Malaki Branham, new apostle of the mid-range shoot

NBA – The Spurs rookie has shown his advantage for three games, insisting on the mid-range shot. In this area, he is inspired by DeMar DeRozan, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker.

In the current slump of Spurs, who have won only two matches in 2023, for 17 defeats including nine in a row (current series), Big Branham is a satisfaction. The rookie has been irregular since the start of the season, but in the last three matches, he has shown himself to his advantage.

It runs in fact at 21 points on average at 55% success in shooting and 44% at 3-pts. What strikes in the style of the young winger (19 years old) is his mid-range play. While he is part of a generation marked by the award-winning shoot, he regularly likes to take his chance at this distance.

In particular, he took advantage of the trip to Chicago to pay tribute to one of the masters of the genre, whom he even describes as “half-distance king”. “I watch DeMar DeRozan a lot”he explains at the Express News. “Him, and also Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. All players who shoot from mid-range. I try to take the same shots as them. »

Unlike the back of the Bulls, Malaki Branham does not hesitate to deviate to 3-pts since he takes almost one out of two shots behind the arc. Nevertheless, with 25% of his shots taken at half distance, and a superb 58% success rate when he shoots between 3 and 5 meters from the circle, the former Ohio State is really comfortable at this distance.

“As Gregg Popovich said, he has such a talent for scoring and taking up space,”

comments Doug McDermott. “He is always well placed and reads situations well. He can shoot 3-pts just as well, as well as land a dribble or two to find a good mid-range position. You can see he’s been working on this all his life. Some want to shoot more from 3-point and less from mid-range, but he is fluid in both areas. »

For the record, with his 22 and 26 points against Sacramento and Philadelphia, he became San Antonio’s most prolific rookie in two games since… Tim Duncan in 1998. In any case, Malaki Branham has had playing time for a week and therefore makes excellent use of it.

“Things are slowing down for me”, he concludes. “I take my positions and I do what I know how to do. It’s that simple. »

Big Branham				Percentage			Bounces
Saison	Team	MJ	Min	Shots	3pts	LF	Off	Def	Until	Pd	Fte	Int	Bp	Ct	Pts
2022-23	SAN	39	20	44.1	29.5	80.0	0.3	1.5	1.7	1.9	1.4	0.5	1.0	0.1	8.0
Total		39	20	44.1	29.5	80.0	0.3	1.5	1.7	1.9	1.4	0.5	1.0	0.1	8.0