Hopefully he'd get easier shots on a team with KPJ, Green, and Sengun and that would bump his numbers up a bit.... but yeah, the trash midrange nonsense could be very annoying if he keeps shooting it with such high volume.
Same shots Jabari takes. Only that Paolo can actually get to the cup as a counter or initial move to set up the space to begin with. I hate long 2's as much as the next guy, but if they go in are they really a bad shot? I watched GS last night KILL Boston in the midrange game. It was the difference in Game 2. Having a guy who is an assassin from the 2nd level is a huge luxury.
Yes, unless someone hits the midrange at 50%+ it is a bad shot at volume. GS hasn't taken many midrange shots. They don't eschew it completely but the focus is clearly on the three and cuts to the basket. They do not settle for contested midrange pullups. I'm not sure which game you watched last night. GS's big three of Curry, Klay, and Poole took 29 threes which was 54% of their total attempts. They only hit four midrange shots and made 11 threes. In fact, GS only hit four midrange shots as a team, going 4-10 on the night. They shot 15-37 from downtown for 40.5%. How does that constitute killing Boston from midrange? Shot charts are linked below. Curry: https://www.nba.com/stats/events/?C...eamID=1610612744&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game Thompson: https://www.nba.com/stats/events/?C...eamID=1610612744&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game Poole: https://www.nba.com/stats/events/?C...eamID=1610612744&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game GS: https://www.nba.com/stats/events/?C...eamID=1610612744&flag=3&sct=plot§ion=game
I didnt take shots at the rim into account on this post I was going off memory thanks for the shot charts they are a great resource - that said they still attempted a decent amount of midrange shots right? Looking at those logs a miss is still going to make defenders think and prevent a defense from over committing guarding the 3 especially in the playoffs where every possession is critical. Overall Boston only shot 37% from the field. GS shooting 45% was the difference along with less turnovers. If they were both identical in 3 point shooting and close in free throws what you're saying is that GS won with more dunks and layups and thats not what I remembered but that doesnt make me right. Saying GS doesnt use the midrange to their advantage may not be completely accurate either though without looking at one single game. Its a philosophical aspect of the triangle offense in general. The math of 33% vs 50% is valid, but without context it doesnt paint the picture of a balanced team. Defenses are catching up to volume 3 point shooting, Champion level teams will incorporate midrange shooting plenty if only to keep defenses honest. This is a little older, but it still captures the philosophy of a team like GS. https://shottracker.com/articles/are-the-warriors-making-the-mid-range-relevant-again#:~:text=As was said above, NBA,incredible shooters, average 0.94 PPS. edit: Im not saying GS uses triangle exclusively. Just for clarity.
StatMuse on Twitter: "The Warriors and Celtics are averaging a combined 80 three-point attempts per game, a Finals record. 47.2% of shot attempts in this series have been threes. https://t.co/DFeWu8jVic" / Twitter
I don't consider 11.6% of GS's attempts coming from midrange last night as a decent amount, really. Midrange shots aren't inherently bad, the percentages of the shooter just need make sense. Players like KD, Curry, or Kawhi can take midrange shots at volume because they convert at an elite rate. They are the rare exceptions that are efficient from that area. This isn't a new concept anymore, teams base their gameplan on both sides of the court around the three point shot. You can look at every shot attempt on video now. Teams are barely even contesting Curry or Klay in the midrange, they want them to take more of those shots. Your article is from the 17/18 season, when KD was there. He's one of those rare volume midrange shooters. GS doesn't play like that anymore and even the article's point wasn't that the midrange helps them tremendously, but that it doesn't hurt them enough to need to change it. The only reason it made sense was because Curry and KD are so far above league average and even with that Curry attempted over five times as many shots from three. I'm not against Banchero btw. I agree with you that the midrange shot is a luxury. If you have a Dirk or KD let them shoot at the midranges they want, it's a beautiful shot. For most players it's a bad shot to build your offense on, even to keep defenses honest.
