Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter, newly signed as of this offseason, has been often criticized due to his game, which almost entirely consists of hugging the basket and staying in the paint. In a recent interview, however, Kanter says he's changing that about his game.
Via Alex Kennedy in HoopsHype:
Now, the league has changed a lot. There’s not much back-to-the-basket play anymore – that left – and that’s my game. Of course, with the league changing, everybody has to be able to make three-point shots now. That’s why my focus this summer is my three-point shooting. When I talked to Brad Stevens, he told me he wanted me to shoot threes. In the press conference, I was sitting next to Danny Ainge and he told me, “You know, that three-point line isn’t for decoration.” I was like, “Got it! Okay!”
Kanter, 27, last played for the New York Knicks and Portland Trail Blazers during the 2018-19 NBA season. The Turkish big man attempted 34 3-pointers during the season, sinking 10 of them (29.4%). Kanter only made 31 starts last year, mostly due to the Knicks going young and eventually waiving him before the Blazers signed him for the rest of the season only for Kanter to come off the bench for the Western Conference squad.
Kanter will enter his ninth NBA season when the fall comes for the newest Celtic. He previously played for the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to New York in the Carmelo Anthony deal in 2017.
He's only attempted 143 total 3-pointers in his eight-year career, as the center tends to prefer shooting high-percent, close looks at the basket, shooting 54.8% in his career from two-point range.
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