When you have a team that has the best shooter ever to live on it, you're going to be a pretty good 3-point shooting team. This season, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have the tools to take it up another notch. The addition of some veterans and the emergence of young players to the roster have the Warriors in place to make NBA history shooting the ball.
Last season, the Warriors ranked ninth in the league in 3-point percentage at 37.6%. They were fifth in attempts with 38.7 per game and third in makes with 14.6 treys per contest.
These numbers will be tough for most teams to reach. But the Golden State Warriors, the organization credited for the rise in 3-point attempts, aren't most teams. Being the best shooting team in the NBA isn't a goal or something the guys talk about, but when you look at how the team is shooting in the preseason, it's achievable.
“I don't know what everybody else is doing, but 3-point shooting has gotten so much better around the league. There are lots of other teams that are great 3-point shooting teams,” Steve Kerr told ClutchPoints.
During the preseason, the Warriors have spaced the floor and created plenty of good looks at the basket. It has resulted in a ton of attempts and makes. In the past, coaches would be ripping their hair out if their squad shot as many 3s as the Dubs. But Kerr says he doesn't care if they take 80 triples as long as they're good shots. When asked if they could be the best shooting team in the NBA, he just wanted to look at changes from last season.
“The only thing I'm going to compare our team to is from last year,” Kerr continues. “From last year to this year, I think we will dramatically improve from a 3-point shooter standpoint. That's exciting and opens up the floor quite a bit. Now it's up to us to figure out the right combinations and go from there.”
The freedom Kerr gives the players mentally rolls over to the team playing confidently and freely on the floor. It's something two-time league MVP Stephen Curry notices as well.
“Right now, it seems like a nice flow, like there's nothing that's being forced,” Curry explained.
Throughout the first three games of the preseason, the Warriors are shooting 57 3-pointers per game. No other team has taken more treys than the Dubs. In fact, at this pace, they would shatter the record of 45.4 attempts by the Houston Rockets during the 2018-19 season. At the same time, the Warriors would break the record for most makes as they are currently making 21.7 per game. The Rockets also own this milestone. They knocked down 16.1 in that same 2018-19 season.
It's only the preseason, but these numbers are still impressive. There is no Klay Thompson, and the team is experimenting with lineups while still hitting these marks. During the regular season, everyone won't be touching the floor. More than likely, the players who can shoot it efficiently and effectively will play. Once Thompson is back, they'll become even deadlier from deep.
The Warriors' style of play and lethal shooters will be why multiple 3-point records should get threatened this season, and that means a whole lot of fun inside the Chase Center and nightmares for other teams.
Make sure to check out the latest episode of Warriors' Multiverse by ClutchPoints.
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