Bryon Scott "3 point shooting doesn't win championships"

[True Lakers Fan]

The thing is though....it's not like LA has an abundance of legit 3pt shooters to where Scott has to work them into his offense. It's just the opposite.

Why worry about how many 3's are going to taken when you really don't have the roster who shoot's them at a legit %? Or is that why he's stressing less 3's because he know's he doesn't those players who can make em' at a legit rate?

The Spurs can take a lot of 3's if need be cause they play good defense.

You said the most important part at the end - Good defense. Defense wins championships because defense will give you the opportunity to shoot open shots. This team doesn't any legitimate 3 point shooters at all, and they are going to lose a lot of games. If the Lakers win 50% of the time, I think fans would be ecstatic. Kobe can shoot the 3 point shot and so can Nash if he is actually able, I again point out that Scott noted the players were not spaced right to shoot three point shots. When the Lakers play inside out - then they will be set up to hit those 3s.

The Lakers have a new coach and a new system and new players, so for the love God - GIVE THEM A FREAKIN CHANCE TO DEVELOP A LEGITIMATE SYSTEM AND IDENTITY BEFORE YOU GUYS START RIPPING THE COACH'S HEART OUT

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

The thing is though....it's not like LA has an abundance of legit 3pt shooters to where Scott has to work them into his offense. It's just the opposite.

Why worry about how many 3's are going to taken when you really don't have the roster who shoot's them at a legit %? Or is that why he's stressing less 3's because he know's he doesn't those players who can make em' at a legit rate?

The Spurs can take a lot of 3's if need be cause they play good defense.

This was already covered in this thread by Trojanfan

"It doesn't really matter for this season. It will be a bit of an upset for the Lakers to even make the playoffs, let alone contend for a title. The idea this season is to start establishing the identity that Scott wants and figure out who's going to fit that going forward.

I expect that the Lakers will end up averaging approximately 10-15 3's per game which should be just about right for this team and what Scott wants to do. Also, some of the guys that would be shooting 3's (Kelly, Nash, Lin and Henry) have been out with injuries for the last couple of games (Henry hasn't played at all)."

 

[wildturkey]

You make it seem like he doesn't like 3's at all. What he is saying, is teams that live and die by the 3, don't win championships. He is right! Spurs might have been a good 3 point shooting team, but there focus was never about shooting a lot of 3s.

I'm not making it seem like that. It's a fact. He's stated it himself. He wants a team that doesn't shoot many 3s because he believes teams don't that shoot them don't win championships. Which is false.

"Seven of the past eight NBA champions led all playoff teams in 3-point attempts and makes."

That, is proof enough that he's wrong with his approach. But you can expand upon that looking to the regular season as well. Since 2000, there's been 15 champions. Of those 15 team, 11 have been in the top half of the league for 3pt attempts. Only 3 of those teams shot 15 or less attempts a game and only one team has shot 15 or less since 2004. 13 of the 15 teams were in the top 10 in NBA offenses with 10 of those 13 teams taking more than 15 3PA a game.

The conclusion? Typically championship teams bolster top 10 rated offense and 3 pt shots make up a significant chunk of their effectiveness. These champions are shooting 3s to a significant degree. That bunks the logic that you don't win championships shooting 3s. He's just wrong. And the number of 3s he'd like to target is significantly lower than what most champions shoot and is more on par for a team with a losing record. 18 to 20 attempt per game is more in line with where an effective offense should be, especially over the last 10 years.

 

[RobToxin]

And let's also not forget how well, especially in the Finals, the Spurs moved the ball around to get a man open for a 3. When all 5 guys are touching the ball on a possession, it increases the chances for an open look.

 

[YourFriendGannon]

If the Lakers are one of the top teams in long 2's attempted that will be a strong indicator they're putting themselves at a disadvantage. Notice Memphis shot fewer threes than anyone last year and were 12th in attempting FGs from that 16-23 ft. It can work if you have the right personnel but odds are strong if you are attempting no more than 15 3's nowadays you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Anyway, last time Scott coached a full season his team attempted 19 per game so until the Lakers are competitive again I'm not sure this is a huge deal. (And their only surefire promising young player doesn't project as having NBA three point range) If I'm a Laker fan I'm thinking more about the top 5 protective pick you have in 2015 than playoffs.

