Should Walker shoot any threes at all? - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

NBAGnome · 01-03-2004, 07:47 AM

Now, i'm not silly enough to think Walker isn't a good player and doesn't help our team in a lot of ways. But I do think he is hurting us in his shot selection. Lets look at statistics.

Right now : 0.298% from 3 land, 31 games, 161 attempts
Last season: 0.323% from 3 land, 78 games, 582 attempts

Hes had worse seasons. In 99-00 he shot 3 pointers at .256%, and it was still a active shot in his shot selection.

Why does the 3 need to be in his shot selection? Does it help us? Sure, he can get hot and make them at a good percentage for a FEW games, but the vast majority of the time hes throwing up bricks.

At the moment Dirk's 3 stroke isn't that great, or perhaps its improved over the last few games i'm not sure...but hes shooting them at a similar percentage thus far in the season, but Dirk is a player that has been very effective from 3 land in the recent past, unlike Walker, he will get back his stroke before the season is over and certainly by the time playoffs roll around.

But even with Dirk's 3 pointers not very effective thus far, Nash and Finley are both shooting them at very respectable percentages.

People say he only shoots them when hes open, well thats great, he can do that all day, but its still not helping us, settling for a 29% attempt just doesn't cut it for a championship caliber team. Sometimes your open for the 3 because the other team knows that statistics say it'll only hurt your team if you take one.

I think Walkers great, hes very talented, very versatile, he can help our team significantly. But why does he have to shoot the 3? I don't know of any other player in the league that shoots that many threes with the kind of percentage Walker has. The other guys that jack up as many as Walker jack them up because they make alot of them. But Walker doesn't...

The facts are you only have so many possessions of the ball. The Spurs and Lakers have won the last 5 championships because they convert those possessions with dominant players. Shaq shoots at a stupid percentage normally, and Duncan can be relied on to shoot slightly over 50%. Antoine needs to stop practicing 3s, practice free throws instead, and pass the ball to Nash or Finley.

Hitman · 01-03-2004, 07:55 AM

Walker should be taking ONE three pointer per game, if that.

When Michael Jordan was able to hit the three pointer effectively, he took up to 3 and a half three pointers a game.

When he was not, such as in later in his career, he took less than 1 per game.

Walker needs to stop taking three pointers, because he is not good at them.

In reality, you need to hit a MINIMUM of 33% of your threes to justify taking ANY!

NBAGnome · 01-03-2004, 08:12 AM

Exactly. And the result of Michael Jordan not taking many 3s? He converted on over 50% of his FG attempts on a number of seasons...

Simon2 · 01-03-2004, 09:10 AM

I'm not sure if Walker should or should not be taking any threes based on stats. In my opinion, he should continue shooting them. If he is a threat out there, that will open up driving lanes to the basket for him and others. Walker should shoot but not as much.

NBAGnome · 01-03-2004, 09:22 AM

To spread the floor with perimeter shooting and open up driving lanes you gotta get enough of them to go in, which he doesn't. Theres no need for the defense to stay honest and guard him at the 3 line, he'll miss them when hes open too.

Simon2 · 01-03-2004, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: NBAGnome
To spread the floor with perimeter shooting and open up driving lanes you gotta get enough of them to go in, which he doesn't. Theres no need for the defense to stay honest and guard him at the 3 line, he'll miss them when hes open too.

That I would like to see, the defense leaving Walker open for threes. I bet he'll make them when he's open.

Hitman · 01-03-2004, 09:33 AM

I hope you are being sarcastic.

Simon2 · 01-03-2004, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Hitman
I hope you are being sarcastic.

No. I'm serious. There are players that you can leave all day at the three. ie Dale Davis, Bradley, Shaq but Walker is not one of them. Here's the simple reason why. Walker is accustomed to shooting them. That means he's familiar with that distance. Leaving him open will be a killer for the other team.

Hitman · 01-03-2004, 10:08 AM

Dude, the reason Walker shoots so many threes is that the opposing teams leave him open for them, because they know he shoots so poorly from there (and they know he is likely to take them.)

mary · 01-03-2004, 10:25 AM

Right now there are only 3 players in the entire NBA that have

A) Lobbed up more than 110 3-pointers

and

B) Haven't managed to hit at least 30 percent of them

Lebron James .289, 111 A
Stephen Jackson .293, 147 A
Antoine Walker .298, 161 A

So let's see......we have a rookie out of high school, a guy that had to wait around all summer before being picked up by the worst team in the NBA, and our very own Mr. Walker.

