Somewhere around two to three weeks ago, Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur and everybody else realized that his shot just wasn't falling.
He went 2-for-7 at the Los Angeles Clippers, 2-for-6 at home against Atlanta, and 3-for-10 at Minnesota.
The man makes his living making shots, and he needed to do something.
"My teammates just kept telling me, 'Start the ballgame with easy baskets or get to the free-throw line,' so that's what I'm trying to do right now," said Okur, who for the last seven games has added an aggressive driving game and a short-range jumper to his usual perimeter shooting.
"'Cause my shot was off, you know?" he said.
"And I was just looking for at least get to the free-throw line or get some easy baskets and short jumpers.
"Then I got my confidence back and feel good right now," said Okur, who had four 3-point field goals in the second quarter, one short of former teammate Gordan Giricek's team record. He went on to hit 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range for the game, 9-of-11 field goals overall and 6-of-7 free throws for a team-high 27 points.
Okur also tied Carlos Boozer in rebounds with 11, posting his ninth double-double in helping lead the Jazz to an important Northwest Division 132-105 blowout of Denver in EnergySolutions Arena Saturday night.
A driving Okur was just what coach Jerry Sloan wanted to see as well.
"Well, Ty's worked with him," Sloan said of assistant coach Ty Corbin. "He's spent a lot of time working with him, and he obviously can shoot the ball. That's one of the things that we felt like he needed to work on, and Ty has worked with him every day.
"You saw the results of it — putting the ball on the floor."
Okur's first basket was a 23-footer, but he drove for a layin 30 seconds later, and his first bucket of the second quarter was another driving layin.
"It makes him a bit different now," said Sloan, noting he can get three-point plays inside and out.
"It's good," said Boozer, "because they're worried about him doing both — if he's going to pop or if he's going to roll. For him to be that aggressive helps our team out.
"The last five games, he's been phenomenal, shooting the ball great. I think he's been more confident in his jump shot than previously in the season. He's given us a huge lift," Boozer said.
Even Denver coach George Karl noticed. "He doesn't even hit the rim," he said of Okur's shots. "When he gets a wide-open look, it's mostly bottom and swish."
In his last seven games, Okur has scored 27, 25, 15, 20, 17, 23 and 24 points with his newfound versatility.
"I'm trying to play good," he said. "I don't want to be a star. I just want to play good and win the ballgame."
On Saturday, "I start the ballgame, I got in the lane, got a couple easy baskets. Then I stepped back, and my teammates did such a great job. They look for me, look for me out there and create open shots for me, so I was feeling good."
He has been far more aggressive on the boards lately as well, with totals of 11, 14, 9, 12, 13, 13, 7 and 11 since the loss at Minnesota.
"I am," he said about crashing the boards. "I try to get every rebound out there. I know it's not going to happen, but at least I'm trying."
His game has sparkled of late, too, because, "I'm healthy. I'm more comfortable, you know — really feel a lot of confidence in my shots, my inside-out game."
E-mail: lham@desnews.com