Should the NBA abolish the 3 point line?

[LogGrad98]

I just don`t understand why people are nostalgic about players like Derrick Favors spotting up from mid-range.

Who said that? They should delete their account. Please post a link to that post so we can heap the requisite ridicule on that idiot.

 

[KqWIN]

Talking heads ruined the sport. Constant talk about where stars will go next or what could happen in the future. The talking points on the NBA seem to be the same whether the season is active or not, because the actual games are the thing people care about (or at least are talked about) the least.

Major generalization of course. But I think that is the heart of it. The difference between a pre game NFL show and a pre game NBA show could not be more stark. Now I guess that is a chicken and egg debate, did they stop talking about the games because people were bored by it? IDK, but they've completely lost the plot at this point. SAS and his ilk is what has 'ruined' the sport. And I don't think changes to the 3pt line is going to cure the real issues the league has. If a fan feels like they can stay in the loop on any public talking points about the league just by scrolling twitter and watching zero actual games, that's a problem.

Absolutely, I hate the way the league is discussed. It's all about big picture stuff/what's next. And it never ends. It's not like all of this talk leads to a thrilling conclusion, once someone wins it's talked about for 5 minutes and then back to big picture.

It's like the media goes out of it's way to tell you how unimportant the game you're watching is. On any given Sunday, the most important thing concerning an NFL team is who is going to win that game. In the NBA, the game is rendered meaningless to all the extracurricular stuff. The NBA is about gossip, not about basketball. The day to day competition is the least important thing these days.

 

[Rubashov]

I just don`t understand why people are nostalgic about players like Derrick Favors spotting up from mid-range.

Well I love Big D, what a great power player i go weak at the knees for Big D but Im not really talking about him. But lets enjoy a bit anyway



go get it big fella!!!!

But lets look at todays game, everyone is playing the same way, big men are basically trying to play like guards, theres not much differentiation. Watch the legends of the past, there is a real beauty and skill to the way they play, its missing from todays game.



You know you can watch Olajuwon, Ewing, O'Neal, Robinson and so many more. The power, the positioning, the touch. The contest should be more than shooting threes and catching lobs.

Who said that? They should delete their account. Please post a link to that post so we can heap the requisite ridicule on that idiot.

I got this

 

[cctrackstar]

yes. the advantage to the '3' type shot should be better spacing in the paint, not more actual points. the shot would still go further out to, again, get better spacing but it wouldn't be worshipped by teams like it is now. also, if the line is gone, you never know where they would shoot from which would encourage a more varied number of unique locations.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

yes. the advantage to the '3' type shot should be better spacing in the paint, not more actual points

Huh? It leads to better spacing because it's worth 3 points and is a very makeable shot.

also, if the line is gone, you never know where they would shoot from which would encourage a more varied number of unique locations.

Watch some old games without the 3pt arc. All the action is taking place within the area that is now inside the perimeter. All 10 guys are crammed in there.

That would never work with modern players. Too big, too mobile, too athletic. Spacing is the lifeblood of the NBA.

I don't really have a problem with how the game is being played these days, but if you have to tweak something, make the whole court bigger to correspond to the increased size and speed of the players and also pull the 3pt line out considerably. Make it a very tough shot, but still a part of the game. At some point the league average accuracy would come down to the extent that the "midrange” shot would start to make more sense again for most players.

The goal would be to really make the defense decide if they're gonna go out to guard those long range shooters. You couldn't just stay in no-man's land like today because there would be too much ground to cover.

 

[HermanG]

I think one way to reduce the amount of 3s would be to change some rules on screening / how defenders are allowed to defend through screens.

E.g. making off ball screens illegal outside the arc would eliminate a bunch of actions teams run on the perimeter to set up 3 pointers.

Or set a rule where defender is allowed to step in front of the ball carrier if a player screen forces the path of the defender (similar to defenders establishing themselves between the ball carrier and the basket). That could be kinda complex to interpret though.

 

[Miggs]

Moving the 3pt line back isnt going to do anything other than make players better at shooting long 3's. It might take a certain amount of time to adjust, but the adjustment will happen. Players wont suddenly start taking more middys just because the 3pt line is further back.

You have to make the relative value of the long shot smaller. If you want more mid-range shots you have to let bigs stay in the paint longer.

Except two things will occur by pushing the line back say two feet. One, three point percentage will come down. This lessens the analytical value of the shot which is a good thing imo. Two, it will open up spacing, for low post guys now of all, to operate which I think is a good thing.

If I’m the league, I push the line back two feet and consider widening the court about one foot as well.

 

[Miggs]

This is probably the best solution, but wont happen because teams dont want to have less seating?

You’ll lose one row on both sides and ends…so what? 1% of all the seats? Raise ticket prices 1% if they’re that concerned about it.

 

[NAOS_pt2]

I've been saying that the court needs to be widened and that the 3pt line moved back for almost a decade. It's painfully obvious. There is — and there always will be — a threshold beyond which the analytics that support volume 3-point shooting will tip back in favor of more 2s / fewer 3s. And league offenses will adjust accordingly. Analytics aren't going anywhere. The league needs to check-in with that threshold. What's the 3-point line distance? And they need to set future dates in their calendar to assess whether the line needs further adjustment.

This kind of approach is actually the full promise of the analytical era, not some move away from analytics.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

You’ll lose one row on both sides and ends…so what? 1% of all the seats? Raise ticket prices 1% if they’re that concerned about it.

Thats what I would think, but any discussion I've heard about it makes it seem like it's not that simple

 

[oldtimer]

if you want to save the nba start calling traveling. remove the gather step, eurostep, step back ********. keep the 3 pionter i like it.

 

[cctrackstar]

That would never work with modern players. Too big, too mobile, too athletic. Spacing is the lifeblood of the NBA.

that's the point. because they would get in each other's way they would be forced to expand their shot in spite of it not being worth more points. too crowded in the paint? shoot from further out. and again, you would never know where that shot would come from because there wouldn't be a set 'line' that they put their toes a centimeter behind. i think it would be very interesting to watch how it developed.