3-point attempts

[TXviking [enjin:6602528]]

3 point attempts, blah, blah, blah. I know we suck at this topic/skill. Please let this soak in.

Steph Curry is on pace to:
Attempt 943 three point attempts and make 426 of these attempts

The entire Minnesota Timberwolves team is on pace to:
Attempt 1238 three point attempts and make 426 of those attempts

Our percentage is not terrible (34.4 percent) placing us at the middle of the pack, however we are dead last in attempts. Sam needs set Zach up with more attempts. Zach is currently only averaging 2.9 attempts per game, and hitting 41.4 percent. Belly is leading the team putting up 3.6 attempts per game. I would like to see screens setup for Zach to increase his attempts 4-5 shots per game.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

That is really amazing. It says as much about Steph Curry's brilliance as it does our ineptitude in creating 3-point attempts.

The problem for Zach is that he's got PG responsibilities with a bunch of mouths to feed and no other secondary ball-handler that can bring the ball up sometimes (Wiggins and Martin are not play makers). So unless he's out there with Rubio or Miller, it's hard to run a bunch of set plays for him.

Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, it is very encouraging to see Zach continue to blossom as a shooter and scorer. I'm still skeptical about his overall b-ball IQ and understanding the nuances of the game (from any position, not just PG). But if you can put the ball in the hoop, there is a place for you in this league. At minimum, he can hopefully become a Gerald Green or Jamaal Crawford type off the bench. If he becomes a better decision maker and bulks up a bit, he could blossom into a very good starting SG.

[AbeVigodaLive]

That is really amazing. It says as much about Steph Curry's brilliance as it does our ineptitude in creating 3-point attempts.

The problem for Zach is that he's got PG responsibilities with a bunch of mouths to feed and no other secondary ball-handler that can bring the ball up sometimes (Wiggins and Martin are not play makers). So unless he's out there with Rubio or Miller, it's hard to run a bunch of set plays for him.

Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, it is very encouraging to see Zach continue to blossom as a shooter and scorer. I'm still skeptical about his overall b-ball IQ and understanding the nuances of the game (from any position, not just PG). But if you can put the ball in the hoop, there is a place for you in this league. At minimum, he can hopefully become a Gerald Green or Jamaal Crawford type off the bench. If he becomes a better decision maker and bulks up a bit, he could blossom into a very good starting SG.

How dare you compare him to those guys!

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

That is really amazing. It says as much about Steph Curry's brilliance as it does our ineptitude in creating 3-point attempts.

The problem for Zach is that he's got PG responsibilities with a bunch of mouths to feed and no other secondary ball-handler that can bring the ball up sometimes (Wiggins and Martin are not play makers). So unless he's out there with Rubio or Miller, it's hard to run a bunch of set plays for him.

Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, it is very encouraging to see Zach continue to blossom as a shooter and scorer. I'm still skeptical about his overall b-ball IQ and understanding the nuances of the game (from any position, not just PG). But if you can put the ball in the hoop, there is a place for you in this league. At minimum, he can hopefully become a Gerald Green or Jamaal Crawford type off the bench. If he becomes a better decision maker and bulks up a bit, he could blossom into a very good starting SG.

How dare you compare him to those guys!

Heck, that's an upgrade for me! I'm actually encouraged by his improvement (so far) as a shooter. We'll see if he can keep it up. The PG thing is on Sam, just like it was on Flip last year. I don't blame Zach for that, but he does "own" the b-ball IQ issue. Let's just put it this way, his body is far faster than his mind.

[AbeVigodaLive]

That is really amazing. It says as much about Steph Curry's brilliance as it does our ineptitude in creating 3-point attempts.

The problem for Zach is that he's got PG responsibilities with a bunch of mouths to feed and no other secondary ball-handler that can bring the ball up sometimes (Wiggins and Martin are not play makers). So unless he's out there with Rubio or Miller, it's hard to run a bunch of set plays for him.

Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, it is very encouraging to see Zach continue to blossom as a shooter and scorer. I'm still skeptical about his overall b-ball IQ and understanding the nuances of the game (from any position, not just PG). But if you can put the ball in the hoop, there is a place for you in this league. At minimum, he can hopefully become a Gerald Green or Jamaal Crawford type off the bench. If he becomes a better decision maker and bulks up a bit, he could blossom into a very good starting SG.

