Lopez Needs to Get Closer

Everyone has their own diagnosis for what's wrong with Brook Lopez this season..and a prescription to fix it. Lopez seems to have regressed while rivals like Roy Hibbert have advanced. Anthony Macri, who works with players on development skills and writes for HoopsWorld, has his own, and it's simple: get closer, big fella.

Macri writes that Lopez isn't so much out of position as he is away from position: "The  central problem for Lopez seems to be how little he's prizing position before the catch. That is, he seems content to receive post passes with  both feet outside the lane, sometimes an entire stride outside the  lane."

As a result, he is taking his bread-and-butter shot, the righty hook, from seven or eight feet instead of five or six feet. It's also affecting his passing, his number of dunks and layups, his shooting percentage. To correct the problem, he must begin "seeking out, establishing, and maintaining position in 'prime real estate' areas" of the paint.

• Coach's Notebook: Get Lopez Back In The Post - Anthony Macri - HoopsWorld