Tyreke Evans became Rookie of the Year because he can slash to the hoop off the dribble with anyone in the league.
He struggled his second two seasons in the league both due to injuries and the fact he has no steady jump shot — he took 4.7 shots a game from beyond 16 feet last season and hit just 25.5 percent of them. The book on Evans was out — go under the pick, stay back on him, cut off his drive and make him shoot the ball because he can’t.
This season, Evans swears that is going to change. Here is what he told Cowbell Kingdom.The 23-year-old guard/forward says he’s worked all summer long building trust in his jumper. He’s focused on certain shot mechanics, like the position of the ball before release and jumping straight up and down as opposed to fading away.
“I can feel it (the improvement),” said Evans of his growing confidence in his jumper. “Even when I miss one, I know I can shoot it again and I can make the second one.”
We’ll see. If Evans jumper starts to fall, the Kings become a whole lot better. They have DeMarcus Cousins inside and rookie Thomas Robinson to go next to him. If Evans can be the outside to their inside, Sacramento takes a step forward.
If not… well, this is a make or break season for Evans. If he remains an enigma he will not fall out of the league, but his status as “guy who can be a key part of a team” is gone and he will just float through the league for a while as a backup. This is the big contract year for Evans, this is his defining season.