Shaun Livingston - Savvy Scorer (Midrange Mastery)

Shaun Livingston. 3x NBA Champion. Shaun is one of the greatest comebacks stories in all of sports. If you were unlucky enough to see him injure his leg, that’s an image that could still haunt you to this day…but the fact that we don’t talk about it anymore is a testament to hard he’s worked and how unrelenting he was in his pursuit to return to being an NBA player. In case you aren’t familiar, in 2007, a medical professional apparently told Shaun that there was chance his leg would have to be amputated. Fast forward to 2019 and what we talk about nowadays with Shaun is how he bounced around a bit before signing with the Golden State Warriors and their then rookie Head Coach Steve Kerr. The rest is history, and historic it was. An NBA championship in 2014-15, a return trip to the Finals after winning an unprecedented 73 games during the regular season, and then another 2 NBA championships after that.

He once tormented my beloved Steve Nash led Phoenix Suns in the 2006 playoffs. The reigning Most Valuable Player in the league had to come back down 3-1 against Kobe Bryant (the year he sizzled for 81 points) and the LA Lakers. The series against the Clippers, however, seemed the more dangerous of the two, and the Suns were actually at risk of having their season ended. The Clippers then got blitzed by Steve’s Suns in Game 7, but there was a reason to hope. Shaun Livingston had emerged as this lanky 6’7” point guard who played with pace. Some went so far as to compare him to another big guard who played in LA. Magic Johnson was not an unreasonable comparison because he played so fast, with the type of vision that just wowed you in the half court. Not to mention his defensive versatility? Goodness.

That’s not quite what his game ended up becoming after all the injuries, but he does still see over defenses and make plays. Steve Kerr talked about having high IQ guys who are playmakers, and in their system, Livingston has been known to light it up. The post split action they run with pretty much everyone (Draymond Green, Andrew Bogut, Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins, David Lee, etc), but when they run it with Shaun, he has a tendency to shine. He’s got a majestic midrange game. He can go over either shoulder on the turnaround jumper. His ability to be an ambidextrous finisher forces defenses to contort in a bad way. He’ll rock the give and go better than most 6th or 7th men, and he’s terrific with how he times his cuts. Plus, he’ll punch down a dunk and put you on a poster if you let him. Oh, and he’s 6’7” so he’s throwing oops down and living on putbacks with EASE.

The clips are from his first two (and arguably best two) seasons with Golden State. It’s all pre-Durant. Bonus, it ends with a three pointer in Madison Square Garden. He’s not a prolific 3 point shooter. In fact, in his time with the Dubs, he has only attempted 24 3 pointers in the last 5 seasons (and is 0-4 in the playoffs), and made 3 of them. They could be end of shot clock situations or maybe halfcourt heaves even, but the point is that he knows his strengths and doesn’t play outside of his game. Hell, it might be no coincidence that they won 73 games in 2015-16 and that was the same season Livingston made more than ONE triple all year.

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