Should Tony Parker take more 3-pointers ?

[timaios]

3P% 3PM-A

Kobe Bryant .315 67/213
Kevin Durant .347 87/251
Deron Williams .350 84/240
LeBron James .356 67/188
Manu Ginobili .364 112/308
Derrick Rose .364 78/214
Tony Parker .366 15/41
George Hill .366 41/112


Should Tony Parker take more 3-pointers ?

Yesterday he was totaly wiiiide open for a 3 and refused to take it.

If he could keep that 3P% with more shots, it would force his defender to guard him much higher and make his penetration game more lethal. He doesn't need to be a great 3 points shooter, he just needs to send a memo to the league that if you don't guard him, he can shoot it.

I did a little search in the 3P% stats to compare other players to Parker and I was very surprised by the results...

Obviously, you don't dare those guys to shoot the 3 without defending them... yet, Kobe 0.315, Deron 0.350...

What do you think ?

[said7]

Yes plz

[Halberto]

No.

[Cane]

If he's wide open or if its a buzzer beater shot, sure.

Otherwise, probably not. He's like Grant Hill - his %'s might look nice but %'s don't tell you what kind of 3 pointers a player makes and both of these guys are really only decent at shooting 3's uncontested. The Spurs team is also filled with a bunch of better shooters FWIW.

Parker will undoubtedly continue to develop his shot as he gets older though just like most guards.

[hater]

No

he shouldnt even take more 2 pointers.

[FalleNxWiZarDx]

Tony knows what his strong points are

Leave him alone

[Mrlunt925]

As Cane and FalleNxWiZarDx basically said, let him do what he does.

[MI21]

Whenever he takes a corner 3, I feel like it's going in.

[8FOR!3]

No, when Parker takes threes he's feeling it. If he feels he's got a good chance of making a shot he's not going to pass on it.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

so you want our most important scorer in the paint to start living by the 3 as well? Yeah, no thanks.

[Pauleta14]

YES!

And even if he misses them!!!

The same way Manu explained a few weeks ago that he HAD to take those 3 (even if he missed most of them) so that his defender repect this threat...

About yesterday's 3 he didn't take, I think it has more to do with the fact that there was still more than 5 sec remaining a he opted to pass to make it a buzzer beater...

[cheguevara]

YES!

And even if he misses them!!!

The same way Manu explained a few weeks ago that he HAD to take those 3 (even if he missed most of them) so that his defender repect this threat...

About yesterday's 3 he didn't take, I think it has more to do with the fact that there was still more than 5 sec remaining a he opted to pass to make it a buzzer beater...

you cannot seriously compare Manu's 3pt threat to Tony's :rolleyes

[Da Spurs]

The only 3's Tony has taken is when he is totally wide open. You can't compare that to other players who are guarded at the 3 point line. Apples and oranges.

[DPG21920]

TP should take wide open corner 3's or any other wide open look he gets. He should not make a point of trying to take more 3's. Just take what is given.

Spurs need TP to drive. He is one of the only Spurs players that actually drives more than he chucks 3's.

Spurs have enough 3PT shooters.

[in2deep]

Nobody in the Spurs should take more 3s. They are taking way too many already.

I agree if wide open the following players have the green light:
Bonner, Neal, Manu, Hill, RJ

If wide open and clock running out:
TP, bench scrubs

Never:
McDyess, Tiago, Blair

[SenorSpur]

Hell no!

The Spurs players take too many 3s, as it is.

[timaios]

so you want our most important scorer in the paint to start living by the 3 as well? Yeah, no thanks.

Living by the 3 and taking more 3 are two things totally different.

Parker is taking 0.8 3-pointers by game this season.
I am talking about 1.3 to 1.5 3-pointers by game. It's not living by the 3 and as i said it, it would make his job more easy in the paint.

Manu is taking 6 3-pointers by game this season.

