Fools Gold: Compare 3pt Shooting, 10-11, 11-12

[spursfaninla]

Last year, a lot of people said we were fool's Gold largely because we relied "too much on 3pt shooting."

Well, last year we shot 39% on 21 3pt shots per game, the same as this year.

The differences are, however, that we have MANY more 3pt shooters on this team, and the number of high percentage 3pt shooters on the team went up.

Last year, our 3pt shooters ranked by percentage:

Bonner 45%
RJ 44%
Neal 41%
Hill 37%
Green 36% (not rotation player)
Manu 34%

However, having green even in there is deceptive because he was not really a rotation player. So, we had 5 rotation players who we could ask to shoot the 3, and 3 were excellent shooters, one was above average, and Manu was average.

This year:

Green: 43%
Bonner 42%
Manu 41%
Neal 41%
Leonard 37%
Diaw 31%
Sjax 28%

We have 7 players who comfortably can shoot the 3 that are rotation players. Although sjax and Diaw are below average, we have 4 players who shoot excellent 3pt percentage, and one above average.

My point in all this? We have many more 3pt shooters who can pick up the slack when 2 or 3 are cold. This paid dividends tonight in our first playoff game.

Leonard, Green and Manu were COLD. If 3 of our 5 shooters last year went cold, we were dead.

This year, with 7 players who can shoot the 3, Neal, Bonner and Sjax carried the 3pt shooting, and we were fine. With enough shooters, you mitigate against slumps, rookie jitters, injuries, etc. that can impact the 3pt shooting.

Now, our 3pt shooting was still much lower than typical, and we still beat Utah by 15. That shows this team is can recover from a bad 3pt shooting night and still win; however, it meant we needed high-percentage shots, needed plenty of trips to the line, and good rebounding.

If our 3pt shooting is going in, our margin of error is much better, and it is going to be too difficult for the other team to pack the lane to stop the pick and roll.

[100%duncan]

Best stat: Bonner 3/4 from threes.

[benstanfield]

I feel like 3pt depth wasn't really our problem, or at least the reason they called it "fool's gold." I think it was because in the playoffs, closeouts are harder, defense is more intense all 48 minutes, pace slows down, people read the scouting reports and know not to leave guys open, etc. Spurs pretty much rely on out-executing these factors.

[Splits]

Solid post. Very good point about depth and mitigating cold shooting by only needing to find a couple of hot hands to carry you, however our overall ball movement on offense was pretty good and we got a lot of easy buckets. We also put up the most points in the paint ever against Utah in a PO game.

[Stalin]

I think last year spurs relied on threes and jumpshots more to win games, this year spurs post up and penetrate more, so they get into a rythm first, instead of just jacking up threes and hope they fall.

[Juventini]

I think last year spurs relied on threes and jumpshots more to win games, this year spurs post up and penetrate more, so they get into a rythm first, instead of just jacking up threes and hope they fall.

^^This. Last year team was relying on the hot shooting night from the three point line. However, this year team is more balance in their offensive strategy.
They react to the defense instead of sticking to 3pter. Everyone in this team is capable of penetrating and willing to do it.
I actually suspect that Bonner 3pt% will go up a notch in this playoff because others are willing to penetrate and find him wide open. The past several years, our rotation players was relying on our Big 3 too much and ended up watching them went to work and waiting to jack up from the 3pt line. In which, it usually ended up being a forced 3pt shot instead of the wide open one.

PS. This year team is special. Their chemistry, unselfishness, and willingness to do dirty little things on both ends of the floor is off the chart. It doesn't matter if we don't win the no.5th. I will be satisfy watching this team compete for the next several years.

[T Park]

Im very interested to see if this somehow gives Bonner the confidence he desperately needed in the playoffs.

The shots he hit werent shots to give em a lead but they were rally helpers.

What was even better? As soon as he was running out of gas, Pop quickly yanked him for the better defensive player in Diaw.

[T Park]

Im very interested to see if this somehow gives Bonner the confidence he desperately needed in the playoffs.

The shots he hit werent shots to give em a lead but they were rally helpers.

What was even better? As soon as he was running out of gas, Pop quickly yanked him for the better defensive player in Diaw.

[ElNono]

We won quite a few games this season when we shot poorly from 3... last season we would open up major leads with hot shooting during the regular season and it was a major fluke.

Also, last year we had nobody to take the ball to the rack outside of Tony and Manu... RJ went from attacking to benched. Jack is a much welcome addition to that, and Khawi/Green have not been shy to drive here and there too.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

One of the big differences is that we have guys (Neal, Jack, Bonner, Green, Manu) who can hit the LONG angle three. Memphis took away our corner three last year, and on that squad, only really Bonner and Manu would hit the angle three, and Manu was busy creating for other shooters/players. Green wasn't in the rotation, and Pop didn't know yet what he had in Neal; witness RJ getting the final shot in game one.

[Solid D]

Last year, a lot of people said we were fool's Gold largely because we relied "too much on 3pt shooting."

Well, last year we shot 39% on 21 3pt shots per game, the same as this year.

