this article says nba basketball has evolved to favor the 3 point shot, and that the best nba defensive teams are the ones who defends the 3 point shot the best. obviously some college teams are built to shoot the 3 (not sure who on our schedule that is), but statistically we defend the 3 poorly, and my guess is college will evolve to follow the nba trend, especially with the shorter 3 point shot...I would say that Colorado was suppose to be a 3 point shooting team, and we defended their long range shooting very well...
For generations, the key to playing great team defense in the NBA was simple: having a great center.
Stopping the three-point shot has become the paramount defensive objective in the NBA. Offenses are launching them in unprecedented volume, which is forcing defenses to focus on preventing them, and changing how defenses are built.
This season, entering Sunday, the top defensive teams in the league based on points allowed per possession were the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. Each of these teams either lack a dominant rim protector or they start a center who has missed a significant part of the season because of injuries.
What they do have is the ability to harass three-point shooters. In the NBA, the teams that allow the lowest three-point shooting percentage have become a reflection of the league’s overall defensive ratings. The top four teams in three-point defense entering Sunday were Houston, the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State and Milwaukee. (Portland ranks sixth overall.)
Meanwhile, the three worst defenses this season—the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves—were among the worst at three-point defense.
In other words, stop the three, and you have an excellent chance of stopping your opponent. It is the latest reflection of how shots from long range have revolutionized the sport.
“It has completely changed the way players are valued on the market,” said John Hollinger, the Memphis Grizzlies’ vice president of basketball operations. “Now we put a premium on length and basketball IQ.”
‘It’s the biggest change in the game in a generation.’
“It’s made defense in the NBA much more team-oriented,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. “You can’t game-plan to isolate against one guy; you have to defend the entire court.”
Stopping the three was one of Stotts’s points of emphasis when he took over the Blazers before the 2012-13 season. It has driven their rise from 21st in defensive rating during his first season to the league’s upper echelon this season. Stotts said the primary strategy was keeping the ball on one side of the floor, rotating back into the paint to stop drives and forcing long-distance two-point shots. “We want to be in position to contest as many threes as possible,” he said.
Milwaukee Bucks swingman Jared Dudley played last season for the Los Angeles Clippers, the team that led the NBA in opponents’ three-point percentage. He contrasted what the Bucks do versus what the Clippers did. “With the Clippers, we were determined to run shooters off the line”—that is, prevent threes from being taken—“but sometimes that allowed them to drive to the hoop,” he said.
He said the Bucks’ approach is more comprehensive. In addition to running shooters off the three point line, the Bucks try to force ballhandlers toward the baseline, where the passing angles are more severe. Or they force shooters to dribble the ball toward a help defender, frequently long-armed forward Giannis Antetokounmpo or center John Henson.
A lot of three-point attempts nowadays occur on fast breaks when defenses are scrambling to locate and guard opposing players, so the Bucks make transition defense—getting three or four players to the defensive end as quickly as possible—a point of emphasis.
For generations, the key to playing great team defense in the NBA was simple: having a great center.
Stopping the three-point shot has become the paramount defensive objective in the NBA. Offenses are launching them in unprecedented volume, which is forcing defenses to focus on preventing them, and changing how defenses are built.
This season, entering Sunday, the top defensive teams in the league based on points allowed per possession were the Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. Each of these teams either lack a dominant rim protector or they start a center who has missed a significant part of the season because of injuries.
What they do have is the ability to harass three-point shooters. In the NBA, the teams that allow the lowest three-point shooting percentage have become a reflection of the league’s overall defensive ratings. The top four teams in three-point defense entering Sunday were Houston, the Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State and Milwaukee. (Portland ranks sixth overall.)
Meanwhile, the three worst defenses this season—the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves—were among the worst at three-point defense.
In other words, stop the three, and you have an excellent chance of stopping your opponent. It is the latest reflection of how shots from long range have revolutionized the sport.
“It has completely changed the way players are valued on the market,” said John Hollinger, the Memphis Grizzlies’ vice president of basketball operations. “Now we put a premium on length and basketball IQ.”
‘It’s the biggest change in the game in a generation.’
“It’s made defense in the NBA much more team-oriented,” said Blazers coach Terry Stotts. “You can’t game-plan to isolate against one guy; you have to defend the entire court.”
Stopping the three was one of Stotts’s points of emphasis when he took over the Blazers before the 2012-13 season. It has driven their rise from 21st in defensive rating during his first season to the league’s upper echelon this season. Stotts said the primary strategy was keeping the ball on one side of the floor, rotating back into the paint to stop drives and forcing long-distance two-point shots. “We want to be in position to contest as many threes as possible,” he said.
Milwaukee Bucks swingman Jared Dudley played last season for the Los Angeles Clippers, the team that led the NBA in opponents’ three-point percentage. He contrasted what the Bucks do versus what the Clippers did. “With the Clippers, we were determined to run shooters off the line”—that is, prevent threes from being taken—“but sometimes that allowed them to drive to the hoop,” he said.
He said the Bucks’ approach is more comprehensive. In addition to running shooters off the three point line, the Bucks try to force ballhandlers toward the baseline, where the passing angles are more severe. Or they force shooters to dribble the ball toward a help defender, frequently long-armed forward Giannis Antetokounmpo or center John Henson.
A lot of three-point attempts nowadays occur on fast breaks when defenses are scrambling to locate and guard opposing players, so the Bucks make transition defense—getting three or four players to the defensive end as quickly as possible—a point of emphasis.