 

[podsox]

Mike miller and battier's 3 pt shooting turned around the thunder-heat finals. Spurs 3 pt shooting had a lot to do with their best down last yr

 

[trojanfan12]

Seems that some folks are having difficulty grasping some pretty simple concepts here.


Teams that live and die by the 3, do not win titles. That is what Scott is talking about. He's not saying they won't be shooting 3's, rather that 3's won't be a main focus of his offense.


Here are, in order, the 10 teams who shot the most 3's per game last season and how they finished:


1. Rockets (26.5) - Out in 1st round playoffs
2. Hawks (26.4) - Out in 1st round of playoffs
3. Suns (25.1) - Missed playoffs
4. Blazers (25.0) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs
5. Warriors (25.0) - Out in 1st round of playoffs
6. Knicks (24.9) - No playoffs
7. Lakers (24.8) - No playoffs
8. Clippers (24.2) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs
9. Nuggets (23.9) - No playoffs
10. Nets (23.3) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs


So, 4 of the top 10 teams in average 3's per game, didn't even make the playoffs and none made it past the 2nd round.


Here is where the teams that made it to the conference finals and finals ranked in 3's attempted per game:


13. Thunder (22.6)
15. Heat (22.5)
17. Spurs (21.4)
25. Pacers (18.9)


The key is not shooting a lot of 3's, it's shooting them efficiently. While the Spurs were #17 in attempts per game, they were #1 in percentage of 3's made.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

Thank you Trojanfan.

 

[gordontrue]

Yep, good comment trojan.

An open 3 is a very efficient shot. NBA players hit the open 3 at a rate not that far below an open jumper in the paint.... and its worth 1.5x the points. So its a great shot.

But getting an open 3 is the key. Teams that can get open 3's will do well. Teams that can't will only hurt themselves by shooting them anyway.

 

[trojanfan12]

Yep, good comment trojan.

An open 3 is a very efficient shot. NBA players hit the open 3 at a rate not that far below an open jumper in the paint.... and its worth 1.5x the points. So its a great shot.

But getting an open 3 is the key. Teams that can get open 3's will do well. Teams that can't will only hurt themselves by shooting them anyway.

Yep. That's why the Spurs shoot them so well. They have such excellent ball movement that it's almost always a wide open shot.

 

[Lakers+USC=#1]

The thing is though....it's not like LA has an abundance of legit 3pt shooters to where Scott has to work them into his offense. It's just the opposite.

Why worry about how many 3's are going to taken when you really don't have the roster who shoot's them at a legit %? Or is that why he's stressing less 3's because he know's he doesn't those players who can make em' at a legit rate?

The Spurs can take a lot of 3's if need be cause they play good defense.

I just realized I misread this post. It makes sense.

 

[trojanfan12]

I just realized I misread this post. It makes sense.

To be fair, JD's posts that actually make sense are so few and far between that the shock of it can cause one to misread.

 

[wildturkey]

Seems that some folks are having difficulty grasping some pretty simple concepts here.


Teams that live and die by the 3, do not win titles. That is what Scott is talking about. He's not saying they won't be shooting 3's, rather that 3's won't be a main focus of his offense.


Here are, in order, the 10 teams who shot the most 3's per game last season and how they finished:


1. Rockets (26.5) - Out in 1st round playoffs
2. Hawks (26.4) - Out in 1st round of playoffs
3. Suns (25.1) - Missed playoffs
4. Blazers (25.0) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs
5. Warriors (25.0) - Out in 1st round of playoffs
6. Knicks (24.9) - No playoffs
7. Lakers (24.8) - No playoffs
8. Clippers (24.2) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs
9. Nuggets (23.9) - No playoffs
10. Nets (23.3) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs


So, 4 of the top 10 teams in average 3's per game, didn't even make the playoffs and none made it past the 2nd round.