I would prefer Manu with 5.5 and Tony with 1.3. (instead of 6 & 0.8)

3P% of Manu would be more efficient and tony's game would be more versatile and more difficult to defend.

Win-win situation.

[tuncaboylu]

Of course not.

He has plenty of offensive weapons, like teardops, penetration, drive and kicks etc. It's not a must to add a three point shoots at the moment. It's better to know that he can knock down a 3 pointer when he's wide-open, but it's not necessary to shoot more threes.

[timaios]

The only 3's Tony has taken is when he is totally wide open. You can't compare that to other players who are guarded at the 3 point line. Apples and oranges.

He took also some last second possession garbage 3-pointers shots.

[in2deep]

Living by the 3 and taking more 3 are two things totally different.

Parker is taking 0.8 3-pointers by game this season.
I am talking about 1.3 to 1.5 3-pointers by game. It's not living by the 3 and as i said it, it would make his job more easy in the paint.

Manu is taking 6 3-pointers by game this season.

I would prefer Manu with 5.5 and Tony with 1.3. (instead of 6 & 0.8)

3P% of Manu would be more efficient and tony's game would be more versatile and more difficult to defend.

Win-win situation.

wrong. Tony doing any kind of jumpshooting is detrimental to the Spurs.

[SenorSpur]

TP's penetration helps open up the shooters on the arc. Now that Tim isn't positioned on the block nor drawing double teams, the Spurs are pretty much playing an outside-in game. If you pull TP out and have him start jacking up more 3's, it will derail the ball movement and produce even more long rebounds. That said, TP is better of putting pressure on the defense by his usual method of getting into the paint, throwing up his various arrrays of floaters and midrange jumpers.

[timaios]

I don't understand the people who are saying that Parker needs only to score in the paint.

Because he never shoots the 3, his defender is always waiting him 2 or 3 feet lower.
The fact that Parker doesn't take 3-pointers is hurting his game in the paint.

And again, I am talking about 1.3 3-pointers by game instead of 0.8.

I don't want him to be a 3 points specialist, i just want his defender respects his 3-pointer shot.

[cheguevara]

The point is, TP doesn't have a 3pt shot. They cannot respect what he doesn't have.

[timaios]

TP's penetration helps open up the shooters on the arc. Now that Tim isn't positioned on the block nor drawing double teams, the Spurs are pretty much playing an outside-in game. If you pull TP out and have him start jacking up more 3's, it will derail the ball movement and produce even more long rebounds. That said, TP is better of putting pressure on the defense by his usual method of getting into the paint, throwing up his various arrrays of floaters and midrange jumpers.

Seriously SenorSpur, i like you as a poster and I know I am not good at writing in english, but come on... Read again what i wrote.

[SenorSpur]

I don't understand the people who are saying that Parker needs only to score in the paint.

Because he never shoots the 3, his defender is always waiting him 2 or 3 feet lower.

Because they have more than enough shooters on the arc. That's not to say that TP shouldn't take a 3 if left wide open. He absolutely should. However but to have him start incorporating that shot as part of his regular aresenal would be counter-productive.

[timaios]

The point is, TP doesn't have a 3pt shot. They cannot respect what he doesn't have.


3P% 3PM-A

Kobe Bryant .315 67/213
Kevin Durant .347 87/251
Deron Williams .350 84/240
LeBron James .356 67/188
Manu Ginobili .364 112/308
Derrick Rose .364 78/214
Tony Parker .366 15/41
George Hill .366 41/112

[cheguevara]

41 attempts all season. that is no 3pt shot son.

TP DOES NOT have a 3pt shot that commands respect. He never did. And developing one this year is out of the question.

BTW, Derrick Rose does not have a 3pt shot either. You cannot base it on half a season.

The only guys that command 3pt respect out of that list are Kobe, Durant, Manu and maybe Hill

[ohmwrecker]

He should take and make just enough threes to keep his defender honest so he can blow by him for a layup/floater or assist.

[to21]

lol @ 41 attempts as "a three point shot".

