PDA

View Full Version : Lets talk about LaMarcus Aldridge's 3pt shooting



ceds
08-09-2015, 01:04 AM
Curious to whether pop will allow Lamarcus to shoot the 3 ball this up coming season.

Last season was the first year he added the shot to his game shooting 37 of 105 for .352 ( The previous year he only took 15 attempts)

As a reference point Boris Diaw was 54 of 169 last season for .320

What do you guys think?

T_L_P
08-09-2015, 01:19 AM
It shouldn't be a question of Pop letting him shoot 3s; it should be Pop forcing him to.

Either that or he needs to rework his game entirely, because those inefficient long 2s will bury us this season.

z0sa
08-09-2015, 01:23 AM
He needs to take plenty of long 2's and 3's this season, IE, most of his open shots.

k_nguyen93
08-09-2015, 02:11 AM
If you're Chip though, how much do you mess with LMA's shot? He obviously has a great jumpshot, it might just be about getting the reps up. I don't think he should start taking too many though, something similar to Tony/Boris where he takes it if shot clock is winding down and he happens to be wide open.

Spurtacular
08-09-2015, 04:12 AM
I'm taking a wait and see approach. There's a lot of variables...Exactly how LMA is instituted in the system...How much he buys into the system vs. hero ball, etc. Obviously there's some ideals; but we shouldn't assume that things will go to plan.

Hopefully, the Spurs have the right mix of LMA spreading the court with threes and doing damage down on the block.

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 04:36 AM
Getting to be a 38-40% shooter from deep will extend his NBA shelf life by a few years. I'm sure he himself wants to work on it.

Seventyniner
08-09-2015, 07:58 AM
Getting to be a 38-40% shooter from deep will extend his NBA shelf life by a few years. I'm sure he himself wants to work on it.

Yup. Given that Aldridge already started that evolution in his game last season, I would think he's willing to continue it.

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 08:17 AM
Yup. Given that Aldridge already started that evolution in his game last season, I would think he's willing to continue it. Yes, my thoughts exactly.

Agloco
08-09-2015, 08:22 AM
It shouldn't be a question of Pop letting him shoot 3s; it should be Pop forcing him to.

Either that or he needs to rework his game entirely, because those inefficient long 2s will bury us this season.

I agree, but if there's a player that you'd be ok with shooting those occasional long twos that the system produces it would be Aldridge. Incidentally, another would be West.

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 08:33 AM
People should realise that no shot is 'inefficient' if the shooter has a certain percentage making that shot that is way above what the average player can do. D. West having 48% chance to score 2 points from 18 feet is not 'inefficient'. LMA being able to make them a 42%+ even with a defender on him is not 'inefficient'. A three from the corner is an 'efficient' shot. Not when Tim Duncan is taking it.

exstatic
08-09-2015, 08:52 AM
He needs to take plenty of long 2's and 3's this season, IE, most of his open shots.

Shooting 35% on threes is the same as shooting 52.5% on long twos, in terms of shot attempt to points, and even LMA doesn't shoot that well from long two range. Ditch the long two unless the clock is running down, and take two giant steps backwards behind the arc.

exstatic
08-09-2015, 08:57 AM
People should realise that no shot is 'inefficient' if the shooter has a certain percentage making that shot that is way above what the average player can do. D. West having 48% chance to score 2 points from 18 feet is not 'inefficient'. LMA being able to make them a 42%+ even with a defender on him is not 'inefficient'. A three from the corner is an 'efficient' shot. Not when Tim Duncan is taking it.

You don't understand the Spurs at all. You don't compare a player's long two percentage against other players, you compare it to better shot locations on the floor. That's where you measure efficiencies.

z0sa
08-09-2015, 09:02 AM
Shooting 35% on threes is the same as shooting 52.5% on long twos, in terms of shot attempt to points, and even LMA doesn't shoot that well from long two range. Ditch the long two unless the clock is running down, and take two giant steps backwards behind the arc.

LMA loves the long 2, though. He's a lot more comfortable shooting that shot than any other shot on the floor. After a season of settling in we can revisit this, but I'd be surprised if he shoots more 3's than he did last season.

exstatic
08-09-2015, 09:10 AM
LMA loves the long 2, though. He's a lot more comfortable shooting that shot than any other shot on the floor. After a season of settling in we can revisit this, but I'd be surprised if he shoots more 3's than he did last season.

