McCarty is averaging one 3-point attempt for every five minutes he's on
the floor. That's even bolder than Antoine Walker, who launched a trey
every 5.5 minutes he was on the floor last year, when he led the league
in 3-point attempts.
Which proves exactly what? See, this is why stats are so dangerous as proof
of anything other than the agenda of the people citing them and their skill
in manipulating them (I happen to be very good at that, which makes me
particularly cynical about what can be done with them). And don't get me
wrong. This is not a defense of the 3, a shot I loathe no matter who is
shooting it.
Last season Walter launched a 3 every 7.8 minutes he was on the floor, Is
that really such a huge difference? Tony Delk did one every 6 minutes he
was on the floor, another relatively small difference. I don't recall vast
outrage over it (vs 3s per se), nor does it get cited in the above blurb.
Nor does anyone else in the league, who believe it or not may have a worse
ratio get mentioned. Baron Davis is a 3 every 4.3 minutes on about twice
Walter's minutes.
And then there's the whole issue of the minutes. The less minutes you play
the more skewed any per minute evaluation is going to be. Again, don't get
me wrong - Walter shoots too many 3s. But so do lots of other people,
including Pierce with a much lower 3s per minute ratio but more reasons not
to, given what else he can do. Walter was getting pretty limited minutes in
the early part of the season and still heaving up 3s. He probably had a
ratio of a 3 per 2-3 min played for a while. And may well end up with a
comparable ratio to last season, as things even out.
And finally, anyone who doesn't think Walker's ratio of minutes per 3
wouldn't have been much worse if he was getting fewer minutes, just to make
sure he got his shots in, doesn't know their Antoine. And as with Pierce,
with even less excuse than Walter, who let's face it is in there for 2
things - his supposed defense and 3 point shooting. Now if only he would
figure that out and stop all this dribbling he seems to have taken up
attempting lately...