Anderson Varejao knows better.

"You've got to throw it hard, look at the rim where you want it to go," the Cavaliers forward said, "and ask God for it to go in."

And when concentration and an accurate throw combine with divine intervention?

"God is on your side," he laughed.

Jackson might have had a little miraculous help guiding the ball, because he admitted Tuesday that he doesn't regularly practice the long-distance shot.

His two-handed launch off his left foot, though, was nearly the picture-perfect kind of form that allows the jumper to have a chance at falling, according to Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.

Brown, of course, doesn't coach the long shot, but he does watch his Cavaliers players - like all NBA players - challenge each other to sinking it at the end of nearly every practice.

"For a couple dollars," said Varejao, grinning. And a few times, when Brown knows he wants to give the players a day off, he will line up each one at midcourt, give everyone a single attempt, and if any player nails the basket, practice is called off.

At least twice in Brown's four years as Cleveland's head coach, a player has hit the basket and practice was canceled. It is not that unusual for the long-distance shot to fall.

The two Cavaliers who sink the long shot with the most accuracy are Varejao and LeBron James, who once had a Powerade commercial exaggerating his superhero ability to hit baskets from the length of the court.

"It is an art," James said. "It's hard to practice it to get better at it, but if you do it during practice, you definitely get better at it when you try it during the game."

According to Brown, the key is to make sure the long shot continues to resemble a jump shot, and is not simply a baseball toss that has a better chance at ending up in the stands than connecting with the rim. James, for instance, has such leg and arm strength that his attempts from midcourt look the same as his attempts from 15 feet. His long shots are not heaves - the very fact that gives the ball a greater chance of falling through the net.

"It's not mostly luck," Brown said. "If you're a pretty good shooter, you can still kind of keep it as close to a jump shot as possible."

Jackson's long shot was a two-handed launch, but his one-footed leap gave him the proper momentum, Brown said.

And his miraculous basket had even Cavaliers players awed Tuesday. Varejao, for one, was envious, because although he is one of the best at sinking the long shot in Cavaliers practices, the Wild Thing has never made one in a game.

"I would like that," Varejao said, nodding.

Varejao said he doesn't practice the long-distance shot much anymore; it isn't part of his new practice routine.

So if he's ever going to sink one in a game, he might need a little luck - and a bit of that heaven-sent help that he always asks for.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jvalade@plaind.com, 216-999-4654