I'd be surprised if he doesn't put up 200+. I always think of Boris as a reluctant shooter, and even he hoisted up 150+ last year.

z0sa
08-09-2015, 09:11 AM
I'd be surprised if he doesn't put up 200+. I always think of Boris as a reluctant shooter, and even he hoisted up 150+ last year.

Hmm, good point. How many long 2's did Boris shoot, though?

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 09:18 AM
You don't understand the Spurs at all. You don't compare a player's long two percentage against other players, you compare it to better shot locations on the floor. That's where you measure efficiencies. Lol, I don't understand the Spurs, sure. I guess when LMA has his man 10 feet away and has the ball 18 feet from the basket i should yell 'PASS', eh. I guess if the Spurs signed Dirk, Pop would forbid him his fadeways, no? I don't compare a player's long two percentage against other players, I compare it to the percentage above which a shot from that distance becomes efficient , PPP-wise. An open three is much more efficient PPP-wise, even if you're shooting it at 35%, but if you can't get it, the secondary option of passing it to LMA for an open 18 footer is better than Danny pump faking and driving. Our system is predicated on manufacturing options, lots of them. We got another one this year. People should understand what 'efficient' means in an option-based offense. Kyle Korver pulling up from 3 at the break is an efficient shot. Kareem skyhooking from 10 feet is an efficient shot.

exstatic
08-09-2015, 09:19 AM
Hmm, good point. How many long 2's did Boris shoot, though?

I would guess not a lot. SA's offense is designed to put a big outside the arc within the flow of the offense.

Most bigs with skills are just dying to be guards. Just look at Timmy bring the ball up the floor from time to time. I'm guessing that getting LMA to take threes won't be a problem at all. The offense will put him in the right location, and he'll let 'em fly.

Obstructed_View
08-09-2015, 09:47 AM
It shouldn't be a question of Pop letting him shoot 3s; it should be Pop forcing him to.

Either that or he needs to rework his game entirely, because those inefficient long 2s will bury us this season.

Boy are you gonna hate having West and Aldridge on this team. :lol

hater
08-09-2015, 10:21 AM
If he starts jacking up 3s he's a pussy and needs to be traded asap.

His post game and paint game fits the spurs perfectly.

hater
08-09-2015, 10:23 AM
Btw there is a difference between a long 2 from post play and a long 2 off the dribble or catch n shoot.

Imo the post play long 2s are as efficient as any other shot.

exstatic
08-09-2015, 10:27 AM
Lol, I don't understand the Spurs, sure. I guess when LMA has his man 10 feet away and has the ball 18 feet from the basket i should yell 'PASS', eh. I guess if the Spurs signed Dirk, Pop would forbid him his fadeways, no? I don't compare a player's long two percentage against other players, I compare it to the percentage above which a shot from that distance becomes efficient , PPP-wise. An open three is much more efficient PPP-wise, even if you're shooting it at 35%, but if you can't get it, the secondary option of passing it to LMA for an open 18 footer is better than Danny pump faking and driving. Our system is predicated on manufacturing options, lots of them. We got another one this year. People should understand what 'efficient' means in an option-based offense. Kyle Korver pulling up from 3 at the break is an efficient shot. Kareem skyhooking from 10 feet is an efficient shot.

If you put Korver and Kareem on evenly matched teams, and play one quarter with each being the only shooter on their teams, and they each put up 20 shots, Korver's team wins going away. Kareem's skyhook at 10 feet is not a 75% shot, which is what he would need to match Korver's 50% from three point land.

As for your "passing when wide open" scenario, the Spurs do that ALL THE TIME while looking for a better shot. Good to better to best. He'll figure it out. He came here to win. He took a ton of long twos over 9 years in Portland, and got out of the first round once. Thank he might want to do it our way? I do.

SuperCam
08-09-2015, 10:43 AM
Spursfan while LMA takes those 'efficient' long twos and the GS faggot brothers take those corner threes: :bang

