Atlanta Hawks: 3 legends for Sharife Cooper to study

Atlanta Hawks. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Atlanta Hawks. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Atlanta Hawks (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Legends for Atlanta Hawks rookie Sharife Cooper to study No. 3) Steve Nash

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Another Hall of Famer for the rookie to study is two-time league MVP, Steve Nash. The 6’3″, 195 lbs point guard was another player who just understood the game. It is one thing to be a good player, it is another to understand what is needed and when it is needed.

Nash led the league in assists five times, was an All-NBA selection seven times, and an All-Star eight times in his 18-year career. He had a slow start to his career, not averaging more than 9.1 points per game until his fifth season. Likewise, he did not average more than 5.5 assists until the same year.

One of the many attributes which separated Nash from his peers was his shooting. He was a member of the 50/40/90- club but what you may not realize is that he almost shot at this ridiculous number for his entire career, shooting 49.0 percent from the floor, 42.8 percent from beyond the arc, and 90.4 percent from the line.

Next. 3 goals for Sharife Cooper in his rookie season. dark

There were a few reasons for this, he often passed himself open, the defense was looking to stop the star guard from getting the assist and leaving him a small window of being open. This was a problem as he needed to be defended reasonably tightly at the 3-point line which allowed him to get past his defender. When he drove, if he was fouled, he was almost automatic at the line. It is this multiple-layer offense which Cooper needs to develop.