What's new
By:
Filters

The Truth About 2 - 20

GVC

GVC

Well-Known Member
So, I've seen on a couple message boards people bringing up that Millsap's 3 3-pointers were a fluke, due to his 2 - 20 career mark on 3-pointers prior to this season. I went through the play-by-play of every game where Millsap shot a 3 to see the game situation when he launched them. The results are, well, reassuring:

24 January 2007, OT, 0:24 on clock - misses 25-footer with 15 on shot clock, down by 3

20 March 2007, 4th Quarter, 0:07 on clock - makes 27-footer with shot clock expiring

9 April 2007, 4th Quarter, 0:05 on clock - misses 25-footer with 5 on game clock

8 January 2008, 3rd Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 59-footer at buzzer

7 March 2008, 1st Quarter, 0:27 on clock - misses 25-footer with 3 on shot clock

8 April 2008, 1st Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 3-pointer at buzzer

16 April 2008, 4th Quarter, 2:15 on clock - misses 25-footer with 12 on shot clock

7 November 2008, 3rd Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 66-footer at buzzer

14 November 2008, 4th Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 37-footer at buzzer

19 December 2008, 4th Quarter, 8:11 on clock - misses 25-footer with shot clock expiring

24 March 2009, 3rd Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 41-footer at buzzer

13 November 2009, 4th Quarter, 2:40 on clock - misses 27-footer with 1 on shot clock

14 December 2009, 1st Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 44-footer at buzzer

4 January 2010, 1st Quarter, 0:00 on clock - misses 44-footer at buzzer

16 January 2010, 3rd Quarter, 0:01 on clock - makes 25-footer just before buzzer

27 January 2010, 3rd Quarter, 5:05 on clock - misses 30-footer with shot clock expiring

29 January 2010, 1st Quarter, 2:55 on clock - misses 25-footer with shot clock expiring

21 February 2010, 1st Quarter, 9:59 on clock - misses 23-footer with 1 on shot clock

21 February 2010, 3rd Quarter, 8:38 on clock - misses 25-footer with shot clock expiring

26 February 2010, 3rd Quarter, 0:01 on clock - misses 26-footer just before buzzer


So, to sum this all up, of Millsap's 20 3-point attempts prior to this season, 17 were taken with 3 seconds or less left on the game or shot clock.

Of the 3 remaining 3-pointers, one was taken with 5 seconds left in a blowout loss, one was taken with the Jazz down 3 and 24 seconds left in the game (both of these from Millsap's rookie season), and one was taken with plenty of time left on both clocks (sophomore season).

Prior to this season, the last 3-pointer Millsap attempted without an expiring clock was on the 16th of April, 2008, nearly 31 months ago.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for compiling this.

I think the NBA should exclude the catch a pass at the knees and hoist the ball into the air in the direction of the basket as the clock expires from the stat sheet. MLB makes such official scoring decisions. I don't know why the NBA refuses to advance the game in any way, shape, or form. It's no wonder to me why they lose money when other sports don't.
 
Still a fluke. How often does any player ever do that, make 3 3's in the last minute to tie the game? He will never approach that again: he's not Ray Allan or reggie Miller.

That said, he ought to take more 3 in games. That would be incredibly beneficial to his game and to the jazz. Newspaper today said he has been hitting them regulary in practice and DWill has been begging him to shoot them in games.
 
He has proven us wrong in everything else, who is to say he can't develop a 3 point shot. Dwill himself said that millsap can hit 3s. With big al on the low post, I think there is a good chance we will see this more.
 
zman1527 said:
Still a fluke. How often does any player ever do that, make 3 3's in the last minute to tie the game? He will never approach that again: he's not Ray Allan or reggie Miller.
Click to expand...
No doubt, the 3 straight 3s from a guy who only hit 2 total (both buzzer beaters) in his first 4 years was a shock (or fluke, or whatever). With that said, Millsap had never been called on (really) to shoot a 3 in a game before last night, so it's a bit disingenuous to cite his 2 - 20 as an indicator of his 3-point shooting prowess. Had he been asked to shoot earlier, he may have done just fine, but since there were always better options on the floor, he never really had to shoot those threes, and instead stuck to his role crashing the boards and doing the dirty work (which he has always done better than other Jazz players).

I didn't post this earlier because I didn't want to add much commentary to my original post.

Compiling this didn't take all that long. Somewhere between one and two hours.

What makes you think I don't have a girlfriend?
 
Millsap's jumper from the top of the key continues to improve, so much that if he were to take a couple of steps back and shoot the three, it wouldn't be a bad shot. Malone had similar range and I thought he should have taken more 3's. You don't want these guys going crazy, but 1-2 shots per game at most, in the flow of the offense, wouldn't be bad shots
 
YB85 said:
You don't want these guys going crazy, but 1-2 shots per game at most, in the flow of the offense, wouldn't be bad shots
Click to expand...
Of course. Last thing the Jazz need is Millsap going away from his high post/short corner/hustle game and turning into a chucking prima donna a la Zach Randolph in New York. He needs to stick with his strengths first, and use the outside shot when it's there and needed.
 
