ZL: Being the no. 1 option has been tough for you so far. You sounded down during some interview I saw recently. Is it more draining than you expected? About the same?
GH: I just haven’t shot the ball as well as I wanted. It’s different. Guys aren’t leaving me that much. I’m getting different shots — shots that I’m not used to taking.
ZL: What kinds?
GH: Like we discussed earlier, a lot of teams are starting to do the center-field type of defense on the pick-and-roll, so you’re getting midrange floaters.
ZL: Those are tricky.
GH: Very tough. And those are shots I honestly don’t like taking. I’d much rather get other people involved, and when teams do that, they kind of force the guy coming off the pick-and-roll to make a decision and shoot. It’s just a two-on-two game, which is difficult on me. I’m just not used to shooting that shot as much.
Gordon, that's how the NBA works...other teams know what your weaknesses are and they will force you into taking shots you're not comfortable with? How do you combat this?...Gee, how about practicing these shots and/or developing a floater so teams have to reconsider how they defend you. Or, you could just continue playing video games instead. $12M+/year rests in the balance...your move.