a concern

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

I don't want to be a killjoy, but is anyone else concerned about Antoine's
growing reliance on the three-pointer? 12 attempts in Portland, 11 in Utah,
9 in Seattle, 8 in Vancouver, 10 against Milwaukee. You have to go all the
way back to the win over Phoenix (Jan. 26), to find a game where he
attempted fewer than 8 three-pointers. That's a nine-game stretch (he missed
the game in Detroit) when he's averaging almost 10 threes a game.

I know his percentages have been good. He made 12 of the 23 attempts in the
last two games, and his season percentage of .384 is solid (not far from his
overall percentage of .417, in fact). If he was a small forward or guard, I
wouldn't have the same concerns. But he is, like it or not, this team's
power forward, and also its best rebounder. Every time he takes a
three-pointer, he's 24 feet from a rebound. When the team is getting killed
on the boards, can we afford this?

There are other problems: You're not going to get to the line much hoisting
that many long jumpers. It negates the ball-handling and quickness
advantages Toine has over other power forwards. Threes rarely are the best
available shot, and this team's overall terrible shooting suggests they need
to try harder to find the best available shot. Missed threes mean long
rebounds and fast break opportunities for the opponent.

I like the three-pointer as a weapon, and admire Toine for improving his
shot so much, but I still believe that he has reached the point of
diminishing returns with his increased reliance on it. This team has played
surprisingly well despite his love for the longball lately, so it hasn't
really hurt. But they're getting killed on the boards again and I'm
wondering the wins aren't masking some bad habits Toine is falling into.

Any thoughts?

Mark