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 11:00 AM
If you put Korver and Kareem on evenly matched teams, and play one quarter with each being the only shooter on their teams, and they each put up 20 shots, Korver's team wins going away. Kareem's skyhook at 10 feet is not a 75% shot, which is what he would need to match Korver's 50% from three point land. As for your "passing when wide open" scenario, the Spurs do that ALL THE TIME while looking for a better shot. Good to better to best. He'll figure it out. He came here to win. He took a ton of long twos over 9 years in Portland, and got out of the first round once. Thank he might want to do it our way? I do. What kind of an example is that? What is easier to do? Stop Korver from launching transition 3s or take away Kareem's hook from the mid-post? Korver's seconday option is to pass it, Kareem can score in 10 different ways from 10 feet. Good to better to best it is. If the opponent takes away the 'best', you go to the 'better' ,not the 'good', which is the difference between an LMA 2 and a Danny pump and drive. If you really think Pop will ever make LMA pass it when wide open from 18 and everybody else covered you don't know your Spurs. You don't know Portland either, if you claim LMA's efficiency was the reason they plateaued.

hater
08-09-2015, 11:37 AM
Lmao did someone compare Korver to Kareem??? :lmao

barbacoataco
08-09-2015, 04:29 PM
Shooting 35% on threes is the same as shooting 52.5% on long twos, in terms of shot attempt to points, and even LMA doesn't shoot that well from long two range. Ditch the long two unless the clock is running down, and take two giant steps backwards behind the arc.

Not true. You're not factoring in FT attempts. A player gets more FT attempts on 2 ptrs by far than 3 pt. The true measure of efficiency is PPS or points per shot. Or True shooting % factors in FT attempts.

As far as LMA, he doesn't get a ton of FT attempts but he does get some.
Overall he is a pretty efficient offensive player, and very difficult to defend when he gets hot. Like Dirk, you can't defend a fadeaway jumper by a 7 ftr. The question mark for Aldridge is his defense.

T_L_P
08-09-2015, 04:41 PM
Not true. You're not factoring in FT attempts. A player gets more FT attempts on 2 ptrs by far than 3 pt. The true measure of efficiency is PPS or points per shot. Or True shooting % factors in FT attempts.

As far as LMA, he doesn't get a ton of FT attempts but he does get some.
Overall he is a pretty efficient offensive player, and very difficult to defend when he gets hot. Like Dirk, you can't defend a fadeaway jumper by a 7 ftr. The question mark for Aldridge is his defense.

The difference is, Dirk's worst TS% (outside of his rookie season when he was adjusting to the NBA) is .560.

LMA's best TS% is .560.

He's a career .532 TS% player, which is underwhelming. It's even worse in the Playoffs where he's at .494 TS% (Iverson-level inefficiency).

He needed 20 shots to score 23 PPG last season. He can't repeat that next year if we want to seriously compete.

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 04:48 PM
Look up the percentage of his shots that was assisted last year. Look how that percentage has dropped almost every year he's been in the league. Then watch a few Portland games from 2014/15 to realise what a crappy iso and high pick based offense they ran. Dude shot 0.465fg while being assisted on less than 20% of his long twos. He'll be fine with us.

UNT Eagles 2016
08-09-2015, 05:24 PM
People should realise that no shot is 'inefficient' if the shooter has a certain percentage making that shot that is way above what the average player can do. D. West having 48% chance to score 2 points from 18 feet is not 'inefficient'. LMA being able to make them a 42%+ even with a defender on him is not 'inefficient'. A three from the corner is an 'efficient' shot. Not when Tim Duncan is taking it.
Depends, a 48% chance to score 2 points from 18 feet is inefficient if we don't get offensive rebounds a substantial proportion of the time. Particularly with our swiss-cheesiness on defense, we need to score 2 points or better on well over half of the possessions down the floor to win consistently. Maybe not against the Bobcats, but if we don't against the Warriors we'll be roast chicken Curry.

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 05:33 PM
Depends, a 48% chance to score 2 points from 18 feet is inefficient if we don't get offensive rebounds a substantial proportion of the time. Particularly with our swiss-cheesiness on defense, we need to score 2 points or better on well over half of the possessions down the floor to win consistently. Maybe not against the Bobcats, but if we don't against the Warriors we'll be roast chicken Curry. We were Top 3 defense last season. Swiss-cheese defenses don't rank that high. A 48% chance at a long two is a hell of a second option on offense, which is exactly the point. Pop is not going to redesign his offense around long twos, and as for ORebs, we've always preferred transition D anyway.

UNT Eagles 2016
08-09-2015, 05:36 PM
We were Top 3 defense last season. Swiss-cheese defenses don't rank that high. A 48% chance at a long two is a hell of a second option on offense, which is exactly the point. Pop is not going to redesign his offense around long twos, and as for ORebs, we've always preferred transition D anyway.
Why should they be mutually exclusive? The 2003-2007 Pistons got tons of offensive rebounds and still were consistently ranked at the top in the league on defense every year. As for transition defense, the Spurs really don't have the personnel to stop the most athletic teams in the league in transition to begin with.

