Question for people who watched Jordan play

[theFireBlanket]

I'm glad the 3 wasn't as popular because his dunks and physical play down low were the best NBA you'll ever see.
He imposed his will on you, he didn't need the 3 point shot.

Sounds like the reigning MVP, despite any narratives driven about him needing to hit them. It's nice that he can but like Jordan he doesn't really need it to will his team. And Giannis is doing it in the era of the 3.

[NuggetsWY]

Jordan came into the league as an athletic player that couldn't shoot - so he worked on his shooting until they stopped saying that.

Then they said he couldn't hit 3s - so he worked on his 3s until they stopped saying that.

Then they said he couldn't play defense - so he worked on his defense until he was a true stopper.

Jordan would have been elite in any era because he adapted his game to what was needed.

[ChettheJet]

Saw his entire career in Chicago

Early on Michael was not a great 3pt shooter. He drove to the basket, dunked a lot but his outside shooting wasn't like it was late in his career, mid range was his skill. His game going to the basket allowed John Paxson to be the PG that steadied the offense and was available for the spot up jumper. The same spot up shooting applied to BJ Armstrong.

When they started winning championships Craig Hodges and Bobby Hansen also filled that shooter role, then Toni Kukoc, Jud Buechler and Ron Harper. Michael didn't need to shoot that many threes since there were better shooters ready for him to pass to. But at the end of every quarter, half and game, he had the ball and took the last shot, whether it went in or not.

Remember the Bulls won and most of the time it wasn't all that close, so they just didn't need a 3pt shot at the end of a quarter all that often.

[ropjhk]

I never gave much weight to the idea that Jordan couldn't shoot 3's. Jordan is on record saying how he didn't shoot 3 pointers by choice. It was not something he thought he should work on. If he played in today's era I would expect him to shoot a pretty decent average at the very least.

As for how well he actually shot the 3 ball for his career considering attempts and last second shots I have no idea. Until someone does a full analysis we can only guess. I think the OP's estimates sound reasonable, but I won't put much stock into them.

[ropjhk]

I'm glad the 3 wasn't as popular because his dunks and physical play down low were the best NBA you'll ever see.
He imposed his will on you, he didn't need the 3 point shot.

Sounds like the reigning MVP, despite any narratives driven about him needing to hit them. It's nice that he can but like Jordan he doesn't really need it to will his team. And Giannis is doing it in the era of the 3.

We'll see. Nothing changes narratives better than winning a championship.

[scrabbarista]

Steph Curry gets as many heaves up as anyone ever and he’s taken 77 over 698 games. Once every 3 games for
Jordan is an absolutely ridiculous estimate. FWIW Curry made 5%. Re-run these numbers with something like 1 shot every 15 games for Jordan at 5% and you’ll probably get a much better number. I’d imagine it’s a very small effect.

1. Those heave stats, assuming they are even accurate, are misleading if you don't know what they represent. It took me two seconds to find a video on YouTube of Jordan making a shot from just inside half-court in the 1997 season (check his shoes). BBRef gives him 0 heave attempts that season, so, at best, it's clear that "heaves" is a very specific category of shot on the site. This is also borne out in Curry's 5% career total, considering it's well known that he's deadly taking all kinds of "bad" or long distance shots.

2. I wasn't talking about heaves. I was talking about low quality attempts. If I used the term "desperation" (I don't remember), what I meant was that those shots were taken in situations well outside the normal flow of the offense (end of clock, end of quarter, half, or the game, and two-for-one's), situations in which the normal odds of making the shot were extremely low.

Here's the vid: the shot is at 1:55.

Watch on YouTube

[ropjhk]

I think most knowledgeable fans agree that MJ could have shot a much better shooting percentage from 3 if he really wanted to. There's no real reason to doubt that MJ could have shot close to .400 from 3 if that was his emphasis. How much would that detract from the rest of his game is unknown.

[prophet_of_rage]

Why is it that only MJ could have these stats if he chose to but this doesn't apply to anybody else?

Sent from my SM-N970W using Tapatalk

[bwgood77]

There is so much more focus on 3s today that players practice more. That and the rules have changed to where officials will call a foul on almost anything and players flop and try to bait fouls so much and the refs fall for it often so players cannot be guarded nearly the same way today as they were in Jordan's era.

[ATRAIN53]

You know what his 3 point shot was-

It was driving to the rim and challenging the defender to step in and forcing the ref to make a call.

That was BETTER than the 3 point distance line-

why?

Because it put guys in foul trouble-
Maybe a guy like Xavier McDaniel or Byron Russel had to sit on the bench for long stretches with 4 fouls.

It put the Bulls in the bonus early-
That meant anytime he initiated contact he was taking FT's. Even on non shooting fouls he was getting to the FT line.

That strategy is missing from todays' game. I think I saw 1 guy foul out of a game in the bubble.
Clippers beat DEN by getting Jokic off the floor with this strategy too. It works.

Ultimately we wonder if he have become the best 3 point shooter in the NBA if he wanted to.
Of course. Because he would have practiced non stop at it until he was the best.

I mean one of his most signature moments is 'The Shrug' game where he buried 6 3's in the first half of a Finals game.