How dare you compare him to those guys!

Heck, that's an upgrade for me! I'm actually encouraged by his improvement (so far) as a shooter. We'll see if he can keep it up. The PG thing is on Sam, just like it was on Flip last year. I don't blame Zach for that, but he does "own" the b-ball IQ issue. Let's just put it this way, his body is far faster than his mind.

Agree very much with your last sentence. I hope he becomes more than Gerald Green... and I now think he will. Jamal Crawford remains my more viable comparison. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Crawford has crafted out a lengthy viable career in multiple places as a slick scorer and almost, kinda, sorta, a little-bit, but not-adept-at-it creator.

Basically, I see LaVine as instant offense off the bench. You simply take the good (crazy athleticism) with the bad (crazy decision-making). I was begging for a guy like that for this team only a few years ago during the derailed Brandon Roy dream.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

That is really amazing. It says as much about Steph Curry's brilliance as it does our ineptitude in creating 3-point attempts.

The problem for Zach is that he's got PG responsibilities with a bunch of mouths to feed and no other secondary ball-handler that can bring the ball up sometimes (Wiggins and Martin are not play makers). So unless he's out there with Rubio or Miller, it's hard to run a bunch of set plays for him.

Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, it is very encouraging to see Zach continue to blossom as a shooter and scorer. I'm still skeptical about his overall b-ball IQ and understanding the nuances of the game (from any position, not just PG). But if you can put the ball in the hoop, there is a place for you in this league. At minimum, he can hopefully become a Gerald Green or Jamaal Crawford type off the bench. If he becomes a better decision maker and bulks up a bit, he could blossom into a very good starting SG.

How dare you compare him to those guys!

Heck, that's an upgrade for me! I'm actually encouraged by his improvement (so far) as a shooter. We'll see if he can keep it up. The PG thing is on Sam, just like it was on Flip last year. I don't blame Zach for that, but he does "own" the b-ball IQ issue. Let's just put it this way, his body is far faster than his mind.

Agree very much with your last sentence. I hope he becomes more than Gerald Green... and I now think he will. Jamal Crawford remains my more viable comparison. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Crawford has crafted out a lengthy viable career in multiple places as a slick scorer and almost, kinda, sorta, a little-bit, but not-adept-at-it creator.

Basically, I see LaVine as instant offense off the bench. You simply take the good (crazy athleticism) with the bad (crazy decision-making). I was begging for a guy like that for this team only a few years ago during the derailed Brandon Roy dream.

There is still time, but it is really hard to teach and learn instincts and reaction-time at his age. It's most obvious on offense, but you even see it on defense, where he has crazy lateral foot speed, but often gets juked out of his shorts on cross-overs and still struggles at times to anticipate and get over screens. Call it the time that his brain recognizes something to the time the synapses fire off instructions to his body. Whatever that is, it's kinda slow.

That being said, the ease at which he can rise up on a dime and get a solid shot off is pretty much world-class. He's almost Kevin Durant-esque (from a guard perspective) in how he can do this. If the jumpers keep falling, that is quite a weapon to have.

[Monster]

"Let's just put it this way, his body is far faster than his mind."

That's a great point Q I think thats a big part of his issue.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Warning...beware of possible sarcasm ahead.

We simply need to take more three point shots, and with Zach being one of our best 3-point shooters, he just isn't going to get enough three point opportunities if Sam doesn't move him to SG. There are no PG's in the league who are volume 3-point shooters.













(please ignore PG Steph Curry, who has more three-point attempts this season than three entire teams!)

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Lol, PG Stephen Curry has a little more skill than PG Zach Lavine, just a wee bit

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Lol, PG Stephen Curry has a little more skill than PG Zach Lavine, just a wee bit

Ha, true Todd! But in all fairness, Curry is 27 and Zach is 20...7 years ago Steph was a junior at little Davidson college, not being baptized by fire in the NBA like Zach. Zach will likely never have Curry's ball handling skills (although we really don't know), but also Curry will never have Zach's athleticism. My point is it's not difficult to be a volume 3-point shooter from the PG position...there are currently 6 PGs averaging at least 6 3-point attempts per game, and only 5 SGs averaging as many. And Zach has shown me he can move off a screen and get off a 3-point shot almost whenever he wants. I think Sam needs to encourage his bigs to screen for Zach more often, and encourage Zach to take more threes.