Odd that the Spurs and the Pacers (who missed the playoffs) were actually tied for 3rd-ranked defense:

#1 Utah Jazz 94.9
#2 Memphis Grizzlies 95.1
#3a San Antonio Spurs 97.0
#3b Indiana Pacers 97.0



The chart really shows how the NBA has changed dramatically in favor of much more offense... Gone are the days of 8-11 years ago when we'd have teams like the Spurs, Pistons and Rockets with figures in the low 90s and high 80s

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 05:45 PM
Why should they be mutually exclusive? The 2003-2007 Pistons got tons of offensive rebounds and still were consistently ranked at the top in the league on defense every year. As for transition defense, the Spurs really don't have the personnel to stop the most athletic teams in the league in transition to begin with. They can if they have 4 guys running back when the shot goes up on offense. Those Pistons had 4 great defensive starters, played at a slow pace denying themselves and the opposition fastbreak chances and had Ben Wallace who could outrebound a team by himself on both sides, a big SF and a big strong PG. Plus they strongly emphasised Drebs as well. As a plus, Spurs have a pair of great transition and chasedown starting wings, so they can gamble a bit more on the offensive glass as long as KL and Danny are not totally out of position.

UNT Eagles 2016
08-09-2015, 05:53 PM
They can if they have 4 guys running back when the shot goes up on offense. Those Pistons had 4 great defensive starters, played at a slow pace denying themselves and the opposition fastbreak chances and had Ben Wallace who could outrebound a team by himself on both sides, a big SF and a big strong PG. Plus they strongly emphasised Drebs as well. As a plus, Spurs have a pair of great transition and chasedown starting wings, so they can gamble a bit more on the offensive glass as long as KL and Danny are not totally out of position.
Problem is, KL and TD are the best offensive rebounders AND 2 of the 3 the best defenders on the starting unit. If it's Parker/Manu/Aldridge back on defense, Manu and Aldridge might take a low swipe while Parker would just stand there and play dead fish as the guy with the ball electrifies the crowd or dunks on the hearts of the 19,000 fans present at the AT&T center.

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 06:02 PM
True, but I'll take a Parker / Manu / LMA trio's chances of not actually giving Drebs to the opposition by putting the ball in the basket. Give and take.

apalisoc_9
08-09-2015, 06:16 PM
LMA should take whatever open three he gets obviously :lol

He was a league average 3 point shooter but that should go up with the spurs.

He should take whatever open midrange he gets. This is why he's in the team to take and make shots and provide spacing. It's stupid to limit his shooting

KDKSpurs24
08-09-2015, 06:42 PM
LMA should take whatever open three he gets obviously :lol

He was a league average 3 point shooter but that should go up with the spurs.

He should take whatever open midrange he gets. This is why he's in the team to take and make shots and provide spacing. It's stupid to limit his shooting
I actually 100% agree with this.

UNT Eagles 2016
08-09-2015, 06:48 PM
True, but I'll take a Parker / Manu / LMA trio's chances of not actually giving Drebs to the opposition by putting the ball in the basket. Give and take.
>parker
>putting the ball in the basket


choose one

dweaver99027
08-09-2015, 06:53 PM
>parker >putting the ball in the basket choose one Oh, you're one of those. Good luck.

UNT Eagles 2016
08-09-2015, 07:09 PM
Oh, you're one of those. Good luck.
At least we have Patty Mills, the reliable Robert Pack to back-up the washed up Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, tbh...

Kidd K
08-10-2015, 04:11 AM
People should realise that no shot is 'inefficient' if the shooter has a certain percentage making that shot that is way above what the average player can do. D. West having 48% chance to score 2 points from 18 feet is not 'inefficient'. LMA being able to make them a 42%+ even with a defender on him is not 'inefficient'. A three from the corner is an 'efficient' shot. Not when Tim Duncan is taking it.

The logic being used is: a 40% 2 pointer is worse than a 35% 3 pointer because it's less points over time. a 40% mid ranger is also worse than a 55%er at the basket.

Long 2's are the last type of shot you want your team to settle on for a possession shy of a highly contested shot of some kind which is an even less efficient shot.

You are muddying the waters with nonsense like "Duncan taking threes". 42% with a defender on you is "inefficient" compared to West being open for a 48%er. Its all relative.

