It seems the NBA is going through a controversy about the three-point shot. Watching some games, it seems like all that is missing is the rack of balls used doing the contest on All-Star Saturday night.
One of the games’ best young players, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, is shooting over 10 threes per game (he’s making 42.4%), and Boston’s Jayson Tatum is doing the same. In all, five players are shooting that kind of volume.
Four of the guys ranking in the top ten in attempts are shooting less than 36% from distance. We know the analytics say making 33% of the threes is the same as shooting 50% from the field, but our numbers show a made two-point shot is better than a missed three-point shot.
This brings us to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Many people have talked about their shooting this season, but they rank just 10th in the league in taking shots from beyond the arc, but they lead the NBA in percentage, knocking down 39.9%.
The teams who have taken the most threes are Boston (13th in percentage made), Chicago (9th), Charlotte (17th), Golden State (12th), and Minnesota (14th).
What we think that says about the wine and gold is they aren’t just shooting threes to shoot them, they are getting quality looks and having good shooters take those shots.
The Cavaliers who have taken the most threes are Donovan Mitchell (9.2), Darius Garland (6.8), Sam Merrill (5.5), Georges Niang (4.6), and Dean Wade (4.3). Two of those players, Merrill and Niang have reputations as snipers, meaning they are first and foremost long-distance shooters.
Mitchell is knocking down 40.4% from beyond the arc and Garland is at 41.8%. The two players with the reps are at 33.3% (Merrill) and 36.3% (Niang). Wade is shooting just 30.5%, and we wish he would not take as many shots from outside.
Wade is a career 36.4% three-point shooter, but if you take out his seven best three-shooting games (yes, we know he had them) in which he knocked down an unreal 38 of 57 shots, his career percentage drops to 33.4%.
What we are saying is that if his first couple long range shots don’t fall, he probably should get closer to the basket.
Other Cavs’ players have been super-efficient from long range. Isaac Okoro and Caris LeVert are both making around 49% from three, while Ty Jerome and Evan Mobley are both around 40% as well.
In our mind, the reason for all of the three-point shooting is the success Golden State had from 2015-2019 and the analytics group.
However, the reason for the Warriors’ success were both of their primary long-range shooters, Stephan Curry and Klay Thompson, both knocked down over 40% from behind the line.
People always talk about Trae Young’s range, but he’s 35.2% from three. LaMelo Ball likes to hoist them too, but he’s 37.2% for his career, and around 35.5% over the last two years.
It’s one thing to take three-point shots, it’s another to make them. Part of the Cavaliers’ early success is having good shooters taking good shots. Shooting them doesn’t make a team effective, making them does.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 