Kyle Singler's Slump: How Serious Is the Duke Star's Six-Game Slide?
Duke forward Kyle Singler is in a slump.
While he is still scoring points and grabbing rebounds, he is struggling.
Even the best players hit rough patches where things are tough.
If you take a quick glance at Duke's most recentĀ box scores,Ā and you only check out hisĀ line (his points, his rebounds, and maybe his assists), you might think that I'm crazy, intoxicated or just plain ignorant.
YouĀ might say, "Hey, Brodess.Ā He's averaging 17 points andĀ six rebounds, for cryin' out loud! What's wrong with that?"
Truthfully, those are decent numbers, and he is helping Duke win. But when you are a pre-season All-American, and a Wooden Award favorite, the bar is set awfully high.
January has not been a good shootingĀ month for the senior forward.
He's been cold fromĀ in front ofĀ and beyond the arc.
And he's been a little careless with the ball.
Let's look atĀ some of the places where Singler's production has slid, and see how serious this slump really is.
Field Goal Shooting
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Singler has shooting mechanics as good as just about anyone in college basketball.
He has impressive consistency in his form and follow-through.
But, during the six games in the month of January, the shots just aren't going down like they were earlier in the season.
In the first half-dozen games of 2011, Singler is shooting 37-for-95, just below 39 percent from the field.
In the first 12 games of the season, he was shooting slightly higher thanĀ 47 percent from the field.
Generally inside of the arc, Singler is a skilled player. Right now, he is only making 41 percentĀ of his two-point attempts.
Slumps are slumps, and good shooters pull out of them. Singler needs to keep shooting, but work harder at taking the ball, more often,Ā all the way to the hole.Ā
Three-Point Shooting
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From beyond the arc, Singler is not shooting too well and he's taking more threes than normal. Not a really good combination.
For the six January games, he is 16-for-44 from three-point range, 36 percent.
In the first 12 games of the year, Singler was shooting 41 percent from downtown.
And if you just look at the last three DukeĀ games (against Florida State, Virginia, and North Carolina State), Singler is shootingĀ eight-for-23, which is 34 percent.
He's also taking two more three-pointers per game than he was earlier in the season.
Normally when that happens, it's because a player is trying to force his shot or he is settling for a three-pointer. Neither of these usually turn out very well.
Assist-To-Turnover Ratio
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Last year, Singler had a very healthy assist-to-turnover ratio (1.22), a good indicator of taking care of the ball and being productive with it when it's in your hand.
This year, Singler is upside-down, meaning he has more turnovers than assists. He is the only Duke wing player to be in this situation.
And more recently, he has an even greater number of turnovers for every assist that he hands out.
To be clear, Singler isn't a turnover machine. But, during this stretch, his assist numbers have dropped a little, which makes this a concern.
How Serious Is The Slump?
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How serious is this Singler Slump? In a word....slightly.
The Florida State game proved that Duke is vulnerable, especially when they aren't shooting well.
Since Duke's ultimate goal is not just winning the ACC or making it to the Dance, they need Kyle Singler and the whole Blue DevilĀ lineup playing at their best.
If Duke is to make it back to the Final Four and get into the Championship Game again this year, Singler needs toĀ relax and let the game come to him.
That way, he canĀ shake this slump and elevate his game to where he has proven it can be.
Tomorrow's game at Wake Forest is a great place for him to start.
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