[Bito Corleone]

Only in the corners. From the wings and top of the Key he shoots below 30%

[timaios]

41 attempts all season. that is no 3pt shot son.

TP DOES NOT have a 3pt shot that commands respect. He never did. And developing one this year is out of the question.

That's my point ! He doesn't take enough 3 points shots to earn the respect of his defenders.



TP DOES NOT have a 3pt shot that commands respect. He never did.

Parker won the 2003 NBA finals game 3 with 4 clutch 3-pointers.

Parkers was 4/7 in the 2007 NBA finals.

I think he can make them when it counts.

[sa_butta]

No need to shoot more threes when he can get into the paint for a higher percentage shot. I have no problem with him shooting the occassional open three, but to ask for more three point shooting of him is ridiculous.

[InK]

By some peoples logic here we should just hand over Bonner the ball on each possesion since he is a +0.500 3pt shooter. Since that is 0.666+ field goal percantage the Spurs are unbeatable.

Tony shoots open corner 3s, so do RJ and GHill, but to a lesser extend and they obviously have more range. Neal and Manu can and do shoot from anywhere on the floor, contested/or not. Putting that stuff into perspective >> percentage hiscores list.

[ALVAREZ6]

No. He only takes them when open usually. Taking more would inevitably lower his 3P%. We don't need any more Manus on the team. If we want more 3s, we have plenty of other options that do it more efficiently.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

If he's open.....

[Sense]

No. He only takes them when open usually. Taking more would inevitably lower his 3P%. We don't need any more Manus on the team. If we want more 3s, we have plenty of other options that do it more efficiently.

This...

What you French homers fail to realize is, Tony takes the 3's only when he's wide open or when the clock is running down.. most of the ones he made this year were wide open shots... Thus the DECENT percentage, but the fact is Tony knows he has a shot at making them only when he's wide open, and that's why he hasn't attempted anything else, and if he has he probably hasn't made em.

The fact is this, this team relies too much on 3 point shooting and I personally think it might kill em in the playoffs... asking for more 3's... and by Tony of all people is the worst idea this team could ask for...

We need more scoring in the lane, and we need some whistles in our favor in order for this team to be successful against big teams, Tony shooting 3's won't help in that regard.

[ohmwrecker]

He has a pretty slow release on his 3pt shot which is not a very good trait for a consistent, high volume 3pt shooter.

[jimo2305]

i doubt anyone's saying tony should start chcuking 3's..

by all means.. continue to make the play as you always do.. but stop shying away from wide open 3's.. i've seen tony even pass up good shots with like under 5 seconds left on the shot clock.. that's unacceptable.. there's no way you can be a starting PG in the nba and not have a shot.. i'm talking about wide open too..

[Rummpd]

No let him keep practicing and rely on it only when it is needed and then shock the world to win a playoff game. He has improved but many have come from the Bowen corner and there are times when after a drive to the paint the can go there for a pass if needed. The more Parker attacks the paint the better the Spurs play is the real reason why I don't want him shooting more from the 3s and I wish the Spurs would drop back a little in 3 point attempts to get ready for the playoffs unless the situation demands a three.

[Pauleta14]

you cannot seriously compare Manu's 3pt threat to Tony's :rolleyes


Of course not!!

Read again what I said

At that time (Manu's quote), even Tony would have been better, he was bad, but explained to the reporters that despite his low %, he HAD TO keep shooting 3s on a regular basis, so that the defender doen't know what to expect...

The problem Tony is gonna face come the PO (and already during 4th quarters) is that the defense collapse and every coaches tell their team to live with Tony's jumpshot but prevent him from penetrations...

If Tony gets a decent 3, a la Kidd (he seems to have that potential), enough to make his defender repect it, he's gonna be unguardable

[lefty]

Only wide open 3's

[timaios]

I think most of the posters have read only the title of the tread. It's a pity.

