Three-point field goal attempts are at an all-time high. Are NBA offenses becoming too dependent on the outside shot to the point of becoming predictable and boring?
Marilyn Dubinski: The number of three-pointers being taken doesn’t bother me as long as they're taken in the right scenario within the flow of the offense, kind of like what the “Beautiful Game Spurs” created and was later built upon by the Splash Bros’ Warriors. What I don’t like is contested threes or dribble-up pull-ups early in the shot clock just because a player wants to shoot it instead of running some offense. That being said, too many threes isn’t what’s making the game boring and predictable, at least for me. It’s lazy defense, foul baiting, and officials either taking over the game or calling it too one-sided that really turns me off. They have been a little better in allowing more physicality this season, but those issues make me cringe more at the direction of the game than threes. (That being said, I am NOT an advocate for the four-point line. No need to encourage bad, long shots any further.)
Jesus Gomez: It’s not the amount of threes that is the problem for me, at least for now. It’s how they are created. Teams are not taking 60 threes by moving the ball, freeing up players off screens, or even having prodigious shooters pulling up. You’ll often see multiple possessions where a player crosses half-court, makes one pass and the receiver just lets a semi-contested look fly. The way that the shots are created is related to the volume — if you want to launch over 50 like the Celtics do, you can’t be too selective — but I didn’t really dislike the Warriors when they were taking a ton of threes because what came before those attempts was interesting. Even on some of the Spurs threes that go in, there’s sometimes a feeling of satisfaction tied to the intellect (I understand that it’s smart to take that shot) instead of the visceral response to something complex, beautiful or unexpected.
I won’t stop watching or enjoying the NBA because of increased three-point shooting, but the type of enjoyment is different, and I’m not sure any rule changes can have a big enough effect on how teams play offense now.
Devon Birdsong: I agree with Jeje and Marilyn on this one. It’s not so much the number that bothers me as it is the way that it’s happening. I think you have to blame the 2014 Spurs a little bit for recognizing and exploiting it as an advantage over more athletic teams. The Warriors then doubled down on that style of play to great success. However, they also continued San Antonio’s legacy of excellent ball movement. The real turning point came when James Harden turned it into an ugly reinvention of early 2000’s iso-ball. Once he established that as a successful way to approach shooting the three, it was only a matter of time until we saw the spreading of that stylistic ugliness. In summary, I blame the NBA for allowing that to proliferate through lax officiating policies. In all likelihood, it’s not that people dislike the three as much as they dislike Adam Silver and James Harden.
J.R. Wilco: I must begin by saying that my favorite basketball will always be the Beautiful Basketball the Spurs played from 2012 after the acquisition of Boris Diaw off of waivers, up to the point when the Spurs added LaMarcus Aldridge in the summer of 2015. In my mind, that will always be peak basketball and the height of my enjoyment as a fan and an observer of the league.
That said, the best basketball will always be effective basketball. If someone develops the ability to hit unguardable sidestepping, fade away three pointers from half court, more power to them. I’ll just hope that it’s someone from San Antonio so that I can enjoy it all the more.
I believe that the best basketball is also aesthetically pleasing, and also the most effective. If the rules (or the way that the referees are calling the rules) enables another, less aesthetically pleasing style to become artificially effective then I’m against that. But otherwise, I will enjoy watching excellent basketball being played. I’m ok with it, whether it contains more three-point shots that I’m used to, or not.