Taking a look at the top active 3pt shooters and cross-referencing them with the best active DR players in the league, there are more players that are both good 3pt shooters and good defensive players than I thought there would be (31). Here's the list of players that fall into the top 100 of each category (I'm highlighting those players that are in the top 50 of each category, of which there are only 4): Player, 3pt Rank, DR rank Manu Ginobili, 70th, 6th Paul Pierce, 60th, 18th Dirk Nowitzki, 32nd, 31st Chris Paul, 80th, 35th Kevin Durant, 42nd, 43rd Hedo Turkoglu, 29th, 44th Kirk Hinrich, 49th, 46th Vince Carter, 52nd, 53rd Danny Granger, 37th, 55th Richard Jefferson, 39th, 58th Mike Conley, 51st, 61st Kyle Korver, 3rd, 62nd Rashard Lewis, 23rd, 63rd Mike Dunleavy, 48th, 65th Tayshaun Prince, 66th, 69th Jameer Nelson, 59th, 70th Channing Frye, 24th, 74th Jason Terry, 38th, 76th Mike Miller, 10th, 78th J.R. Smith, 57th, 80th Ray Allen, 13th, 81st Jason Richardson, 64th, 82nd Rasual Butler, 84th, 83rd John Salmons, 75th, 88th Leandro Barbosa, 22nd, 89th Ben Gordon, 12th, 90th O.J. Mayo, 45th, 91st Deron Williams, 93rd, 93rd Joe Johnson, 62nd, 94th Steve Blake, 26th, 96th Mo Williams, 40th, 97th
As a follow-up, I thought I'd add their current contract status here. Player, 3pt Rank, DR rank, 2015-16 Status, 2014-15 Salary (rounded) Manu Ginobili, 70th, 6th, SAS FA, $7m Paul Pierce, 60th, 18th, WAS 1 yr left w/ Player Option, $5.3m Dirk Nowitzki, 32nd, 31st, DAL 2 yrs left w/ Player Option, $8m Chris Paul, 80th, 35th, LAC 3 yrs left w/ Player Option, $20m Kevin Durant, 42nd, 43rd, OKC 1 yr left, $19m Hedo Turkoglu, 29th, 44th, LAC FA, $1.4m Kirk Hinrich, 49th, 46th, CHI 1 yr left w/ Player Option, $2.7m Vince Carter, 52nd, 53rd, MEM 2 yrs left, $3.9m Danny Granger, 37th, 55th, PHO 1 yr left w/ Player Option, $2m Richard Jefferson, 39th, 58th, DAL FA, $1.4m Mike Conley, 51st, 61st, MEM 1 yr left, $8.9m Kyle Korver, 3rd, 62nd, ATL 2 yrs left, $6.2m Rashard Lewis, 23rd, 63rd, FA, Sat Out 2014-15 Mike Dunleavy, 48th, 65th, CHI FA, $3.3m Tayshaun Prince, 66th, 69th, DET FA, $7.7m Jameer Nelson, 59th, 70th, DEN 1 yr w/ Player Option, $2.7m Channing Frye, 24th, 74th, ORL 2 yrs left, $8.1m Jason Terry, 38th, 76th, HOU FA, $5.8m Mike Miller, 10th, 78th, CLE 1 yr w/ Player Option, $2.7m J.R. Smith, 57th, 80th, CLE 1 yr w/ Player Option, $6.5m Ray Allen, 13th, 81st, FA, Sat Out 2014-15 Jason Richardson, 64th, 82nd, PHI FA, $6.6m Rasual Butler, 84th, 83rd, WAS FA, $1.4m John Salmons, 75th, 88th, ATL FA, $1m Leandro Barbosa, 22nd, 89th, GSW FA, $1.4m Ben Gordon, 12th, 90th, ORL 1 yr left, $4.5m O.J. Mayo, 45th, 91st, MIL 1 yr left, $8m Deron Williams, 93rd, 93rd, BRK 2 yrs left w/ Early Termination, $19.7m Joe Johnson, 62nd, 94th, BRK 1 yr left, $23m Steve Blake, 26th, 96th, POR 1 yr w/ Player Option, $2m Mo Williams, 40th, 97th, CHO FA, $3.8m
Clutch the bear. I blame Morey for building a team that was in the final 4 even with all those injuries. And I blame McHale for coaching that injury riddled team to the conference finals. Also Obama deserves some blame. Elite shooters that you can afford to put on the court are rarer than people think. We should do what we can to get one though if possible.
Yeah, I'm not sure what the minimums were for making the lists. You can check it out at www.basketball-reference.com. Take a look at leaders.
But they all had big games. They all contributed to the championship run. All of them. The point being that you can never have enough gunners. Not then and especially not now.
Better shooters would help the offense, but that is not our biggest issue. We need a guy who can shoot reasonably well, but can also drive and finish or pass.
And pass, not or pass. Better ball movement will result in easier baskets, and reduce the pressure on Harden. I agree with everything else that you said.
