It might actually be time to get rid of the three point line

[Tim Lehrbach]

There are a lot of arguments out there against the three point shot, but trying to recreate the nadir of NBA scoring or worrying about the integrity of record books are not good ones.

[Kobe187]

Have the 3 point line come into effect the last 3 minutes of each quarter (allows teams to tie/win when needed).

[SSUBluesman]

I agree OP and have said it myself here tons of times, the NBA cannot survive as 3 point chucking league. There needs be diversity in the game for it to thrive long term or it will be as unwatchable as baseball. People want a physical sport where guys play defense and wrestle inside, not guys afraid to touch a defender who jumps into them and draws a foul.

The comparison to baseball is a great one. They made drastic changes (pitch clock, shift restrictions, larger bases) and got a better product as a result.

I don't think the NBA needs to go that far...at least not yet. I'd start with actually enforcing things like moving screens, carrying violations, offensive fouls when launching into/creating contact on the perimeter, etc.

[Iwasawitness]

Have the 3 point line come into effect the last 3 minutes of each quarter (allows teams to tie/win when needed).

I have a better idea: let players be able to play defense again.

[Lalouie]

you can't go back

i wish the 3 was never born, but eliminating the 3 wipes out 2decades of this millenium

i think there's a conspiracy involving the analytics of the 3.
i'm not a great googler but i tried googling "what is the nba average shooting% of the 3pt shot in the last 3 minutes of a game"?

i got NO search results. maybe it's my lack of googling skills, but i'd like to know. i've always contended that the 3 efficiency analytic is fraudulent

[MrBigShot]

Would kill spacing

[HawksVictory]

No 3-pt line makes it much more difficult to come back from a deficit. This would hurt ratings even more

[Nate505]

No need to get rid of it. Move it back until it's a difficult shot again. And if they can start hitting the new one with ease, keep moving it back. And keep moving it back until it hits halfcourt. If guys can start hitting halfcourt shots with ease, hey, I'll tip my cap to them.

[LuDux1]

Switch magnets in the hoops to repulsive mode on 3 point attempts

[Silvie Lysandra]

I think in the past, it seemed like it might be unfair to players in terms of all time statistics, to lop off a shot that inflates your ppg, but if you now look at how inflated game scores are becoming, getting rid of the three point line altogether would only make final scores lower to a point that is not that dissimilar to late 90's or early 00's or so.

Why would you want to make scores similar to those in the most boring period of modern NBA history?

you mean the most popular period of modern NBA history as shown by ratings

I'm not in favor of getting rid of the 3 point line (bring back handchecking, 2000s standards on traveling, offensive fouls and enforce illegal screens first) but basketball was more popular when it was lower scoring and more physical.

[Marvin Martian]

Has there ever been a sport where "fans" are advocating to punish players for being too good?

[Quentin]

I hate the 3. Ruined the game imo.

[ryan in Maine]

Make the court bigger.

[Braggins]

Has there ever been a sport where "fans" are advocating to punish players for being too good?

Its so stupid and I can't believe enough people take it seriously that its even a discussion.

[DonaldSanders]

- Tighten up moving screen calls
- Call travels on almost all 3pt "step backs"
- Allow more physicality on the perimeter

Then if that doesn't work, maybe you can eliminate the corner 3. There's no need to eliminate the 3 overall, but I agree we're seeing too many now. I watched the Celtics-Timberwolves and it was a snoozefest in the first half. Way too many 3s, and both teams shot more 3s than 2s for the game.

Last night the Warriors won the 1st quarter vs. Memphis while scoring only *one* 2pt bucket. Wild!

I'm not totally sure what the answer is but we need to get back to where the 3 is part of the game but isn't the main part of the game. The league should experiment, but it starts with enforcing existing rules and loosening up what the defense can do.

[MartyConlonJr]

Counterpoint to my own suggestion:
League average 3 point percentage is currently 35.9%, league average 2 point percentage is 54.2%.

So on average 35.9 / 2 * 3=53.85%. A 2 point shot is actually slightly more than 1.5x easier than a 3 point shot. I was surprised to see that.

I do think that with the advent of analytics, NOAH system, etc, it will continue to climb that what was once a sort of novelty shot, rewarded for it's significant difficulty, has become a reasonable shot to make through reps with scientific assistance.

It is now just the equation of the closer you are, the easier, the further the harder, but offset by the reduced defensive attention and easier ability to make space etc.