In his first 3 years with the Spurs Parker made :

205-631 3-pointers in the regular season. It's 32.5 %.
42-126 3-pointers in the playoffs. It's 33.3 %.

(Kobe Bryant this year is 31.5% 67/213)

631 in 234 games = 2.70 3s attempt by game in RS.
126 in 44 games = 2.86 3s attempt by game in Playoffs.

33% from 3 is not bad. It's not great but it's not bad.

After the first 3 years his shot was reconstructed and Pop told him to stop shooting 3s because he couldn't do it anymore. It was in 2005 !

All I say is I think Parker can shoot the 3 with consistency around 33-34%.
It's enough to not hurt the team and keep his defender respecting his shot.

Let's imagine a Spurs / Celtics finals.
You have Parker with the ball at the 3 point line and Rondo 2 feets away, awaiting. And behind Rondo, Perkins or Garnett ready for the block.
If Parker can shoot the 3, Rondo needs to defend higher, it means more space to attack and creating havoc in a "paint" defense.

Parker was 33% in his first 3 years in the NBA.
He is an improved player today, he could shoot between 33 and 36%.

So I think 0.8 attempts by game is ridiculous. He should take at least 1.3 3-pointers by game.

I am not talking about Parker jacking up 3's, it would be crazy !

It will not hurt the team, it will help the team. And it will help what is obviously Parker primary weapon : his points in the paint.

[nkdlunch]

I think most of the posters have read only the title of the tread. It's a pity.


I think you have not been reading the replies to your posts. It's a pity.

Everyone is OK with Parker taking WIDE OPEN 3s. I am talking WIDE OPEN. He is obviously taking the wide open 3s he's given. Opponents are giving him .8 WIDE OPEN 3s a game, so he can only take that much. He can only take what he's given. :downspin:

you are making it seem like the D on Parker is same as D on Rondo. No, the opponents are not giving him that much space.

now if you are asking Parker to force a few more 3s to up it to 1.3 a game, the answer is a resounding NO

[FkLA]

Bonner shoots damn near 50% from inside the 3 pt-line...thats better than all those guys on your list. Maybe he should start driving and posting up more!!!

I dont even likee when Parker shoots 18-20 footers tbh...much less 3s. His shot still sucks.

[timaios]

I think you have not been reading the replies to your posts. It's a pity.

Everyone is OK with Parker taking WIDE OPEN 3s. I am talking WIDE OPEN. He is obviously taking the wide open 3s he's given. Opponents are giving him .8 WIDE OPEN 3s a game, so he can only take that much. He can only take what he's given. :downspin:

you are making it seem like the D on Parker is same as D on Rondo. No, the opponents are not giving him that much space.

now if you are asking Parker to force a few more 3s to up it to 1.3 a game, the answer is a resounding NO

OK let me be clear i just want him to shoot WIDE open 3s. I thought that was obvious.
And if you think our opponents are only giving 0.8 wide open 3s to parker by game, then you must not watch a lot of Spurs games this year.


Everyone is OK with Parker taking WIDE OPEN 3s.

Read the thread again.

[lefty]

If Tony gets a decent 3, a la Kidd (he seems to have that potential), enough to make his defender repect it, he's gonna be unguardable
True true

[timaios]

Bonner shoots damn near 50% from inside the 3 pt-line...thats better than all those guys on your list. Maybe he should start driving and posting up more!!!

I dont even likee when Parker shoots 18-20 footers tbh...much less 3s. His shot still sucks.

Did you ever played basketball in your life.

I am a point guard and it's so obvious that a 3-points threat is helping your scoring in the paint.

Just look Bonner, when someone run at him at the 3 point line, he's faking the 3 take 2 step and has an easy 2 with his his defender in his back, or he can attack the rim with a little hook or make the pass if the help defense comes to him. He's doing that all the time.

[nkdlunch]

OK let me be clear i just want him to shoot WIDE open 3s. I thought that was obvious.
And if you think our opponents are only giving 0.8 wide open 3s to parker by game, then you must not watch a lot of Spurs games this year.



