From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Millsap attributes his improvement to “just knowing the offense,” saying that expanding his offensive game was a product of studying Jazz power forwards of the past, Karl Malone and Boozer.
Actual shooting practice is also a big part of the equation.
“He recognized where the shots were going to come from, and that’s what he worked on,” Sloan said. “That’s the exciting thing from a coaching standpoint, to see how guys try to make themselves better.”
via Kragthorpe: Jazz’s Millsap makes himself a shooting star | The Salt Lake Tribune.
If you want to talk about unexpected developments, the fact that Paul Millsap has become more of an offensive weapon with Al Jefferson on the team is a huge one. Millsap is enjoying career highs in points, both per game and minute, in eFG%, and in usage. His rebounding and block numbers are down, while his offense has sprung to life. That jumper’s certainly come in handy, and he’s used it to burn teams.
The Jazz need to improve on defense, understanding their scheme and playing together within the system. That comes with time. Provided they can do that by April, they’re going to be in good position to make a run. They don’t have the size to beat LA, but with Millsap shooting like he is, they have the weapons available to put up a pretty good fight.
Millsap’s also the kind of offensive example you want to throw down in front of Dwight Howard to force him to understand how good he can be. If Paul Millsap can go from block-handed rebound machine to complete offensive player, Howard could be so much more, if only he were to put the work in, not just three days with Hakeem Olajuwon and a few sessions with Patrick Ewing each summer.
In completely unrelated news Paul Millsap is also averaging a career high at the stripe, at 76%.
