RealGM

Since three-point shooting has been one of the bigger concerns of many of the posters here, I figured I may as well start a discussion now that the team has gotten through the preseason. Although we've got a small and largely irrelevant sample to work with (7 preseason games), these are the numbers so far:

40-130 from 3-point range, or 38.8%; on almost 19 attempts per game.

To refresh everyone's memory, this team was a league-worst 31.7% from three last year.

Given these numbers and what you've seen from some of the guys, is three-point shooting as big of a concern for you as it was going into the preseason? If it's still a major concern, what do you think Ed can (realistically) do to improve in this area?

It's still a concern, because as you said, it's too small of a sample size to say otherwise. I will say that there has been noticeable improvement in this area, especially when you look at the preseason numbers from the guys who will be taking the majority of attempts this year from beyond.

Thad - 8-22 - 37%
Lou - 7-20 - 35% (really wasn't shooting well from beyond until last night)
Iguodala - 8-20 - 40%
Green - 3-9 - 33%
Rush - 5-13 - 38%

That's 37% for the preseason between the 5 of them. We'll see how big of a concern 3 pt shooting is after a few weeks of regular season play. There's not much that Ed can realistically do at this point to change it. He signed some veteran shooters with what we had, which wasn't much, and he added a low post threat to open up shots on the perimeter. Combine that with some hope that the young guys can continue to develop their outside shot, and it pretty much is what it is at this point. That being said, we could still pull out games last year without relying on our outside shooting, and while not fully addressed, our outside shooting this year does appear to be improved.

Having watched this team play all of ONE pre-season game, I can't say that my fears have increased or decreased at all just yet. I think we'll just have to see how our shooting is at the end of December. By then, Brand should be comfortable with his teammates and vice versa. Also, there isn't much Ed can do before January roles around since most GMs won't be looking to make a deal so this is just one of those things that we will have to watch play out.

Also, I do believe we will shoot a higher percentage than last year so I will be shocked if it's as bad as it was 6 months ago. The combination of Brand drawing double teams and our young guys working on their outside shot this summer should mean that we will be a better team.

The Guilty Party wrote:
Also, I do believe we will shoot a higher percentage than last year so I will be shocked if it's as bad as it was 6 months ago. The combination of Brand drawing double teams and our young guys working on their outside shot this summer should mean that we will be a better team.

My thoughts exactly. I think Ed's done all that he can up to this point in time.

One thought that remains in the back of my mind is the Miller situation and how it plays into our shooting. Come the New Year, if it looks like Miller won't be sticking around (poor fit, doesn't want to re-sign, etc.), I would seriously pursue a deal for Kirk Hinrich. Unless he's unable to regain his touch of two seasons ago (which I'm sure will not be the case), he would add a nice three-point threat to the starting lineup.

It's early. Ed was right though, the improvements will have to come from within. Rush and Marshall help, but they are bit players who won't get much playing time. Iggy, Young, Williams and to a lesser extent, Green, all have to show improvement. They should get open looks and we should in theory be better than last season. You don't have to be a great three point shooting team, but you do need at least a legitimate threat of the 3 to prevent defenses from collapsing on you and we'll see after about 30 games if we have what it takes.

I think that the streakiness seen in the preseason is a good indication of what to expect in the regular season. they have guys who can hit the three, and even have nights where they are on fire, but I do not expect their shooting to be a reliable weapon, or something that can be counted on in the clutch.

I think they will be fine, but if they have to rely on threes to stay in a game, they are asking for trouble. If they are not too reliant on threes they will be fine.

As I said in another post, I really think we should give a good chunk of Greens minutes to Rush. He is taller, a better shooter and about equal on D. He isn't slow so it's not like he will hurt our running game.. He will actually help it with his three point shooting.

But Green is still the far better offensive player and can play the point some. Plus, he has pictures of Mo doing illegal things with farm animals, so he'll probably start before the season is over.