After a month of waiting, Dyson Daniels finally made a three point shot in Monday afternoon’s game against the Indiana Pacers – his first since December 14th.
Daniels went 0-for-20 during a 43-day, 18-game stretch, dropping his already-dreadful clip from 16% to 11%. While the Australian defensive specialist has always had a shaky three point shot, this streak was worse than even his greatest haters could have imagined.
Daniels clearly lost his confidence over this stretch. From December 1st through the 19th, he was averaging 2.8 attempts from downtown a night. While he only converted on 9% of these looks (2/22), he had the confidence to let it fly – and that’s what’s important at this stage of his career.
Over his most recent stretch, however, Daniels stopped shooting entirely. Well, not entirely, but he was shooting a measly 0.8 attempts a game before finally breaking the seal on the rim on Monday. If there’s one thing Daniels can learn from his fellow countryman Ben Simmons, it’s that he has to keep shooting.
Daniels needed this break, but more importantly, he needs to build on it
It’s no surprise that Daniels regained his confidence against Indiana. Not only did he go off for 22 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, a steal, and a block on a scorching 9/12 from two point range, but he also picked up his filthiest highlight of the season.
Just six minutes into the game, Daniels set a drag screen for CJ McCollum. The defense had little time to react to the play, leaving Daniels with an open lane after a bounce pass. When he saw that Micah Potter was the only player near the paint, he planted hard with two feet and threw down an utterly violent dunk.
If it wasn’t clear that this play gave him a confidence boost already, Daniels followed the play by doing something he never does – taunting the opponent. He pointed his finger at Potter before quickly dropping his hand to avoid a technical foul.
We’ve discussed before how Daniels’ confidence is the root of his shooting struggles, and Monday’s game was a microcosm of how a small confidence boost can enable him. With a little bit of steam from the dunk, Daniels felt comfortable jacking up 3 attempts from deep – his highest since December 19th.
Looking forward, Daniels must work on his resilience. It isn’t easy to maintain confidence in a league where every fan can bash you on social media and TV pundits are actively looking for players to ridicule. Still, Daniels cannot allow another 44-game streak like his most recent.