Q12543 wrote:monsterpile wrote:Another team struggling with 3 point attempts. The quote below resonated with me.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/triangle-knicks-offense-remains-bafflingly-inefficient-article-1.3726530
"We try to emphasize that, try to get it in the paint, try to kick it out to guys. I think sometimes we get in there and say, 'Okay, I got an 8-footer.' But teams that get a lot of 3s, they say, 'I don't want the 8-footer, I want to kick it out for a 3.' So we have to do a better job of that."
There is a lot to criticize Thibs the coach about, but I'm not sure 3-pointers is one of them. I think it's more personnel related than anything.
I disagree, Q. Lack of emphasis on shooting threes is one of my main criticisms of Thibs. His teams consistently rank at the bottom in terms of three-point attempts, and that can't be purely coincidental. Q, you say this is more personnel related than anything, but it's difficult for me to conclude that Thibs has never had the personnel to be even middle of the pack on attempts (to be fair, there was actually one season that a Thibs-coached Bulls team was not in the bottom three)...with the Wolves or the Bulls. The current Wolves team ranks 19th in 3-point percentage at a reasonable 35.7%. That tells me that our lack of made three pointers is solely due to volume, not accuracy. We have the shooters, we just don't emphasize the 3-pointer.
The teams that take a lot of threes feature a quick ball-movement offense that swings the ball around the perimeter until someone gets an open three. In contrast, Thibs seems to prefer a one-on-one isolation offense that is not conducive to the three-point game.
I've also noticed a hesitancy by several Wolves players to "let it fly" when they are open outside the line. Belly is the chief offender here, and having watched him in the Euro championships three years ago, I can tell you that was not his nature before he came to the Wolves. Tyus also maddeningly sometimes hesitates when he is wide open, and so does KAT. At times we see Wolves' players eschew the open three to move in 3 feet for a long 2. I think this is a reaction to Thibs' public comments that three-point attempts have to be "the right three". I see the hesitancy of certain Wolves' players to take the three as a reaction to this. When you are at games, you clearly see players looking over their shoulders at Thibs to see if he "approves" or to react to what he is yelling. You just don't see this type of behavior from other teams where there coach doesn't have then on such a tight leash.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the Wolves' offensive production. 108.6 PPG and 6th in the league is damn good. But this team is loaded with guys who can score the basketball, so this is an instance where I credit the skilled players more than the offensive scheme. Just think how much more potent this offense could be if they were only at the league average in three point attempts.
