Courtney Lee fixed a hitch in his jumpshot

I was always puzzled by Courtney Lee's shooting woes last year.  Shooters normally don't just forget how to shoot well until they are older and their legs start failing them.  Lee is still young and he was supposed to be a big help to that team as a 3-and-D guy.  He actually did end up finishing with respectable numbers last year but fell out of Doc's rotation in favor of Crawford and even Terrence Williams.

So this year was kind of a fresh start and Lee showed up early, eager to wipe away last year and start something positive with the new coaching staff.  It turns out that the new staff has already helped him in one respect.  They helped him look at tape of his shot and he found a hitch in his shot that needed to be corrected.

Boston Celtics' Courtney Lee aiming to cement rotation spot - ESPN Boston

What Lee saw on film stunned him. At some point last season he developed a bit of a hitch in his shot that hadn't existed before, and it was obvious on tape. "I don't know where it came from, I was swinging the ball from my left side to my right when I shot," said Lee. "In the years before, I never did that. I had to get back to working on not doing it." Like a golfer tweaking his swing, Lee refined his stroke entering the season and said he felt as confident as ever in his shot.

He's currently 2nd on the team in FG% at 57% and the first is seldom used big man Kris Humphries.  In fact, according to Chris Forsberg, over the last 5 games he's shooting a blistering 65.5% and 75% from 3 point range.  See the link ahead for more impressive stats.

Lee is still battling for time in a crowded backcourt and Phil Pressey has pushed his way into the lineup due to his ability to run the point.  So it might continue to be hard for Lee to find extended minutes - especially once Rajon Rondo returns to the lineup.

This leads me to think that Lee's positive play might just lead to him being traded sometime in the next few months.  If he's not, however, he's still young enough to grow with this developing team.  He could be a useful rotation player for just about any team, including ours.

Hopefully he's straightened out his shot for good and he can finally live up to some of the expectations that we had for him upon his arrival.