Walkerforthree · 01-03-2004, 11:59 AM

Does Walker lead the NBA in three-point attempts? Or does Baron Davis?

DNNF · 01-03-2004, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Simon2

Quote:

Originally posted by: Hitman
I hope you are being sarcastic.

No. I'm serious. There are players that you can leave all day at the three. ie Dale Davis, Bradley, Shaq but Walker is not one of them. Here's the simple reason why. Walker is accustomed to shooting them. That means he's familiar with that distance. Leaving him open will be a killer for the other team.

Do you even watch any games? Walker missed shit load of 3s when he was wide open. Yes, he will make 1 out of 5 when he's wide open, but if you make that low percentage, then you should stop.

grndmstr_c · 01-03-2004, 01:11 PM

IMO, it's reasonable to assume from Walker's past that he should be able to hit 33-35% of his threes when he's open (he jacked up a lot of contested one's in Boston, something he hasn't done here). That's enough to justify some shots. I'd still like us to run that three point game with Fin, Dirk, and Nash more often than Walk, because Fin and Nash are hitting a better percentage, and Dirk can hit a better percentage. Not sure why Antoine's three point shooting is down this year, but the one thing I will say is that I have felt like the vast majority of his attempts have been within the flow of the offense. It's rare that he jacks up a three on a posession where I cringe as soon as I see him load up. As long as he continues to shoot smart, I'd like to see him shoot it, and hope that eventually his shot comes around to where I believe it can.

dude1394 · 01-03-2004, 02:07 PM

I think I'm of the camp that if he's wide open shoot a few of them. There is NO WAY he should come close to leading the team in them, if he is then nellie has a LOT OF 'SPLANIN to do. It just shouldn't happen.

Buttt....Right now he IS! by a long shot..by almost 30%. Maybe finley/dirk will catch up since they are about 5 games shy, but it's unacceptable for him to shoot almost what 161 / 31 games (5 per game, fuggetaboutit).

sike · 01-03-2004, 02:26 PM

Walker should keep to passing and cutting to the hole....the three should surely be cut down.....but Nellie wont pull Walker in any more than he already has....

Nellie has already said he wants Walker to take the three.....so screw us!

dude1394 · 01-03-2004, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: sike
Walker should keep to passing and cutting to the hole....the three should surely be cut down.....but Nellie wont pull Walker in any more than he already has....

Nellie has already said he wants Walker to take the three.....so screw us!

I think nellie has said that he wants the 3 to still be a part of his game, not the most 3 point shooter on the team. Do you think he got pulled last night because he jacked up a few?? I do, they were 3-5 feet outside the line, that is bull honkey and should get anyone looked at unless they are absolutely on-fire.

sike · 01-03-2004, 03:09 PM

Quote:

[i]Originally posted by: [b]dude1394 that is bull honkey.

whoa..every body give dude a little space, he's said "bull honkey"....he needs to calm down....

If that was the case, dude, then I hope we see more of it! If he thinks he can consistantly hit those, he is freakin crazy! I hate that shot!

dude1394 · 01-03-2004, 03:25 PM

Quote:

whoa..every body give dude a little space, he's said "bull honkey"....he needs to calm down....

WATCH OUT!! I'll say durn next. lol..

MightyToine · 01-03-2004, 03:47 PM

Nellie SHOULD put the reins back on Walker as far as shooting 3's goes....

Walker should be allowed to take ONLY 3 three-pointers a game...The rest of the time, stay down low and work the low-post(passing/scoring/rebounding)

bernardos70 · 01-03-2004, 03:48 PM

Walker should take only the wide open 3. If he misses that, he should not taking any more threes, not even wide open ones. He's our worst three point shooter in the starting lineup, out of those who take three pointers. Dirk last nite: 2 for 5; Finley, 2 for 5; Nash, 4 for 5; Walker? 1 for 5. And if I'm not mistaken, he made the first one, then went on to miss 4 in a row, never thinking about perhaps stopping. If he shot only 2 pointers, he'd finish 6 for 11 (54.5%), with the threes, he finished 7 for 16 (43.8%). He has on and off nights, very streaky especially when it comes to three point shooting.

jayC · 01-03-2004, 04:08 PM

He should take the open three that is just the essence of the offense. He should take ones when the ball goes inside and then outside threes that are off of rythm. I agree that he does take away from his dribble drive his potent 18 foot shot and his floater through the lane. I think as a team the mavs need to take less three pointers. They are much more dangerous when they are slashing, cutting and hitting the occasional postup.