Read the thread again.

I have seen pretty much every game and see Tony taking the wide open ones. By wide open I mean noone within 5 feet of him. (that's about 1 meter and half to the french)

anything else and Tony needs to drive or pass.

He's been preety good on his 3 shot selection, why fix what's not broken? Hopefully Tony will not listen to his french fans.

[phxspurfan]

Parker wants to take more 3s, but he knows that's not his game.

[Muser]

Why? When you're got Manu/Jefferson/Bonner/Hill/Neal you don't need more shooting, especially when you're got a player who can score at above 50% in the paint.

[JR21]

3P% 3PM-A

Kobe Bryant .315 67/213
Kevin Durant .347 87/251
Deron Williams .350 84/240
LeBron James .356 67/188
Manu Ginobili .364 112/308
Derrick Rose .364 78/214
Tony Parker .366 15/41
George Hill .366 41/112


Should Tony Parker take more 3-pointers ?

Yesterday he was totaly wiiiide open for a 3 and refused to take it.

If he could keep that 3P% with more shots, it would force his defender to guard him much higher and make his penetration game more lethal. He doesn't need to be a great 3 points shooter, he just needs to send a memo to the league that if you don't guard him, he can shoot it.

I did a little search in the 3P% stats to compare other players to Parker and I was very surprised by the results...

Obviously, you don't dare those guys to shoot the 3 without defending them... yet, Kobe 0.315, Deron 0.350...

What do you think ?
Hell yeah, if he could make the three part of his game that would be sick.

[hater]

The French talking about unguardable :rolleyes

nobody cares if Tony becomes unguardable, what is winning us games is when Tony penetrates and penetrates. What matters is him going by old ass Derek Fisher and Jason Kidd. And he can. He can.

Besides, this is not the 08 spurs where defenses need to concentrate on Parker to stop us. We got too many weapons. Team play and health is whats gonna get us past the Lakers/Mavs.

[Muser]

TP should save the 3 for when he gets old and loses his speed i.e Kidd.

[Libri]

Only in the corners. From the wings and top of the Key he shoots below 30%

I'm wondering if those corner 3s are designed plays for Tony.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

No, just take the shots he has in rhythm.

[PM5K]

I always thought he would eventually start shooting threes, after he got more comfortable with his shot would start moving it back some, but he never did.

Even though you could argue that he's a great penetrator, and that we have enough three point shooters, I'd be curious to see how he'd do if he shot more of them.

I mean right now he's a deadly accurate jump shooter, in the last month and a half his free throw shooting percentage has skyrocketed, so it makes me wonder more than anything else.

You also have to consider the fact that most of his 3's are bailout shots, and he still shoots a decent %, imagine if a play were run for him, or if he shot them when guys went under screens, rather than just taking them when there's two seconds on the clock and he has to.

[YODA]

YEAR --- MADE/ Attempts / 3 pt% made/ OVER ALL FG%
2001-02-- 61 189 32.3% 41.9%
2002-03-- 82 243 33.7% 46.4%
2003-04-- 62 199 31.2% 44.7%
2004-05-- 43 156 27.6% 48.2%
2005-06-- 11 36 30.6% 54.8%
2006-07-- 15 38 39.5% 52.0%
2007-08-- 17 66 25.8% 49.4%
2008-09-- 19 65 29.2% 50.6%
2009-10-- 10 34 29.4% 48.7%
2010-11 15 41 36.6% 52.7%

Asking TP to take more dont make alot of sense to me. We already have alot of 3 point shooters. Bonner, Hill, Manu, Neal and Jefferson. This is more then any other team in the league. Some teams only have one or 2 people who can shoot the 3 well. Were blessed with 5.

To me , this chart shows a direct correlation between TP taking less 3 point attempts and his overall FG% shooting up. His volume shooting of 3s is no better then 33.7% in the 3 years he attempted over 150 shots, so why would be want him to try more?