DeRozan m8
08-10-2015, 04:31 AM
Boris was notably bad on the 3 ball last season tbh

tbdog
08-10-2015, 04:45 AM
Usually by default, teams will give up a midrange to long 2. But don't bet on them giving up an Aldridge 2. That is a weapon the Spurs have. Teams will have to come in and adjust to the Spurs different to other teams, when Leonard and Aldridge are elite midrange shooters.

dweaver99027
08-10-2015, 07:17 AM
The logic being used is: a 40% 2 pointer is worse than a 35% 3 pointer because it's less points over time. a 40% mid ranger is also worse than a 55%er at the basket. Long 2's are the last type of shot you want your team to settle on for a possession shy of a highly contested shot of some kind which is an even less efficient shot. You are muddying the waters with nonsense like "Duncan taking threes". 42% with a defender on you is "inefficient" compared to West being open for a 48%er. Its all relative. Which is why the Spurs won't change their offense so as to make the 18 footer a primary option. It WILL be incorporated as a secondary option , or even tertiary. When it's 7 second on the clock and Danny has been chased down, would you rather him pump and drive, pass it to an open Duncan/Splitter/Diaw in the high post or pass it to an open LMA/West in the high post (provided that a kick to an open guy for 3 is not available) ? LMA shot 42% on ALL his mids, contested or not, West 48% . If these guys are open from 18 with the clock at 9 and they open three more than 2-3 passes away, if at all, you can bet Pop is gonna have at them if they don't take the jumper. These guys are 60% plus when wide open, that's an efficient shot, not to mention that they can initiate the pump and drive game from there.

Keepin' it real
08-10-2015, 09:51 AM
Lets talk about LaMarcus Aldridge's 3pt shooting

Why? Was he brought in to replace Marco?

No.

Kidd K
08-10-2015, 03:28 PM
Which is why the Spurs won't change their offense so as to make the 18 footer a primary option. It WILL be incorporated as a secondary option , or even tertiary. When it's 7 second on the clock and Danny has been chased down, would you rather him pump and drive, pass it to an open Duncan/Splitter/Diaw in the high post or pass it to an open LMA/West in the high post (provided that a kick to an open guy for 3 is not available) ? LMA shot 42% on ALL his mids, contested or not, West 48% . If these guys are open from 18 with the clock at 9 and they open three more than 2-3 passes away, if at all, you can bet Pop is gonna have at them if they don't take the jumper. These guys are 60% plus when wide open, that's an efficient shot, not to mention that they can initiate the pump and drive game from there.

Well I'd rather him not pass to Splitter since he's not on the team anymore.

You're arguing things no one's arguing against. "Everyone's contested except a wide open mid range shot", no shit you take that. It's a last choice though, never a go-to because an open 18 footer is worse than an open layup or three, or even a basic post possession. It's "less efficient".

Will he be taking them? Of course. Will lots of plays be called for it? Absolutely not.

dweaver99027
08-10-2015, 04:02 PM
The Duncan/Splitter/Diaw comparison was a reference to what the secondary option would have been last year. As for the rest, we agree. Our new second/third offensive option is a much more efficient way to score points than our second/third option last year. That's what I've been saying all along, not that Pop is gonna make the 18 footer our bread and butter. But he WILL call plays where LMA/West are positioned at their favored spots as outlets for when our primary options are unavailable. So yes, LMA/West's mid range ability will feature in our system, as a secondary option or 'last resort by design'.

DMC
08-10-2015, 04:24 PM
You want him taking those especially if he can hit at a 33% or better clip. That really opens things up. Imagine him, West and Duncan on the floor with Leonard and Manu or Tony. If Tony doesn't pass out from a sugar high right at half court or go into a beetus dive, they could be dangerous.

Beaverfuzz
08-10-2015, 04:28 PM
Pick N Pop...LMA loves the outside shot, not necessarily a 3 but a long 2 as well.

JeffDuncan
08-10-2015, 04:28 PM
LMA was 9/20 from the left corner, 45%

http://vorped.com/1-nba/2014-2015/player/850/lamarcus-aldridge/shotchart/

But he's 55.8% in the paint. By 3-pt you meant a bucket and +1, right?


P.S. Duncan shot 57.7% in the paint. BTW. Duncan's chart:

http://vorped.com/1-nba/2014-2015/player/1131/tim-duncan/shotchart/

And look at what Duncan does on the left side under the basket. 66.7%!! 180 of 270. Wow.

dweaver99027
08-10-2015, 04:30 PM
Who's going to guard the perimeter if we go with West/LMA/TD frontline? This is a very high risk / moderate reward lineup.

