Spurs got the worst 2-point shooting percentage in the NBA

[RC_Drunkford]

"It’s not just Aldridge. None of the Spurs take enough 3s. They are 29th in the league in 3-point attempts per game (24.8) despite being fourth in 3-point percentage (38.3) and last in 2-point percentage (45.2). The issue is systemic. Aldridge, DeRozan, and Rudy Gay each steadily raised their number of 3-point attempts before coming to San Antonio and are each averaging under three this season. Instead of encouraging them to continue to evolve, Popovich has allowed them to indulge some of their worst habits when it comes to shot selection.
The Spurs are a bizarro-world version of the Rockets. Both teams run isolation-heavy offenses built around two primary scorers, which limits their turnovers and keeps the game in the half court. But there’s an underlying philosophical difference that creates dramatically different outcomes from the same basic formula. The Rockets take as many 3s as possible and avoid long 2s at all costs; the Spurs do the exact opposite. James Harden and Chris Paul average 17.3 3s per game and 4.5 long 2s (shots between 10 feet and the 3-point line); DeRozan and Aldridge average 2.2 3s and 16.3 long 2s."

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/11/20/18103441/san-antonio-spurs-lost-special

[RC_Drunkford]

give credit to Pop's "system"

[KDKSpurs24]

With all of this proof, how hard is it to now be able to tell the players “guys this isn’t working and we have to make some moves to adapt to this new style in the NBA”. I’m paraphrasing but the players can at least get over that level of reasoning when it comes to being traded moreso than other reasons. The team needs to make some moves. Idc how early in the season it is.

[Rusty]

With all of this proof, how hard is it to now be able to tell the coach“guys this isn’t working and we have to make some moves to adapt to this new style in the NBA”. I’m paraphrasing but the players can at least get over that level of reasoning when it comes to being traded moreso than other reasons. The team needs to make some moves. Idc how early in the season it is.

:pop:

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

well the spurs are 8-8 and the rockets are 8-7 and the spurs score more PPG than rockets but give up more PPG

[vavvi]

DeMar and LA are just bad 3pt shooters. As simple as that.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

well the spurs are 8-8 and the rockets are 8-7 and the spurs score more PPG than rockets but give up more PPG

And yet one team has been playing much better lately while the other is nose diving

[TheGreatYacht]

4th best 3p shooting team yet they're second to last in attempts :lmao

Pop :lol
Analytics nerds on the team :lol
too scared to speak up to the mafia leader :lol
Messina and Udoka :lol
sir, yes sir :lol

[RC_Drunkford]

4th best 3p shooting team yet they're second to last in attempts :lmao

Pop :lol
Analytics nerds on the team :lol
too scared to speak up to the mafia leader :lol
Messina and Udoka :lol
sir, yes sir :lol

This tbh. If you can hit 3s at a high clip and struggle to make 2s, shoot more 3s. Everybody with some brain cells can realize that. 33% 3-point shooting = 50% 2-point shooting. Even LA and DeRozan can shoot 33% from 3

[jyra]

This is not the first time that the team is ranked high in 3PT% and low in attempts:



Season
3PT%
3PA
%FGA 3PT


2015-16
37.5 - 2nd
18.5 - 26th
22.3 - 25th


2016-17
39.1 - 1st
23.5 - 25th
28.1 - 24th

[NASpurs]

Gregg “I hate 3s” Popovich’s team ranks low in 3s? News at 11.

[RC_Drunkford]

This is not the first time that the team is ranked high in 3PT% and low in attempts:



Season
3PT%
3PA
%FGA 3PT


2015-16
37.5 - 2nd
18.5 - 26th
22.3 - 25th


2016-17
39.1 - 1st
23.5 - 25th
28.1 - 24th




Those teams were elite at shooting 2s. This one is the worst in the league

[Play Boban]

And yet CancerRozan and LALOL chuck contested 2s constantly.

[Mirrornick]

And yet CancerRozan and LALOL chuck contested 2s constantly.

