3 reasons to drop the outrageous Jeremy Sochan slander

It's time to address the Jeremy Sochan debate that has been raging on social media since the beginning of the season. The porous record of 5-30 belongs to the entirety of the San Antonio Spurs team, from the coaches to all of the rotational players. For some reason, many fans have found it necessary to place a large amount of blame on a player in his second year in the NBA.

Not to say that some of it isn't funny because, let's be honest, social media is littered with hilarious people, no matter what side of an argument you may be on. Jokes will fly, and some of them will indeed be funny, despite disagreement. But what is important here is the disagreement. The criticisms have been way off base for a myriad of reasons.

3. His shot has improved significantly

In Jeremy Sochan's rookie season, he shot 25% from three. In just his second season, he's made a significant leap to 37%. When Sochan was drafted, it was understood that he was not a shooter. To turn himself into a league-average shooter after one year speaks to a valuable work ethic you don't just dismiss.

For comparison, Kawhi Leonard was 19 years old in his final season at San Diego State. Leonard shot 29% from three in his last college year before shooting 37% in his rookie season at 20 years old with the San Antonio Spurs. That jump was seen as absurdly impressive, and Sochan's improvement should receive the same amount of praise.

Often, players come in with poor shot mechanics, which take years to develop into a consistent threat as technical fixes need to be made to improve the shot's reliability. Unlearning the things that basketball players have spent years doing takes time. This is why jumps like this are special. Respect the hustle.