I think the main thing, and maybe what agitates so many, is that it is the easy way out. And quite understandable for the players really. It is the shot that is less likely to get you injured, it makes you more durable as a player, so when you are talking 50 million a year contracts and wanting to preserve yourself, taking the unguarded 3 point shot over working in the paint for a higher percentage 2 but putting your body at risk is an extra factor. So basically it does not matter that a 2 point shot is slightly more efficient league wide, especially for more talented shooters and for guards especially, because if it is much of a muchness, then why not choose the one that is easier on my body and allows me to make more money.

[RunOKC]

Stupid idea, but how about putting a limit on 3 pointers allowed outside of the 4th quarter and the last two minutes of all quarters?
Let's say 3 per quarter, and any makes after that would count for two points.

[og15]

you can't go back

i wish the 3 was never born, but eliminating the 3 wipes out 2decades of this millenium

i think there's a conspiracy involving the analytics of the 3.
i'm not a great googler but i tried googling "what is the nba average shooting% of the 3pt shot in the last 3 minutes of a game"?

i got NO search results. maybe it's my lack of googling skills, but i'd like to know. i've always contended that the 3 efficiency analytic is fraudulent

Conspiracy by whom? Lol

You might mean a different word than conspiracy.

I don't know if you can find an average. You can get the clutch stats, so it's not every game last 3 minutes, but close games:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-traditional?ClutchTime=Last%203%20Minutes&dir=A&sort=FG3A

Of course the sample size is very small for this season.

If you do last season for a bigger sample:
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-traditional?ClutchTime=Last%203%20Minutes&Season=2023-24&dir=A&sort=FG_PCT

That doesn't give an average, but the median is around 31% 3PT. Media eFG% was around 50.5%.

You can see what percentage of shots teams took from 3PT and 2PT:
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-scoring?Season=2023-24&dir=A&sort=PCT_FGA_2PT

[RRR3]

you can't go back

i wish the 3 was never born, but eliminating the 3 wipes out 2decades of this millenium

i think there's a conspiracy involving the analytics of the 3.
i'm not a great googler but i tried googling "what is the nba average shooting% of the 3pt shot in the last 3 minutes of a game"?

i got NO search results. maybe it's my lack of googling skills, but i'd like to know. i've always contended that the 3 efficiency analytic is fraudulent

Conspiracy by whom? Lol

You might mean a different word than conspiracy.

I don't know if you can find an average. You can get the clutch stats, so it's not every game last 3 minutes, but close games:

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-traditional?ClutchTime=Last%203%20Minutes&dir=A&sort=FG3A

Of course the sample size is very small for this season.

If you do last season for a bigger sample:
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-traditional?ClutchTime=Last%203%20Minutes&Season=2023-24&dir=A&sort=FG_PCT

That doesn't give an average, but the median is around 31% 3PT. Media eFG% was around 50.5%.

You can see what percentage of shots teams took from 3PT and 2PT:
https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-scoring?Season=2023-24&dir=A&sort=PCT_FGA_2PT

THOSE EVIL ANALYTICS GUYS!!!!!

They are robbing us of the pure joy of watching contested 22 foot bricks

[og15]

Counterpoint to my own suggestion:
League average 3 point percentage is currently 35.9%, league average 2 point percentage is 54.2%.

So on average 35.9 / 2 * 3=53.85%. A 2 point shot is actually slightly more than 1.5x easier than a 3 point shot. I was surprised to see that.

I do think that with the advent of analytics, NOAH system, etc, it will continue to climb that what was once a sort of novelty shot, rewarded for it's significant difficulty, has become a reasonable shot to make through reps with scientific assistance.

It is now just the equation of the closer you are, the easier, the further the harder, but offset by the reduced defensive attention and easier ability to make space etc.

I think the main thing, and maybe what agitates so many, is that it is the easy way out. And quite understandable for the players really. It is the shot that is less likely to get you injured, it makes you more durable as a player, so when you are talking 50 million a year contracts and wanting to preserve yourself, taking the unguarded 3 point shot over working in the paint for a higher percentage 2 but putting your body at risk is an extra factor. So basically it does not matter that a 2 point shot is slightly more efficient league wide, especially for more talented shooters and for guards especially, because if it is much of a muchness, then why not choose the one that is easier on my body and allows me to make more money.

The league average 2PT% has gone up with higher usage of the 3PT shot because there's more space inside allowing for better looks at the rim in general, and also because long two's which would be a lower percentage 2PT shot have mostly been replaced by 3PT, so they are not affecting the 2PT%.

If we're comparing just unguarded 3PT shots, we're now higher than 35.9%, the average team hits around 39% on wide open three's which is only beat by attempts at the rim, but of course those are much harder to get.