For most players, a jump in production between seasons one and two is expected. The NBA is hard for a rookie to adjust to, but an off-season of refined workout techniques and a year of NBA games under one’s belt means that the second year is supposed to be significantly easier than the first. And that’s not even taking into account the expected skill development that is commonplace for young players.
So why does Landry “Shamwow” Shamet just seem like a slightly worse version of himself in his second year? The main calling card of his game, his three-point shooting, dropped off by a considerable amount between his rookie season and his sophomore season. He’s still a great three-point shooter, but the dip in percentages was significant. And if he’s improved at anything else, I don’t watch enough Clippers games to know what they are. So my apologies in advance if Shamet has transformed into a lockdown defender or something. I would have no way of knowing something like that.
Shamet did revive himself a bit as this season wore on; his seven highest-scoring games this season can all be found in the calendar year 2020. That’s a good trend for a Clippers team who needs to be at peak performance if they want to advance through the ‘yoffs and come out of the ordeal with the Larry O’Brien. And frankly, I’m not worried as much about Shamet as I am about Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson. Shamet is what he is. Those other two guys aren’t what they are.