JeffDuncan
08-10-2015, 04:39 PM
David West is the one for the longer range 2, especially from straight away or the left wing. 53.1% with his left wing 2.

http://vorped.com/1-nba/2014-2015/player/968/david-west/shotchart/

ceperez
08-10-2015, 06:48 PM
LMA should take whatever open three he gets obviously :lol

He was a league average 3 point shooter but that should go up with the spurs.

He should take whatever open midrange he gets. This is why he's in the team to take and make shots and provide spacing. It's stupid to limit his shooting

Obviously he should take any open shot he has, he's a max player!

However, he should try to get open more at the 3 point line vs somewhere in a long 2 point range. The percentages absolutely favor an open 3 point shot vs an open 2 point shot.

random21
08-10-2015, 06:55 PM
If he is wide open on a drawn up play, why not?
I really don't wanna see him shooting 3's like Bosh and Love...

apalisoc_9
08-10-2015, 06:59 PM
Obviously he should take any open shot he has, he's a max player!

However, he should try to get open more at the 3 point line vs somewhere in a long 2 point range. The percentages absolutely favor an open 3 point shot vs an open 2 point shot.

LMA will take more threes than last year, he said it himself.

But he's going to have a combination of Long two's and threes. Realize his long two aren't dribble and shot twos like parker..It's essentially a spot up.

8FOR!3
08-10-2015, 07:04 PM
Boris was notably bad on the 3 ball last season tbh

He was only 3% below the league average and just 2% below his career average. But I'll agree that he didn't pass the eye test from three like he did the year before in that he wasn't comfortable taking them.

ceperez
08-10-2015, 07:10 PM
LMA will take more threes than last year, he said it himself.

But he's going to have a combination of Long two's and threes. Realize his long two aren't dribble and shot twos like parker..It's essentially a spot up.

I don't want him settling for long twos versus scoring in the paint.

barbacoataco
08-10-2015, 07:16 PM
I think he will shoot some 3's with the Spurs. Aldridge is a great all around player and if he can shoot the 3 now he's even better. I lived in Portland a couple of years and saw many Blazer games. LMA really is a little better defender than he gets credit for. IMO he always did his part, but never had a strong enough team around him. Brandon Roy wound up being injured all the time. I think he will play better than ever with the Spurs system and players around him. He is an offensive force who can finish around the paint. People always say he is soft and can't take it strong to the rim, but the truth is he puts up numbers and can get real hot sometimes. In fact I would say of all the current Spurs, he has the best ability to take over a game offensively.

barbacoataco
08-10-2015, 07:18 PM
Duncan LMA West

LaMarcus Bryant
08-10-2015, 07:46 PM
What percentage of 3 pointers would LaMarcus have to make to avoid looking like a bad shot taking chump?

Setting the bar at 33% sounds whack to me.

DeRozan m8
08-10-2015, 08:56 PM
He was only 3% below the league average and just 2% below his career average. But I'll agree that he didn't pass the eye test from three like he did the year before in that he wasn't comfortable taking them.

Yeah the eye test is mainly what I was going off.
The open 3s being passed up by the end of the season was massive tbh

mystargtr34
08-10-2015, 11:19 PM
Theres a difference between long 2's for a bigman compared to a perimeter player. With LMA you get the massive benefit of the spacing he provides by dragging out one of the opposing big's which opens up the paint for Leonard, Parker even Duncan. It will be interesting to do a comparison between the amount of FG's the Spurs make inside 5 feet this season compared to last season - it should go up IMO, and hopefully so do the FG%'s of Leonard, Parker and Duncan.

GSH
08-10-2015, 11:51 PM
Shooting 35% on threes is the same as shooting 52.5% on long twos, in terms of shot attempt to points, and even LMA doesn't shoot that well from long two range. Ditch the long two unless the clock is running down, and take two giant steps backwards behind the arc.


It is and it isn't. It's high-variance ball. You may score as many points, on average, but 2/3 of the time you're not putting points on the board. Plus you'll give up more fast breaks on the other end. You can't afford high-variance play in a tight game, and there's a lot of those in the NBA. If you wind up winning 1/3 of those games by a slightly bigger margin, but losing 2/3 of them because you kept having dry possessions? It's not the same thing.