DeRozan is having a very good season. Find a new slant

[HarlemHeat37]

Their 3% will go down with more attempts, it doesn't work that way:lol

I still find it strange that it was just a few years ago that Aldridge spoke about increasing his range to the 3-point line to aid his longevity, yet it hasn't happened..this was actually even before the 3-point revolution in the NBA..

[jyra]

Those teams were elite at shooting 2s. This one is the worst in the league

The 2016-17 team did not have a great 2PT%, they only ranked 15th. But they still managed to finish 9th in offensive rating.

It's crazy that this team despite all problems is still 11th in offensive rating at the moment. The lack of turnovers seems to be saving them.

[StinkyWeezleteats]

Relax guys it's only November :spin

[Mirrornick]

Relax guys it's only November :spin

+1

[paperboy77]

Pops system ONLY works at an elite level IF the defense is top notch. Pop definitely needs to change something up. Also I think his assistant coaches have no balls. Somebody, anybody needs to speak up and say something. Yeah it’s only November but this current team has zero history together therefore zero data to make me think they can flip the switch. Too many unknowns.

Home games.... whatever. Keep looking at the road record. If this continues through December they need to tank and trade. (Not for Zion though, he’ll will be a flop at the next level btw. Clarence Weatherspoon clone with a good jump shot. Big-Short PF with a guard mentally will not last. Like an NFL QB being run-first.)

[Dverde]

This reminds me of my favorite basketball quote

https://usatftw.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/antoinequote.jpg

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

LMA is pulling that 2pt % down all by himself. Dude needs to get out of his funk.

[sananspursfan21]

Oh the irony :bang

[HarlemHeat37]

Pops system ONLY works at an elite level IF the defense is top notch. Pop definitely needs to change something up. Also I think his assistant coaches have no balls. Somebody, anybody needs to speak up and say something. Yeah it’s only November but this current team has zero history together therefore zero data to make me think they can flip the switch. Too many unknowns.

Home games.... whatever. Keep looking at the road record. If this continues through December they need to tank and trade. (Not for Zion though, he’ll will be a flop at the next level btw. Clarence Weatherspoon clone with a good jump shot. Big-Short PF with a guard mentally will not last. Like an NFL QB being run-first.)

Then I guess Pop bought into the hype of his own system, since all the good defenders on the team are gone:lol

[R. DeMurre]

LMA's reluctance to take threes is frustrating, especially since he has no issues at all taking 22' shots from anywhere near the top of the key. He's a career 80+% free throw shooter, and in his last year with Portland he averaged the most attempts (but still only 1.5 per game) and the best 3pt% of his career. It makes no sense in this era that he's not averaging at least three or four threes per game.

[JeffDuncan]

LMA's reluctance to take threes is frustrating, ...

Not to those who have any sense. Where on earth did the lunatic notion come from, that every player on every team has to shoot 3s? It's purely idiotic.

On average, more than 60% of 3pt attempts are misses. Correct strategy, then, is to have your best rebounder closer to the basket than the shooter, when the shot goes up. LMA should absolutely not be shooting 3s, he should always be going for the rebound, as somebody else shoots them.

If LMA shoots a 3, who do you plan to have trying to get the rebound on the 65% that miss? Forbes? Talk about bass ackwards.

[HarlemHeat37]

Not to those who have any sense. Where on earth did the lunatic notion come from, that every player on every team has to shoot 3s? It's purely idiotic.

On average, more than 60% of 3pt attempts are misses. Correct strategy, then, is to have your best rebounder closer to the basket than the shooter, when the shot goes up. LMA should absolutely not be shooting 3s, he should always be going for the rebound, as somebody else shoots them.

If LMA shoots a 3, who do you plan to have trying to get the rebound on the 65% that miss? Forbes? Talk about bass ackwards.

They had great rebounders(for their position) before in Green, Murray and Anderson around him and he still didn't take 3s, I really don't think that's the reason..

[r0drig0lac]

LMA's reluctance to take threes is frustrating, especially since he has no issues at all taking 22' shots from anywhere near the top of the key. He's a career 80+% free throw shooter, and in his last year with Portland he averaged the most attempts (but still only 1.5 per game) and the best 3pt% of his career. It makes no sense in this era that he's not averaging at least three or four threes per game.

