By the time the Hawks play their first-ever conference final game in Atlanta, five days will have passed since Kyle Korver missed his last 3-pointer.
Enough time, his followers hope, to have purged memories of Washington’s Bradley Beal moving inside Korver’s jersey and subletting that sweaty space for six games. When Korver belched, Beal tasted what he had for dinner. That’s how connected the two seemed. For the Wizards, it was not enough to deny Korver the ball. They were determined to cut off his oxygen as well.
Five days have passed, with at least that many showers to wash away some of the worst shooting of Korver’s exacting life.
A new series against Cleveland offers the glimmer of a fresh start, a reboot of Korver’s guidance system. Maybe he’ll even catch a glimpse of the rim this series, enough to remember that it indeed still is round and orange. Although he is not counting on Cleveland just stepping aside.
“I’m probably going to get guarded the same way this series so I’ll try to find a way to get better shots and knock them down,” he doggedly declared.
Whether the Cavs throw the combustible J.R. Smith or the high-haired Georgia Techie Iman Shumpert at him, Korver at least knows that physics is his friend. For it is impossible for them to guard him any closer than did the Wizards without violating some pretty basic laws of science.
The 49 percent 3-point shooter during the season shot just 29 percent against the Wizards. Korver’s stat line in last Friday’s Game Six against Washington had a certain B.J. Upton-after-a- doubleheader feel to it (0-for-7 from beyond the arc).
He has not exactly torched Cleveland this season, averaging eight points and 44 percent on his 3s in four games.
Early in the Washington series he shot too much, trying to force it. “I probably shot myself out of rhythm a little bit. Nothing takes you out of rhythm like missing shots,” he said.
Later, he could barely squeeze the trigger. Twice Korver got off only four 3-point attempts in a game. And just five in another. That’s not even an appetizer portion for him and not enough to fulfill a team that is counting on him more than any of his other teams ever have.
Somewhere between those extremes exists the comfort level he’ll need to find against Cleveland.
It is a fact of life in the NBA that shots become tougher to find after April.
“Every possession matters so much in the playoffs,” Korver noted. “Over the course of the regular season, you play so many games that it’s hard to play at the highest level every single night.”
So, these are the days that provide the truest test of Korver’s difference-making abilities. As he runs around side to side, indefatigable, trying to wear out anyone who would shadow him, open space has become so much dearer. But he is an All-Star now, and All-Stars have to rise above a defense that tilts their way.
When the shot has not worked, as against the Wizards, Korver has played an upbeat refrain again and again in his head.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve been guarded like this,” he said. “I just try to stay positive. I have positive people around me, positive teammates. I know eventually there’s going to be a shot. If I’m sitting around pouting or frustrated, the odds of me missing go way up. I try to stay locked in and be ready because you never know.”
Other voices rattle around his head (there appears to be a lot going on beneath that conservative coif). They belong to a sizable collection of older, wiser men.
“I love basketball, and obviously shooting is usually my strength. But I love playing both ends of the floor, just competing,” he said.
“I’ve had coach after coach after coach drill into my head: ‘When your shot’s not falling, you have to find other ways to help the team.’ I hear those voices in my head when I miss a couple shots and that’s what I try to do.”
And this is the part of the program where we hear that Korver is more than the sum of his long-range shots. Here’s where the Hawks bring up him tipping a ball away from Paul Pierce, or blocking a surprising number of shots, showing a knack for rebounding or just contributing by his presence.
“If you are watching him play defense and you are watching him do all the little things that it takes to win, it’s the furthest thing from frustrating,” the coach, Mike Budenholzer, said.
“I think Kyle is such a good teammate and such an unselfish player, that as long as we’re getting good shots, getting good opportunities, moving the ball and hitting the open guy, I think he understands the value he brings to our offense. He’s more than just a shooter,” Budenholzer said.
“When Kyle is on the floor everything is different,” guard Dennis Schroder said, speaking of the way he spreads a defense and creates space for guards who are of a mind to drive.
That all sounds nice and does speak to the subtle points of Korver’s game.
What sounds better is the loud “Swick!” of a ball launched from a great distance passing through nylon cords. That would be the sound of Korver, back again; the sound of Cleveland in distress.
