Redd Taking it to the Rim More

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It has become an annual rite of summer for Milwaukee Bucks guard Michael Redd.

He heads back home to Ohio, works on his game and tries to develop something new to unleash on the league the next season.

Over the course of his first five seasons in the league, Redd was known pretty much as a jump shooter. He is certainly one of the more deadly sharpshooters in the league over the past couple of seasons, yet a somewhat one-dimensional player on the offensive end.

Redd wanted to do something about that and he has.

Taking the ball to the basket more this season than he ever has, Redd has already set career-highs for free throws attempted and made. His 87.9% free throw shooting is also a career-high.

"I've been trying to consciously get to the line more and attack more because for years people have just known me as a jump shooter," said Redd. "Now, you make yourself even harder to guard when you can shoot and drive to the rim, too.

"My goal every year is to come in and bring something different. I worked really hard in my games I played last summer on getting to the rim instead of settling for a jump shot."

Said coach Terry Stotts, "He's a star but he's not a finished product. He can continue to improve."

In 68 games this season, Redd has shot 487 free throws and has made 428. His previous career highs, set in 2003-'04 were 441 attempts and 383 makes.

Redd's new-found ability to take the ball to the basket has benefited his teammates, also, as was evident in Sunday's overtime victory over Toronto.

Coming down the stretch in overtime, Redd twice drove and dumped a pass off to forward Joe Smith under the basket. Smith took one of those passes and dunked. He took the other pass and was fouled and made both free throws. Redd had six assists in the game to go with his team-high 35 points.

On the last play of regulation with the game tied, the Bucks inbounded the ball with 9.2 seconds left and went to Redd who took it to the basket and got off a shot that bounced on the rim a couple of times and fell off.

"All the great players in the league - Dwyane Wade, Kobe (Bryant) - all those guys get to the rim and it makes you more effective," said Redd. "So I learned something from that and have been trying to get to the rim myself."

Said Stotts: "He's been aggressive taking the ball to the basket. When you shoot more free throws, you're able to build more of a rhythm. The more free throws you shoot in a game, you build a rhythm by making shots.

"It's like a lot of times when you have some poor free-throw shooters, part of their problem is they shoot two or three a game. So you step to the line and you're not able to have a rhythm. The fact that he's getting there more often has contributed to the rhythm of his free throws." </div>

Source