RE: threes

[Josh Rice <joshr@xxxxxxx>]

I totally agree with Kim. The three point shot wrecks the offensive flow. I
would be willing to consider a compromise to eliminating it - limit each
team to 2 three-pointers per quarter, or 3 per half. This would introduce
strategy - save your 3s until you need them.

josh

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-celtics@xxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of
Kim Malo
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2004 9:26 AM
To: celtics@xxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: threes


At 07:16 PM 1/23/2004, Douglas342@xxxxxxx wrote:
>     OK, folks, forget for a minute about whether
> Walter/Antoine/Pierce/Kobe/whoever takes/makes too many or not
> enough.  Forget the Celtics for the moment.  If you're King of the NBA,
> do you abolish the three-point shot?  If so, why?  If not, why not?  And
> while you're at it, what do you tell Evil Antoine who wants a four-point
> line maybe eight feet outside the three-point line?  (We won't talk about
> Psycho Antoine who wants five points for a shot from beyond half court.)

Abolish it. I hate the shot. Look, basketball at its best is a game of
continual motion and flow highlighted by athleticism and controlled
aggression. The three point as an occasional option in an overall offense
based in that is fine, but that's no longer what it's become. It's now an
end in itself, and is there anything more ugly than a beautiful break
ending in an unnecessary 3 point heave clanging off the rim with no one
there to rebound. It's too tempting - you get extra points for taking the
easy way out with a shot that doesn't require teamwork, motion, controlled
athleticism and actually defeating the defense - the intellectual
underpinnings of basketball at its best. Merely someone standing outside
and heaving one up. In some cases taking us back decades to the days of the
set shot. It completely disrupts flow because of that and the long rebounds
it generates, turning basketball into a game of long ball HORSE. Ugh. Also
eliminates a lot of strategy with things like fouls, since you're not going
to get them that way.

I've no doubt Antoine was at least half kidding, although I have no doubt
he'd take advantage of a 4 point line if it existed, but obviously any such
thing would just reward people even more for doing the wrong thing.

Kim