Im sure either the coaching staff or TP recognized he could be a better player taking less 3 pts attempts. It looks like after the 2004/05 season is when he decided to take less 3 point shots. Since then his worse over all FG% is 48.7% which is great!!.

I think POP and TP know what there are doing in this case. TP will never be a volume 3 point shooter again. Take a look at the facts.

[spursfan09]

I think he uses pretty good judgement when taking 3 pointers. If he is feeling it, he will. If not, well there are better shooters that he can pass to and it will have a better chance of going in.

[ginobili fan]

But the thing is Tony was originally programmed to take more 3 points shots he was working his 3's with Chip.
But it was 3 years ago...
what happened? You'll never get better unless you take more shots at games...
I don't understand Tony has the touch to make baskets, he can be excellent at jumpshots,he's got the bases.
Remember Manu first he came in the league was a poor 3 point shooter now he's one of the best.and Tony compared to manu wasn' that bad .
So yes he should take more 3's if he's open.

[FkLA]

I mean right now he's a deadly accurate jump shooter, in the last month and a half his free throw shooting percentage has skyrocketed, so it makes me wonder more than anything else.


hell nahhh

dealy accurate jumpshooter should never be used to describe parker


Did you ever played basketball in your life.

I am a point guard and it's so obvious that a 3-points threat is helping your scoring in the paint.

Just look Bonner, when someone run at him at the 3 point line, he's faking the 3 take 2 step and has an easy 2 with his his defender in his back, or he can attack the rim with a little hook or make the pass if the help defense comes to him. He's doing that all the time.

Thats not Bonner's game though, he can do itt occasionally to keep the defense honest...but noone should be demanding that he do it more often bc he's shooting 50% from inside the 3 pt line. Same with Tony, shooting 3s is not his game...his jumpshot is trash, he doesnt need to be shooting 3s anymore than he already is.

[mingus]

if he's making them, i see no reason why he shouldn't. and, btw, if he's making them, it doesn't mean that he now has to revolve his game around that.

say he take two threes a game and hits 39% of them (.8/2), do you know how many other scoring opportunities this would create for him and others? people would have to get in his face on D, so he'd have just as many 2 point opportunites potentially if not more than he usually does because of that (look at how many lanes Bonner gets because he has a great stroke.)

taking more three pointers doesn't mean he has to change his game, all it means is he can use it as a threat to enhance is already great inside game and ability to create for others.

[mingus]

TP should save the 3 for when he gets old and loses his speed i.e Kidd.

that's ridiculous. If Jkidd had developed that shot earlier in his career he would have been more unbelievable than he was in his prime.

[mingus]

i always thought that the next step in TP's game was the 3-point shot. There is not a guard in the league that wouldn't benefit from having a good 3-point stroke.

[Pauleta14]

The French talking about unguardable :rolleyes

nobody cares if Tony becomes unguardable, what is winning us games is when Tony penetrates and penetrates. What matters is him going by old ass Derek Fisher and Jason Kidd. And he can. He can.

Besides, this is not the 08 spurs where defenses need to concentrate on Parker to stop us. We got too many weapons. Team play and health is whats gonna get us past the Lakers/Mavs.


Harder to guard if you prefer... :rolleyes

I wasn't talking about Tony becoming our lone go to guy or something,
I meant that penetrating takes a lot of energy and at some point (he signed an extention recently), he won't have the same energy (ie Manu today compard to a few years ago)

+ The goal for every players whould be to become better ones, no?

[Dave_ET]

Some pretty good posts about TP’s 3shot.

My answer is YES, he should - but in the offseason, not now. We have a lot of new players on our roster this year, as well as a few injuries causing blips in our chemistry. Tony is a Spur veteran, and he needs to be one of the constants on our team. The last thing we need is to draw up new plays for him and turn him into another project player so to speak. He’s good where he is – running pick and rolls, getting everyone else involved (esp players whos ONLY game is the 3) .