I find it more frustrating that he does not seek position on the low post even when it is clear he can dominate his matchup

[JeffDuncan]

They had great rebounders(for their position) before in Green, Murray and Anderson around him and he still didn't take 3s, I really don't think that's the reason..

The reason LMA doesn't shoot 3s is because he and Pop are not totally goofy like some on this board. Not totally goofy.

It just makes no sense.

Look, do you want LMA shooting the 3 and Forbes trying for the rebound? Or vice versa? Nobody with any sense would choose the former.

It is definitely not one of the Spurs problems that LMA doesn't shoot enough 3s. The problems are elsewhere.

[vavvi]

The reason LMA doesn't shoot 3s is because he and Pop are not totally goofy like some on this board. Not totally goofy.

It just makes no sense.

Look, do you want LMA shooting the 3 and Forbes trying for the rebound? Or vice versa? Nobody with any sense would choose the former.

It is definitely not one of the Spurs problems that LMA doesn't shoot enough 3s. The problems are elsewhere.

Agree. Actually even last night against the Pels we scored alright. It's the defense that hurts us

[DAF86]

Pop stopped giving a fuck once he bent over for Aldridge. After that, it was more about not making his fragile stars mad than winning basketball games.

[DAF86]

The reason LMA doesn't shoot 3s is because he and Pop are not totally goofy like some on this board. Not totally goofy.

It just makes no sense.

Look, do you want LMA shooting the 3 and Forbes trying for the rebound? Or vice versa? Nobody with any sense would choose the former.

It is definitely not one of the Spurs problems that LMA doesn't shoot enough 3s. The problems are elsewhere.

Yeah, because the Spurs are doing so great. They definitely don't have problems.

[R. DeMurre]

Not to those who have any sense. Where on earth did the lunatic notion come from, that every player on every team has to shoot 3s? It's purely idiotic.

On average, more than 60% of 3pt attempts are misses. Correct strategy, then, is to have your best rebounder closer to the basket than the shooter, when the shot goes up. LMA should absolutely not be shooting 3s, he should always be going for the rebound, as somebody else shoots them.

If LMA shoots a 3, who do you plan to have trying to get the rebound on the 65% that miss? Forbes? Talk about bass ackwards.

Glad to see you so emotionally invested in this.
My point was pretty clear-- if he's willing and enthused to take a 22' shot with Pop's approval, why not just take one step back and make it a three?

Also, If LMA is shooting a three, chances are the opposing team's best paint defender/rebounder is probably 19' away from the basket.

[HarlemHeat37]

Glad to see you so emotionally invested in this.
My point was pretty clear-- if he's willing and enthused to take a 22' shot with Pop's approval, why not just take one step back and make it a three?

Exactly:lol

Nobody is ignoring the other problems on the team or even Aldridge's main issue(inconsistency in whether he's going to play soft on any given night), but if he's going to take long 2s, why not develop a slightly longer range shot like everybody else is doing?

Apparently it would be "goofy" for the Spurs to join the modern NBA:lol

[JeffDuncan]

Glad to see you so emotionally invested in this.

I see that you are. You're the one who said you're frustrated.


My point was pretty clear-- if he's willing and enthused to take a 22' shot with Pop's approval, why not just take one step back and make it a three?

He shouldn't be taking those long 2s either, unless he can hit a reasonable percentage. Which he currently is not. You think it's somehow better for him to miss a 3 than to miss a 2?


Also, If LMA is shooting a three, chances are the opposing team's best paint defender/rebounder is probably 19' away from the basket.

Always between him and the basket, so always in better position for the rebound than LMA is. Working closer to the basket, that will not always be the case.

[JeffDuncan]

Nobody is ignoring the other problems on the team ...

