Bonner's Release Is Key To Improvement

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Created on Sunday, 09 December 2012 23:25

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 07:51

Written by Jeff Noital

Bonner has been a disappointment for some Spurs fans while others love his work ethic and willingness to try his best on the court. The problem with the latter is that won't get you an NBA championship or contribute to a team while it's making a push for a title. Matt Bonner fits that bill, except this year may be the exception.

One of Bonner's negatives on the one thing he can do well is he had a release point on his shot that was so low and slow that even a point guard can block him. Unlike a traditional looking shot, Bonner releases the ball around where his head is and doesn't jump at all. He hasn't been very successful in the postseason and you could see why: anyone could block his shot if they're close enough. Bonner has said he's worked on his shot and a quicker release which means he'll have a greater confidence in getting his shot off cleanly. His new look shot may be developing his overall game, similar to what may be be happening with Tiago Splitter.

Matt's been a better rebounder and defender than in past years. It only takes a small improvement to help a player's confidence build and we may be seeing that with Bonner. If he continues to play well on the defensive end, head coach Gregg Popovich may have a difficult decision in how to incorporate Bonner more, with his rotation of Tim Duncan, Boris Diaw, and Tiago Splitter at the big positions and Stephen Jackson occasionally playing power forward when he's healthy.