Searching for Answers as Gary Trent Jr.'s Shooting Woes Continue

The Toronto Raptors are getting Gary Trent Jr. the same shots he took before the All-Star break, but right now nothing is falling

Aaron Rose | Mar 8, 2022

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Gary Trent Jr. put it perfectly: Control what you can control.

The Toronto Raptors sharpshooter has had a rough go of things since the All-Star break. He'd been among the league's best shooters, getting genuine talk about potentially competing in the three-point contest as a 39.7% marksman before the break. But since returning, things have gone off the rails.

In Trent's last six games, he's shooting 29.1% from the floor and 22.2% from behind the arc. It's been bleak. But digging deeper into the numbers, not much has changed besides the results.

	Pre-All Star Break	Post-All Star Break
Catch & Shoot 3pt Attempts	4.7	5.0
Catch & Shoot 3pt %	42.5%	22.9%
Open & Wide Open 3pt Attempts	6.8	6.3
Open & Wide Open 3pt %	41.4%	20.5%

Trent's recent shot selection has been almost identical to his pre-All-Star break numbers. If anything, he's taking a higher percentage of his shots have been catch-and-shoot looks since the break than before. Sure, the absence of Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby has meant defenses can key on the 23-year-old shooting guard a little bit more, but he's still getting off his fair share of so-called "Open" and "Wide Open" attempts, as categorized by the NBA's tracking data.

From Raptors coach Nick Nurse's perspective, Trent's shot selection and decision making look pretty much the same as they did before the break.

"He got some good clearance (on his shots)," Nurse said Sunday night. "I thought he made pretty good decisions and it felt to me like when he shook his guy down and stepped back that he was going to make them tonight, which is certainly progress for sure."

Ultimately, it's just a funk for a player who naturally runs a little hot and cold. He's neither the player he was in late January when he was averaging 32 points per game and shooting 51.7% from behind the arc over a five-game stretch nor the player he is now when things appear to have fallen apart. It's just a matter of sticking with it, taking the shots, and getting right.

"Control what you can control, put in the work, go to the gym, continue to shoot," Trent said. "Whatever happens, happens."

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