With that being said, I liked what Mingus stated. It’s not like he’d retool his entire game. If TP took 1.6 or 2.4 threes per game instead of 0.8, and could hit them at the % he is now (see OFFSEASON before you rage on me. I whole-heartedly agree that TP cannot shoot that % this year), he would be DEADLY for the Spurs.

[Mel_13]

Pop has made adding the corner 3 a goal for Tony:

http://www.nba.com/spurs/multimedia/110116_parker.html

[HarlemHeat37]

Parker adding a 3-point shot doesn't mean it's going to affect his interior game, he's not the type of player that would fall in love with the outside shot, IMO..as DPG said, Parker is the only Spurs player that consistently penetrates, so his interior points will still be desperately needed..

Parker working on his 3-point shot is essential though, and he has done it..he doesn't have to become a volume 3-point shooter, obviously, but the fact that he can now punish the defense for leaving him open from outside, AND become a better off-ball player, is clearly going to help the Spurs in the long run, probably as early as this year's playoffs..

[024]

parker needs to work on that 3 pt shot even if he won't be using it much. whenever ginobili handles the ball, parker just camps the 3 pt line so he'll have to be ready to make that shot when the pass comes. otherwise, he's pretty much useless on the floor when ginobili is handling the ball.

[chasky]

Whenever he takes a corner 3, I feel like it's going in.

+1.

Anyone know his percentage from the corner?

[chasky]

parker needs to work on that 3 pt shot even if he won't be using it much. whenever ginobili handles the ball, parker just camps the 3 pt line so he'll have to be ready to make that shot when the pass comes. otherwise, he's pretty much useless on the floor when ginobili is handling the ball.

And penetrations become more difficult for Manu, becauseone more man who can help without much risk.

[Sense]

This is a 44-8 team, anything to do with 3 point shooting can't help this team, there are other areas that need to be paid attention to... and it's not outside shooting.

[jimo2305]

some of these replies just make me go *facepalm*

[ALVAREZ6]

The fact is this, this team relies too much on 3 point shooting and I personally think it might kill em in the playoffs... asking for more 3's... and by Tony of all people is the worst idea this team could ask for...


This is definitely one of my worries. Live by the 3, die by the 3. That's just the fate of any perimeter team in the playoffs...as Spurs fans we should know this lesson well since we are used to facing teams like Dallas and Phoenix in the playoffs, and they usually rely on perimeter play. It's hard to stay hot for so long..but damn did PHX stay hot during the Spurs series last year :bang

The good thing is that Tony, Manu, and sometimes Hill, when he wants, can all slash into the lane and create. In the playoffs, there's no doubt Manu and Tony are gonna be all up in that lane's ass. We're just gonna have to keep hitting 3s for it to be the most effective. But the Spurs are leading the league relatively easily due to their perimeter shooting...it's a great sign that Manu isn't completely exhausting his body slashing as much during this regular season. I think he realizes he's not playing the most effective way, but it's a trade off for the largest goal: a championship.

As long as our main dudes stay healthy the rest of the season, I like our chances.

[mathbzh]

This is definitely one of my worries. Live by the 3, die by the 3.

I am not too worry about that. We have enough weapons to win game without making so many 3s.

I just checked our record split by 3p%

Under 25%: 1-1
25-30%: 5-2
30-35%: 7-1
35-40%: 8-2
40-45%:7-2
over 45%: 16-0

While making 3s helps (16-0) it does not look like we desperately need it.

Phoenix last year:
Under 25%: 1-3
25-30%: 2-1
30-35%: 4-6
35-40%: 6-3
40-45%: 3-5
over 45%: 13-3

So we are 28-8 when shooting under 45% and 16-0 when above. Phoenix was 16-18 and 13-3. (note we have very similar distribution of shooting %)

As of now Spurs are an elite team that become unstoppable when making its 3s. The Suns was an average team that could be very dangerous when on fire.