In Reply to: I like open 3s.... posted by ClockBlocker on March 31, 2024 at 08:25:57
yes. Also, the math changes depending on situation - time and score. Overall, the math says shoot and make those threes. But that's an overview - when there's less time to recover from a miss, then just scoring points is more valuable than the advantage you get from shooting a higher difficulty shot that has a higher payoff.
If it's a tight game running down to the end of the half or of the game, making sure you score on each possession is of increased importance including compared with a strategy that may result in giving you more points over the course of the season. You can shoot 40% from three which is terrific and an important year long strategy for sure but it also means you will fail to score 60% of the time. With time running down, a shot you hit 55% of the time means a greater than 50% chance of scoring on the current possession.
Sliding scale.
And a team that is really outstanding on midrange shots gains an advantage. UCLA's run to the Final Four was really fueled by Johnny Juzang's incredible run of red hot shooting and those were mostly midrange shots. High, high percentage.
As always it's a combination and I see Sehorn's points, it's just that I strongly believe it's a sliding scale. You start with what you can do really well and build around that. But late in games, when making sure you score is the highest priority, to me the midrange shot is an essential skill and strategy