Too Many Jumper?

[dwoumn]

Gary Washburn wrote this article about the C's relying on the 3-ball.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/02/08/basketball-celtics-relying-pointer-fault/5nmIuFfCjldwlQAb4VXVqN/story.html?event=event25

Especially watching the game against the Bucks, if the C's tried to get to the basket the outcome might have been different but we just forced up 3 point shots.

Jeremy Gottlieb wrote an article on the C's and Jared Sullinger figuring out who he is as an NBA player.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2015/02/its_time_for_the_celtics_and_jared_sullinger_to_figure_out_j.html

The article talks about Sullys many 3 point attempts and his lack of free throw attempts. The articles ties back to Washburn's as that the C's rely way too much on the 3 ball and are 2nd to last at free throw attempts. With the C's on the cusp of being a playoff team, if they want to get over hump then attacking the hoop and getting to the line will have to be better by the C's.

[inverselock]

Celtics rankings across various shots.

20th in drives/g
19th drives fg%

9th catch & shoot fga
15th catch & shoot fg%

9th pullup shots fga
20th pullup shots fg%

28th fta
17th ft%

We take far too many pullup jumpers.  Hawks take the least.

More drives and free throws needed. 

[hwangjini_1]

good read, thanks. i agree the celtics do take a lot of long shots. but i am not sure what the alternative is this year. who do they have to score down low on a consistent basis?

sully is their best scorer there, but he is short and gets blocked.
zeller is good close to the basket, but he is not about score a ton of points each game.
olly's strength is shooting away from the basket.
bass's calling card is the mid-range jumper.

who is left? shav?

i think one important reasons CBS has the celtics making it rain long range shots is that he doesnt have someone down low who can score consistently. if he did, i think you would see a different game plan.

[Chief]

I'm all for posting Smart.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

good read, thanks. i agree the celtics do take a lot of long shots. but i am not sure what the alternative is this year. who do they have to score down low on a consistent basis?

sully is their best scorer there, but he is short and gets blocked.
zeller is good close to the basket, but he is not about score a ton of points each game.
olly's strength is shooting away from the basket.
bass's calling card is the mid-range jumper.

who is left? shav?

i think one important reasons CBS has the celtics making it rain long range shots is that he doesnt have someone down low who can score consistently. if he did, i think you would see a different game plan.

A good theory. Although the Celtics were also a jump-shooting team under Doc as well.

[Chris22]

The game today is all about the 3.

Like the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks.

The two best 3 point shooting teams in the NBA.

[Rosco917]

We don't even get to the paint before to taking the jump shot. I mean nobody tries to collapse the defense to kick out to get a clean look for an open jump shot.

To many possessions we just pass the ball around the three point line and jack a three pointer or a contested two.   

Except for Pressey and Sully, both get into the paint off the dribble. Sully more with his back to the basket. 

[GetLucky]

I read some crazy stat somewhere recently that all of the playoff teams last year except one or two were top-half of the league in 3pFG% and 3pFG attempts. The article attempted to circle back to a Spurs compliment- something about how progressive Pop was to recognize the league trend. Maybe Stevens has discoveered something similar. 

EDIT: found the link
http://www.nba.com/2014/news/10/16/nba-3-point-shot.ap/

The stat was that only 14 NBA teams last year attempted less than 600 3-pointers, and only four of them made the playoffs (28.5%), compared to the 12/18 of the other teams (66.7%).

[Rosco917]

I read some crazy stat somewhere recently that all of the playoff teams last year except one or two were top-half of the league in 3pFG% and 3pFG attempts. The article attempted to circle back to a Spurs compliment- something about how progressive Pop was to recognize the league trend. Maybe Stevens has discoveered something similar.

I'm not against the three, I understand the risk reward of the that shot. But penetration into the paint gets you clean looks behind the three point line.
Yes, SanAntonio is a strong 3 point shooting team, but they also have a Tim Duncan, and play an inside out game.

[GetLucky]

I read some crazy stat somewhere recently that all of the playoff teams last year except one or two were top-half of the league in 3pFG% and 3pFG attempts. The article attempted to circle back to a Spurs compliment- something about how progressive Pop was to recognize the league trend. Maybe Stevens has discoveered something similar.

I'm not against the three, I understand the risk reward of the that shot. But penetration into the paint gets you clean looks behind the three point line.
Yes, SanAntonio is a strong 3 point shooting team, but they also have a Tim Duncan, and play an inside out game.

True. I agree that Stevens is probably implementing this new 3pt strategy incorrectly; I was just trying to offer a reason why it was going on in the first place.