablut together. The weight loss and attacking the basket are another story. A quicker and more explosive THT could be pretty nasty. The same thing goes for the defensive side of the ball. With his insane length he could really disruptive if he can turn up the intensity level.

Defensively is probably the area to be most excited about. I think the extra pounds may help him guarding up in position, but if it helps him guard smaller players it may be a worthwhile tradeoff.
 
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