Kyle Filipowski has changed his shot and is starting to show signs of growth for the Utah Jazz

A couple of months ago, rookie Kyle Filipowski started to work with a group of the Utah Jazz coaches to change his 3-point shot. It was minor tweaks to the mechanics of his release and the speed.

Even so, changing a shot in the middle of the season can be difficult, to say the least. After all, he’s shot one way for all of his life and was trying to make a change while continuing the rest of his development and finding his footing in the NBA.

“It was a bit of a challenge, for sure,” he said. “Trying to play games while being in the process of changing it. When I may be just working on mid-range at practice, and I haven’t even gotten to shooting 3s with my new release, and then going into a game and shooting 3s. So that was a little bit of a challenge trying to just stay focused and not overthink it.”

Recently, after weeks of repetitive work, he felt like something clicked into place and he was able to get over bit of a hump.

From the beginning of the season through the month of January, Filipowski shot just 30% from deep. In February, Filipowski is shooting 53.8% from 3-point range, including going 4-of-4 in the Jazz’s 114-112 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night at the Delta Center.

Getting the shot to fall has helped in making Filipowski feel more comfortable on the court, and with increased opportunity following the trade deadline, he’s starting to feel like he’s found his footing a little bit.

1 of 28

2 of 28

3 of 28

4 of 28

5 of 28

6 of 28

7 of 28

8 of 28

9 of 28

10 of 28

11 of 28

12 of 28

13 of 28

14 of 28

15 of 28

16 of 28

17 of 28

18 of 28

19 of 28

20 of 28

21 of 28

22 of 28

23 of 28

24 of 28

25 of 28

26 of 28

27 of 28

28 of 28

To start his rookie year, Filipowski had shifted the way he plays basketball. After becoming accustomed to being a high-usage player who touched the ball a lot, Jazz head coach Will Hardy told Filipowski to focus on how he could impact the game without the ball in his hands.

That work led to the rookie focusing his efforts on defense, rebounding, running the floor, setting good screens — little things that would get the coaches to appreciate his effort.

“Kyle’s doing a tremendous job of focusing on all of the details when he doesn’t have the ball,” Hardy said. “Tonight was another night where teams are trying to isolate him on the defensive side, and he’s doing a pretty good job moving his feet, spacing guys, using his strength. And on the offensive side his shooting is really improving, and it’s helping him a lot.”

Now, he’s getting to take on a little more responsibility, especially when the Jazz have an extended injury report like they did in Monday night’s game.

“Coach has definitely trusted me to have the ball on my hands a little bit more, which I’m very grateful for,” Filipowski said. “Now it is a little bit more of the decision making and being able to run the offense a little bit more.”

Against the Blazers Filipowkski finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals, a bock and was the only starter to post a positive plus-minus (+12) for the Jazz.

“He’s growing a lot over the last six weeks and getting a lot more experience,” Hardy said. “But you know, he’s putting the work in.”