Thursday, May 09, 2013

Crazy Stat

Listening to a podcast on the way over and learned in the 2nd half of the NBA season, Steph Curry shot 46% from three-point range.  That percentage is especially amazing considering the following:

1. He took nearly 9 three-pointers a game during that span.
2.  He set the record for made 3's, so this is a statistically significant percentage.
3.  He is known as a 3 point shooter and defenses try to stop his 3's.  This puts more value on his 3's than say, Bruce Bowen getting open looks and hitting from the corner because defenses were geared to stop Duncan.

So then I got thinking...what is the value of a 46% FG percentage from 3 land.  Math:

Over 100 shots:

46% from 2 point land = 92 total points
46% from 3 point land = 138 total points

To score 138 points over 100 shots shooting mostly 2-pointers would require a 69% FG percentage...a basically unheard of percentage for a jump shooter or guard...and can only be accomplished by guys who only dunk the ball or put back offensive rebounds, ie Tyson Chandler or DeAndre Jordan.

Curry is making me - and the NBA - rethink what is offensive value and effectiveness.

If this guy played one-on-one with LaBron with 3-pointers, don't you think he wins?  He couldn't stop LaBron, but LaBron couldn't stop him either and he'd make more 3's.

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