9 days away till tip off.
The final star studded stat is 3 Pointers. You will see a set of teammates reoccurring here. After drafting Curry in the first round of 2009 and Thompson in the first round of 2011, they combined for 483 3-Pointers, which was the most 3-Pointers ever by a pair of teammates. The Splash Brothers would go on to break that record..again..and again..
2016-2017 3-Pointers per game leaders
Stephen Curry (4.1)
Klay Thompson (3.4)
Eric Gordon (3.3)
James Harden (3.2)
Isaiah Thomas (3.2)
Kyle Lowry (3.2)
- As aforementioned, you will notice a trend of the top two so I’ll skip past them now and cover the next 4. Eric Gordon’s had a great year working alongside James Harden last year. His percentage of made 3PM went down by .012 but he was tossing up an additional 2.3 per game on a team that had more offense alongside Harden who could find him in open space to throw them up. Now add CP3 who will ALSO find him open and the Gordon/Harden splash train is coming to combat the Splash Brothers. Isaiah Thomas will take a hit being on Cleveland, he will contend with Kyle Korver and JR Smith (not to mention Dwayne Wade, Derrick Rose and of course injury for threes. His percentage might go up with open space but total attempts will go down. Kyle Lowry is likely the biggest beneficiary as I think he will continue to throw them up all day on Toronto.
2015-2016 3-Pointers per game leaders
Stephen Curry (5.1)
Klay Thompson (3.5)
Damian Lillard (3.1)
James Harden (2.9)
Kyle Lowry (2.8)
-Yada yada Splash Brothers at top, Harden shortly behind, Lowry slightly down as Toronto continues to get better when you go back in time and this leaves us with Damian Lillard who saw his attempts change from 8.1 per game in 2015-2016 down to 7.7 in 2016-2017. He has a likelihood of contending again this year. He finished 8th in 2016-2017 with 2.9 made per game, he should continue to sit in the 2.9-3.1, a very respectable range.
2014-2015 3-Pointers per game leaders
Stephen Curry (3.6)
Klay Thompson (3.1)
Kyle Korver (2.9)
Wesley Matthews (2.9)
James Harden (2.6)
- 3 years in a row the splash brothers rank #1 and #2. I feel like Klay Thompson doesn’t always get the fantasy respect he deserves for this, he has hit the 2nd most threes and yet sometimes he falls 2 full rounds behind Stephen Curry. Kyle Korver, I’m saddened to say will not be back to his prime on the Cavs, too much cut playing time coupled with competition for shots. Wesley Matthews is seeing a decrease in attempts since his move to the Dallas Mavericks, he is a good deeper option but will continue to see sub 2.5 makes per game.
3 Pointers per game recap: This should come as no surprise to anyone who listens to sports radio, the league is transitioning from paint shooting to perimeter shooting as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have an arms race to see who can hit more 3 pointers each year (which literally comes down to the Splash Brothers vs. about 7 Cavaliers on a given year). In 2010-2011 the average NBA team was making 6.5 3’s per game, now it’s up to 9.7, that is a 49% increase in just 7 years. Players not mentioned: JJ Reddich and Kemba Walker are the two most prevalent names that don’t quite crack the top 5 but continue to see just above or below the 3 per game pace. Bradley Beal won’t be afraid to toss up 7+ per game. Markelle Fultz and Lonzo will toss up a few but should fall within the 2-2.3 makes per game.
To recap where I’m heading on draft day:
Points – James Harden
Rebounds – Andre Drummond & DeAndre Jordan
Assists – Russell Westbrook & John Wall
Steal – CP3
Blocks – Hassan Whiteside & Rudy Gobert
3 Pointers – Stephen Curry & Klay Thompson
Happy Drafting all!