Game of threes: Warriors, Cavaliers embrace shooting revolution
OAKLAND – The season Cleveland Cavaliers veteran shooter Mike Miller entered the NBA in 2000-01, teams shot a combined 26.5 three-pointers per game.
The three-point revolution was just in its infancy, and by the time Miller went to Memphis in 2003, Grizzlies coach Hubie Brown saw the future and gave Miller the green light to shoot three-pointers.
In 2006-07, Miller attempted 7.1 and made 2.9 three-pointers per game.
"It worked hand in hand with when the league went analytical," Miller said. "Everything now is points per possession or effective field goal percentage. Hubie even brought it up before explosion happened. When you shoot 33% on threes, it's like shooting 50% from the field."
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry is the son of former NBA three-point specialist Dell Curry. The younger Curry had no idea how important that shot would become and how important the three-pointer would be to his career.
"I just love to shoot them because my dad shot them," Curry said. "Growing up, me and my brother (Seth) would go in the gyms and practice shots that he shot just because it was our dad. … But I didn't really think kind of long‑term about how dominant the three‑point shot would be. … I just think I benefited from that was just how I viewed basketball growing up through my dad's eyes."
The three-point shot's impact on the NBA is obvious. Ten years ago, 32.5 threes were attempted in each NBA game and teams made 35.6%. This season, 44.8 three-pointers were attempted each game and teams made 35%. Percentage has remained flat as attempts have increased.
From 2007-08 through 2011-12, approximately 36 three-pointers were attempted per game, but that number jumped to 39.9 per game in 2012-13, 43.1 in 2013-14 and 44.8 this season.
While the three-pointer has grown in importance, its value is not always cut-and-dry. Last season, the champion San Antonio Spurs were 17th in three-point attempts, 12th in three-point attempt and No. 1 in three-point percentage during the regular season. None of the other three conference finalists were top-10 in threes attempted.
In 2012, the champion Miami Heat were 23rd in attempts, 20th in makes and 10th in percentage, but the following season, in which they repeated as champs, the Heat were sixth in attempts, third in makes and second in percentage on threes.
The two teams in the 2015 Finals – Cleveland and Golden State – were in the top ten in three-point attempts, three-point makes and top five in three-point percentage this season, and the other two teams in the conference finals – Atlanta and Houston – were top 10 in attempts and makes.
That shot – 22 feet from the basket in the corners and 23 feet, nine inches on the perimeter above the break – has had an impact on Finals. In Game 4, the Cavaliers shot just 4-for-27 and Golden State 12-for-30, and in Golden State's Game 2 loss, it made just 8-for-35. In Cleveland's two Finals victories, it made 37.5% from the field. The shot makes a difference.
"I know this is like all the rage right now in the NBA talking about the impact of the three, not just in makes but attempts and all that," Kerr said.
Kerr has two of the best three-point shooters in the league – Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry attempted (646) and made (286) the most three-pointers in the league this season, and the makes broke the single-season NBA record he set last season. Thompson was 239-for-545 (43.9%) on threes this season.
"We don't just shoot them for the sake of shooting them," Kerr said. "I want open shots. To me, the whole point of the game is to get as many open shots as you can, whether it's a two or a three."
Kerr was a fine three-pointer shooter in his day but never took more than 237 in a season while Curry takes that many about every 30 games.
Interestingly, Kerr and Miller said the same thing in a different way.
"The fact is the three – the threat of the three – can get you open twos, and that's a big part of what we try to do," Kerr said. "We're not a huge post‑up team, but we have three‑point shooting, we have spacing, we play with pace. So if we can push the ball ahead and pump fake and create a driving lane, then I'd like as many of those as possible.
"So I never go into a game thinking we've got to shoot X amount of threes. But I like the threat of it, and more than anything I like open shots."
Miller explains the same theory differently.
"I always tell people, when you're perceived as a shooter, that's all you need to be doing. Perception alone does it," he said. "You have to do it for a span of time where people perceive you as a shooter. If you think that guy right there can make eight threes tonight, you have to be concerned. If you don't think he can make eight threes, you don't have to be concerned."
That perception spreads the defense to the perimeter of the court and opens driving lanes for creators. With the right offensive players, that style taxes the defense.
"You can't keep up with the ball movement and now the paint is wide open," Miller said. "That makes it difficult. When you look at it analytically, it's layups and threes. With the paint being wide open, it allows for both of those."
Bottom line: You better have a player or two or three on your team who can make threes.
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