It's absolutely nuts to think think how Sap's jumpshot has progressed. Even guys who come into the league as shooters don't show this level of improvement. Only 2 years ago I was hoping he'd just perfect the step back 15 footer. Now he's a double threat in the post and as a pick and pop. I feel good whenever he shoots from wherever he shoots.
 
franklin said:
Thanks for compiling this.

I think the NBA should exclude the catch a pass at the knees and hoist the ball into the air in the direction of the basket as the clock expires from the stat sheet. MLB makes such official scoring decisions. I don't know why the NBA refuses to advance the game in any way, shape, or form. It's no wonder to me why they lose money when other sports don't.
Click to expand...
You have to account for the shot somehow. It represents an attempt and if it goes in, the player gets credit for it.

The NBA loses money? Really? You've been sipping from the propaganda cup the owners have been passing around. Maybe a couple of teams lose money, but that can be fixed by revenue sharing or distributing luxury taxes differently. When the Memphis Grizzlies have no problem with awarding a MAX contract to Gay; when the Utah Jazz have no problem trading for a $13M player in Jefferson while still having two other MAX players on their roster, when MLE contracts are being awarded to guys nowhere near that level, I have a hard time buying what Stern and his cronies are saying.

Back to the thread topic...the reason the 2-20 stat isn't relevant is that Millsap has expanded his range every season. He could barely shoot as a rookie. Then we were surprised to see him develop a couple of inside moves and over the last couple of seasons he's developed a very good mid-range game. Is it any surprise the hardest-working guy on the team has also increased his range to behind the arc?

Just imagine if his work ethic rubbed off on Jefferson.
 
YB85 said:
Millsap's jumper from the top of the key continues to improve, so much that if he were to take a couple of steps back and shoot the three, it wouldn't be a bad shot. Malone had similar range and I thought he should have taken more 3's. You don't want these guys going crazy, but 1-2 shots per game at most, in the flow of the offense, wouldn't be bad shots
Click to expand...

Of course Sap should rarely shoot the 3 ball. Look at how it has destroyed Memo's career. LOL.

Sap should shoot it much more often, enough to make it a threat that has to be reckoned with by the defense. Lord knows, even if ole Jer don't, that this team could use more 3 point shooters.
 
GlassEater said:
You have to account for the shot somehow. It represents an attempt and if it goes in, the player gets credit for it.
Click to expand...

Add a new stat column then? Sometimes sac flys go out of the park. Occasionally half court shots go in. I don't think it's a high enough percentage that including the makes but excluding the misses would have much of an inflating impact. On the flip side, there are some players who have a ton of these rush shot misses and their stat line is pulled down disproportionally. Then again, do stats really matter?

GlassEater said:
The NBA loses money? Really? You've been sipping from the propaganda cup the owners have been passing around. Maybe a couple of teams lose money, but that can be fixed by revenue sharing or distributing luxury taxes differently. When the Memphis Grizzlies have no problem with awarding a MAX contract to Gay; when the Utah Jazz have no problem trading for a $13M player in Jefferson while still having two other MAX players on their roster, when MLE contracts are being awarded to guys nowhere near that level, I have a hard time buying what Stern and his cronies are saying.
Click to expand...

That maybe so, but my point isn't about the money (a side effect). The NBA doesn't do a whole lot to adjust, innovate, keep up with the times, etc. For example, NBATV sucks *** and is completely user unfriendly. It seems like they want to put forth as little effort as possible.
 
zman1527 said:
Still a fluke. How often does any player ever do that, make 3 3's in the last minute to tie the game? He will never approach that again: he's not Ray Allan or reggie Miller.
Click to expand...

......I don't think Sap could hit three 3 pointers in a row....if he tried to do it in practice with 100 shots at it!!! It was a fluke. And we don't want our power forward, board crashing, keep a body on him or he's going to chew you up and spit you out.....launching 3 pointers 25 feet from the basket. That being said.....Okur can take as many of those shots he wants when he gets back....if he's wide open!
 
How is it a fluke? by definition a fluke is, "1. an accidental stroke of luck" it's not like Paul Millsap closed his eyes turned around, and hiked the ball between his legs from 70 ft out and it bounced off the rim, up in the air 50 feet high then swished in the hoop! That would be MY interpretation of a fluke... Elson banking in a free throw he was trying to miss at the end was a "fluke"...

Paul Millsap got open, set his feet, looked at the hoop, judged the distance, used muscle memory (a skill professionals have) and used amazing basketball shooters form to sink a 3 pointer. Then, he receive a spin pass from Deron, waist high, almost in the exact same spot he was in before, used those same SKILLS to launch the ball perfectly through the net for 3 more points, THEN he did it again from a little further away but about from the same angle. He did put a little more arc on the 3rd shot, which was by design since a defender was near him, but to call those shots a "fluke" is a weak *** sad commentary of yourself as a human being.

You're looking at the ball going through the hoop ONLY and not the body, mind, skill, practice, determination, and 5000000 lb cajones it takes to take that shot not once, not twice, but three times!!

Calling Millsap's talents and skill that he's worked on in a gym for 10000's of hours is a slap in his face! It's complete and total disrespect for a guy who's strived to make himself a top performer in his profession. You guys who still call it a "fluke" are failures at life....you son of a bitch(es)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top