The differences are, however, that we have MANY more 3pt shooters on this team, and the number of high percentage 3pt shooters on the team went up.

Last year, our 3pt shooters ranked by percentage:

Bonner 45%
RJ 44%
Neal 41%
Hill 37%
Green 36% (not rotation player)
Manu 34%

However, having green even in there is deceptive because he was not really a rotation player. So, we had 5 rotation players who we could ask to shoot the 3, and 3 were excellent shooters, one was above average, and Manu was average.

This year:

Green: 43%
Bonner 42%
Manu 41%
Neal 41%
Leonard 37%
Diaw 31%
Sjax 28%

We have 7 players who comfortably can shoot the 3 that are rotation players. Although sjax and Diaw are below average, we have 4 players who shoot excellent 3pt percentage, and one above average.

My point in all this? We have many more 3pt shooters who can pick up the slack when 2 or 3 are cold.

8 options. If one of the guards gets dinged or in foul trouble, Patty Mills is available. Patty shot .429 from behind the arc in his 16 games this year (24-56).

It's too early in the playoffs to say, for sure, but there is no doubting the Spurs are getting better scoring chances the way they move the ball. Teams like the Mavs, Clippers, Thunder, Griz and Lakers can still shoot lights-out and beat the Spurs but this year's San Antonio team has more firepower from all spots on the floor. They can slash, move the defense, have more screen-roll options to choose from to gain matchup advantages. They are less predictable.

However, they can be beaten with good defense and scoring in a 7-game series.

[100%duncan]

What's important is we don't rely on 3pt shooting to get us through but we have a lot of guys who can do it and hit timely shots. Parker and Manu's relentless attacking of the rim in the high PnR and Duncan's recent beasting really took of pressure off our shooters.

[shraediggz]

I also believe our ball movement this year plays a much larger role in our offense than last year. Manu has always been a crafty bugger moving the basketball, but I've seen him pull off some nifty passes this year. I love the way this team moves the ball. They're not just standing around the perimeter waiting for open 3's. They're zipping passes inside and making more drives.

I see a lot more balance in our attack this year, even though we're still shooting plenty of threes.

[buttsR4rebounding]

After watching the first weekend of the playoffs the thing that struck me the most was how much better ball movement the Spurs offense has than any other playoff team. Many teams like the Knicks look so sluggish on offense you wonder who the hell is coaching them. The Spurs offense is at a different level than the rest of the league.

[Obstructed_View]

Threes don't mean anything if an offense isn't breaking down the defense trying for a better shot.

[therealtruth]

After watching the first weekend of the playoffs the thing that struck me the most was how much better ball movement the Spurs offense has than any other playoff team. Many teams like the Knicks look so sluggish on offense you wonder who the hell is coaching them. The Spurs offense is at a different level than the rest of the league.

It's not like teams forget how to play offense in the playoffs. The defensive focus and intensity is just much higher.

[spursfaninla]

8 options. If one of the guards gets dinged or in foul trouble, Patty Mills is available. Patty shot .429 from behind the arc in his 16 games this year (24-56).

It's too early in the playoffs to say, for sure, but there is no doubting the Spurs are getting better scoring chances the way they move the ball. Teams like the Mavs, Clippers, Thunder, Griz and Lakers can still shoot lights-out and beat the Spurs but this year's San Antonio team has more firepower from all spots on the floor. They can slash, move the defense, have more screen-roll options to choose from to gain matchup advantages. They are less predictable.

However, they can be beaten with good defense and scoring in a 7-game series.

I thought of mills but unless someone goes down i dont see him playing much.

I agree with most that say that the increased diversity of offensive weapons helps more than the increased number of 3pt options. Multidimensional players are harder to guard. Manu and green became great 3pt options and neal, green, leonard and evev bonner have worked on cuts or drives to the basket especially on closeouts.

I think the number of shooters and offensive diversity are big differences between 11 and 12 spurs teams

[tesseractive]

In a really tough series, a crunch time lineup of Parker, Ginobili, Jack, Diaw, and Tim is a great option if the shots stop falling. Having guys surrounding the big 3 who can pass, cut, put the ball on the floor, and attack the basket is huge.

I always think back to times like the last 3 games of the Pistons series, when you simply can't just send out ordinary reserves to try to hit some jump shots, because they'll be destroyed by the intensity on both ends of the court. Having some other options besides the J can make all the difference.

[ohmwrecker]

Stop saying "fool's gold". It's stupid. It was always stupid. It gets dumber everytime.

[spursfaninla]

Although the "fools Gold" metaphor angered me last year, in retrospect it was appropriate. Our record made us look better than we really were, last-minute injuries aside. I get you would not like it, but face that it was true for last year and you face the demon.

This year, it does not apply, for at least the reasons given above if not for the additions and subtractions we have, the health we have, the chemistry, etc... which was why I brought it up. Exorcise the demon.

[kaji157]

This was not the problem last year, the problem was that a guy in one hand was the best player on the team because Duncan played very bad and Parker shitted his pants off Conley.