Dalen Terry launched post-practice 3-pointers at a far basket inside the Chicago Bulls practice facility Saturday. He was the last player to leave the court.
One night earlier, Terry went 3 of 3 from long distance, a display the masses likely missed. In a 44-point home victory over Brooklyn, the Bulls’ largest win this season, Terry’s late shooting flurry was a footnote.
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But for the rookie forward, the moment meant everything.
Rather than the sweet high of success, Terry tasted the opposite two games earlier, the frustration of failure. With the Bulls depleted at Indiana the night before Valentine’s Day, Terry received rare rotational minutes. Despite supplying a series of solid plays — a blocked shot, an assist, rebounds on the offensive and defensive ends — Terry allowed two shots to define his night. Both were 3-pointers, and neither found the bottom of the net.
On the first, Terry shot an airball that sailed wide right after he stepped into a transition 3 from the left wing in the second quarter. His second miss was worse. But only because of his reaction. Terry received a pass in the right corner from Coby White off a drive-and-kick that created a wide-open look. This hoist sailed over the rim. In a one-point game inside the final 10 minutes, Terry committed his biggest faux pas after the play. He hung his head.
“Missing those two shots at Indiana, that was probably the lowest or most pissed off I’ve been about shooting in a long time,” Terry told The Athletic.
Terry responded by immediately crafting what likely will go down as the best two performances of his rookie season. He tallied 24 points in consecutive contests, bouncing back from his Pacers showing with a career game against Milwaukee: 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in 27 minutes, all season-highs. He made 1-of-4 3-pointers against the Bucks. Terry then emerged from the All-Star break with a surprisingly hot hand against the Nets.
The difference, Terry said, is increased confidence.
Before that Pacers contest, Terry had logged only 73 minutes over 21 appearances this season. None of his previous opportunities at playing time could touch the magnitude of the run he got at Indiana.
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“The way that I was trained to think growing up is just if you don’t shoot it you’re not going to make it anyway,” Terry said. “You’ve just got to always believe in yourself, and if they’re disrespecting you, you’ve got to prove that you can make a shot.
“So just make sure I trust in my work. I just know how much time I spend on my shot. I just know everybody says that’s what I need to work on. So I just try to prove everybody wrong when it comes to shooting. So for me to have a night like (the Brooklyn game) where I go 3 for 3, it was just, like, ‘Finally, my work is paying off.’ ”
Patrick Beverley’s signing, coupled with Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan rejoining the lineup, effectively spells the end for Terry’s brief time in the rotation. He might not see meaningful action the rest of the way. That’s why those final minutes against the Nets mattered. Terry needed to wash out the taste of that Pacers display and put together a performance that proved, to himself as much as anyone, what he can do from the perimeter.
Shooting is Terry’s most glaring shortcoming, with an unorthodox motion that instantly catches your eye. He has attempted only 15 3-pointers in his 127 minutes, making five. Four fell in the past three games.
“I feel like that’s the one thing that I’ve got to work on,” Terry said. “Definitely, it’s going to be a big summer when it comes to shooting. I’m already thinking about the offseason when it comes to getting myself better because I know how I feel this year, and I just want to be able to make sure it gets better next year.”
As Terry hoisted catch-and-shoot 3s off passes from assistant coach Damian Cotter inside the practice facility over the weekend, Billy Donovan addressed the media. From across the gym, the Bulls coach shot occasional glances at his rookie between answers. Soon, Donovan was asked to finish a sentence.
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If Terry gets that shot down, then …
Donovan paused and pondered the question. His silence stretched nine seconds.
“The shooting for any player is always huge,” he said. “It always is.”
The coach then referenced the multifaceted Caruso as an example of a player who excels without being an elite 3-point shooter.
“The biggest thing for him is he’s got to keep his competitiveness,” Donovan said of Terry. “He’s got to continue to defend and have a motor and energy. And he’s got to take his shots when they’re there. If he ends up becoming a 40 percent shooter from the 3-point line, it would change the trajectory of not only our team but it’s also going to help his game in terms of things he does well. And that’s attacking off the dribble and getting downhill.”
Donovan said the Bulls coaching staff and front office have not attempted to reconstruct Terry’s shooting form. Subtle changes, Donovan said, can make a big difference and avoid running the risk of ruining a player’s confidence.
“When these guys get to a certain age, you end up taking steps back when you start changing things,” Donovan said. “If you change too much to a guy who’s been comfortable shooting the ball that way for that long, it can make it worse. So I think you’re looking for subtle changes: how he’s griping the ball, maybe moving his hand placement a little bit, him being shot-ready, what is his follow-through like? Sometimes guys’ left hands or thumbs can get into their shot and it can disrupt the backspin.
“But when you start getting a guy at his age, the level of player, being a first-round draft pick, he’s here for a reason. You just don’t want to go through this reconstruction phase.”
Terry has embraced tips from the staff while conceding that some of his in-game mistakes have indeed stemmed from being unready.
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“Sometimes,” Terry said, “I’m just a little too happy to get the ball because it doesn’t always come to me.
“We’ve been working on it since I got here. It’s more so I feel like I’m a good catch-and-shoot shooter. It’s just when I get to moving, just make sure that I get a good base. Just make sure I follow through.”
Terry’s approach to defenses that might dare him to shoot seems sound as well. Part of being shot-ready is showing no hesitation when defenders send a clear sign of disrespect by sagging off.
“It’s an open shot,” Terry said. “You know how some guys if they get dared to shoot get discouraged? I’m, like, ‘If y’all don’t want to come out here, I’m going to make one. I’m going to keep shooting too.’ ”
Terry remembers it working for him in college at Arizona.
“They used to try to do it,” he said. “But I started shooting such a high percentage when they weren’t closing out. It got to the point where they would come out, and then I would go to the basket. And I would have bigger games like that. Like (the Brooklyn game), even my first one, I was about to drive the first one. And then he closed out short so I stepped back and hit a 3.”
Terry’s 3-point shot doesn’t need to be textbook. Only serviceable and reliable.
If Terry gets that shot down, then his future suddenly looks bright. And the Bulls know how dangerous he will be.
“He’s had that shot his whole life, and he still was a first-round draft pick,” Donovan said. “He can get better at those things, but he can’t lose why he was a first-round draft pick. I don’t think we drafted him because, ‘Hey, we think this guy is going to end up being a 40 percent 3-point shooter.’
“It’s, like, this guy’s competitive. He’s tough. He’s got a motor. He defends. He can pass. He puts it on the floor. He’s got size. It’s a lot of really good things that come with him.”
(Photo of Dalen Terry: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