You are, if you imagine it's somehow a solution for LMA to try more 3s. Lol

[Chinook]

Honestly, when I watch games, I don't think the Spurs are particularly taking too few threes. Like of course DeRozan and Aldridge don't shoot them enough, but I feel like Gay makes it an adequate aspect of his game. The others on the team all shoot a lot of three. Maybe they should be more willing to take contested threes rather than pull the ball down, and they could clean up a lot of shots they seem to accidentally take like a step inside the arc. Last time I checked (admittedly a couple of weeks ago), the team was shooting more threes per game than they did during the BG era. Besides the aforementioned slight improvements Pop could make, I don't see much they could do different while they have the stars they do. Pop got rid of Anderson, Green and Parker to prioritize shooting. Unless he takes the ball out of his stars' hands much more than currently, it seems like they'll just have to live with this offense and hope they can find a way to guard the three better than they've been doing this year.

[Spurtacular]

give credit to Pop's "system"

What does it break down to when considering TS%. The OP did not seem to take into account getting to the FT line.

[R. DeMurre]

He shouldn't be taking those long 2s either, unless he can hit a reasonable percentage. Which he currently is not. You think it's somehow better for him to miss a 3 than to miss a 2?





The entire point of the three point revolution is that you achieve better results and maximize scoring shooting threes. A 42% rate from one foot inside the three point line is an inefficient result. A 38% rate from one step back is an efficient result. Go down to even 35%: That's 35 x 3= 105 points per 100 shots. 42 x 2=84 points. Big difference.

[hater]

And we are basically the only team built on 2 pt shots :lmao

:lol Pop

[SpurSpike]

LMA cant even hit his 2's right now and ya'll think the problem with LMA is he doesn't take enough 3's? A 3 point shot is not something you need your big for... He needs to shoot better period, if he was making his shots they would have won a few of those games that were lost.

[r0drig0lac]

And we are basically the only team built on 2 pt shots :lmao

:lol Pop

if we had slashers to complement Demar/Gay/Aldridge we would probably have more free throws and would decrease this "need" for more 3-point shots (we have enough shooters, we lack pick and roll players and slashers)

[TD 21]

Nothing here that would surprise the enlightened posters, but a worthwhile read for the brainwashed, vanilla ones, the ass kissing local media and most importantly, the two senile "geniuses" who've ran this team into the ground.



Pop stopped giving a fuck once he bent over for Aldridge. After that, it was more about not making his fragile stars mad than winning basketball games.

Agreed and to be fair, it made sense when they still had championship asperations and no means with which to adequately replace Aldridge.

Now, they're the ones with the hammer. I honestly don't think there's another team in the league that would be interested in him playing the style and having the usage he has here, so if he can't deal with modernizing his game, who cares. Kowtowing to him no longer matters.

Not even in the sense of improving their image to American stars. There's no chance of that even beginning to change until Pop and Buford are gone.



if we had slashers to complement Demar/Gay/Aldridge we would probably have more free throws and would decrease this "need" for more 3-point shots (we have enough shooters, we lack pick and roll players and slashers)

They can have as many one dimensional shooters as they want, if the 3s aren't coming from the highest minute/usage players, it doesn't really matter. All it means is, constantly having to sacrifice play making and defense, in a futile attempt to have adequate shooting surrounding the best players.

[YGWHI]

..."Instead of encouraging them to continue to evolve, Popovich has allowed them to indulge some of their worst habits when it comes to shot selection."

IDK..Before games everyone can see DeRozan working with Chip, shooting AND making many 3's. But it doesnt translate to real games. It's weird.

[JeffDuncan]

The entire point of the three point revolution is that you achieve better results and maximize scoring shooting threes. A 42% rate from one foot inside the three point line is an inefficient result. A 38% rate from one step back is an efficient result. Go down to even 35%: That's 35 x 3= 105 points per 100 shots. 42 x 2=84 points. Big difference.

Sure, that's the arithmetic. Everybody knows it. But LMA should hardly be shooting at all with the way he is at this time. He'll just miss a 3 instead of missing a 2 (and be badly out of position for the rebound.)

LMA needs to work on his assist stats.

[JeffDuncan]

IDK..Before games everyone can see DeRozan working with Chip, shooting AND making many 3's. But it doesnt translate to real games. It's weird.

You look at how the team plays. Forbes and Mills can go entire games without an assist, for example.

[YGWHI]

You look at how the team plays. Forbes and Mills can go entire games without an assist, for example.
Good point.