Here is where the teams that made it to the conference finals and finals ranked in 3's attempted per game:


13. Thunder (22.6)
15. Heat (22.5)
17. Spurs (21.4)
25. Pacers (18.9)


The key is not shooting a lot of 3's, it's shooting them efficiently. While the Spurs were #17 in attempts per game, they were #1 in percentage of 3's made.

Well aware of that. It was included when I looked at all the stats from the last 15 years. Did you happen to notice that those attempt numbers aren't even close to the 10 to 15 range he seems to think is ideal? That's why he's wrong in his approach. When he said the "teams that shoot 3s don't win championships" stuff, it was after he started getting questions about why he was asking his team to shoot so few 3s (which flies in the face of modern NBA logic). His response is dismissive, telling people that it doesn't win you titles so you shouldn't worry about LA shooting so few. But he's wrong, on both accounts. Teams do win titles shooting a significant number of threes, way more than what he seems to think is necessary.

And before people think that Scott is somehow just talking about this specific roster and how they don't have any 3 point shooters, that isn't true either. Yes, they don't have any Korvers or Currys but they have enough players that hit the 3 at a respectable level. Lin, Young, Johnson, Ellington, and even Kelly can all hit 3s at a level that you have to respect. There is no reason to shoot so few, especially if you're down to 10 a game. 15 should be the lower limit, not the upper. You're damaging your offensive efficiency by willingly not shooting them.*

*Which may be the goal. You can lose a lot of games that way which would go a long way to try to keep that draft pick

 

[Arizona_Sting]

If we had a coach that knew what defense was back when we had Joe Johnson, Steve Nash, Amare, Marion, etc, I think we would've had a ring. That team wasn't coached as well as it could've been... Pringle Man screwed our chances up big time.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

If we had a coach that knew what defense was back when we had Joe Johnson, Steve Nash, Amare, Marion, etc, I think we would've had a ring. That team wasn't coached as well as it could've been... Pringle Man screwed our chances up big time.

D'antoni was the anti-defense man - He penalized his players for even suggesting defense

 

[wildturkey]

If we had a coach that knew what defense was back when we had Joe Johnson, Steve Nash, Amare, Marion, etc, I think we would've had a ring. That team wasn't coached as well as it could've been... Pringle Man screwed our chances up big time.

That or if the Horry hip check never happened

 

[Inimical]

He's right....

I didnt think anyone would take this troll seriously personally. BK you said it all.

 

[Mecca]

Seems that some folks are having difficulty grasping some pretty simple concepts here.


Teams that live and die by the 3, do not win titles. That is what Scott is talking about. He's not saying they won't be shooting 3's, rather that 3's won't be a main focus of his offense.


Here are, in order, the 10 teams who shot the most 3's per game last season and how they finished:


1. Rockets (26.5) - Out in 1st round playoffs
2. Hawks (26.4) - Out in 1st round of playoffs
3. Suns (25.1) - Missed playoffs
4. Blazers (25.0) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs
5. Warriors (25.0) - Out in 1st round of playoffs
6. Knicks (24.9) - No playoffs
7. Lakers (24.8) - No playoffs
8. Clippers (24.2) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs
9. Nuggets (23.9) - No playoffs
10. Nets (23.3) - Out in 2nd round of playoffs


So, 4 of the top 10 teams in average 3's per game, didn't even make the playoffs and none made it past the 2nd round.


Here is where the teams that made it to the conference finals and finals ranked in 3's attempted per game:


13. Thunder (22.6)
15. Heat (22.5)
17. Spurs (21.4)
25. Pacers (18.9)


The key is not shooting a lot of 3's, it's shooting them efficiently. While the Spurs were #17 in attempts per game, they were #1 in percentage of 3's made.

Gawd Damn you, Jamal Crawford!

 

[True Lakers Fan]

D'Antoni's system didn't include defense. If Scott's game plan from the outset is to take a limited amount of 3's.... then you better play some damn good defense. Going into the half down by 15 because your defense keeps breaking down, then that means to get back into it, you're going need to shoot more 3's.

Not sure if LA has a roster that's going to be able to play consistent defense in order to stay with the game plan of limiting 3's

Scott is saying the same thing Phil Jackson said -if you play defense, you will get your shots. Worry about defense first and the rest will fall into place.