NBA 2016-17 Season: What are the Biggest Weakness of Rivals Cavaliers and Warriors; Top Teams with Problems in 3-Point Shooting
Since Steph Curry proved that three-point goals are essential in winning the new generation of NBA, franchises have been all trying to grab a shooting specialist of their own. But not all are lucky enough to wrap up the preseason with positive result even with all the trades and acquisition around. So for basketball fans, here is the list of top teams perceived to experience problem this 2016-17 season in terms of sinking three-pointers.
Dallas Mavericks boasts the offensive trio of Dirk Nowitzki, Wes Matthews, Raymond Felton and Chandler Parsons but the lingering loophole for the team is inefficiency at the top of the arc. Mavs is considered so poor in connecting long distance that they ended in the seventh position as ineffective in perimeter shooting. Coach rick Carlisle's team only connected 38.7 percent from the range last season and is hoping to correct this shortfall with Parsons' 41.4 percent shooting percentage.
Next to land a spot in the inefficiency list is the Chicago Bulls. The dip in three-point shooting is attributed mainly to Jimmy Butler who is still struggling to get his old form in three seasons ago when he was able to connect 38.1 percent form the deep. Butler is also known to have a history of ups and downs in scoring capability, being on the low in 2013-14 season with just 28.3 percent. He then again returned to the list of good shooters with 37.8 percent the following season but suffered another dip last season with 31.2 percent three-point efficiency.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Boston Celtics is considered a runner-up in making threes since the 2015-16 season is somewhat productive for the team. Out of 30 teams in the NBA, Celtics made it to the 13th in three-point attempts last season. The problem is, the statistic clearly states that "attempts made" which means they are bad at actually converting it into points. The best hope for Boston this upcoming season is Al Horford with a decent 34.4 percent from the 7-meter distance.
Meanwhile, for the most awaited part to answer the question regarding the perceived weaknesses that the rival Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors posses this season, both share inefficiency in protecting the basket. Curry's Warriors and LeBron's Cavs are the best there is in offense but lacks depth to deny the opposing teams from sinking points.
Cavs will rely on Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson to protect the rim this season after Timofey Mozgov left for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Golden State's problem in rim protection is more official compared to rival Cleveland. Any opposing team can easily make a basket against the Warriors if they get to at least a stride away from the rim at a high probability of 63.9 percent in making the shot. Ironically, Warriors is purely a marksmen team because they are also the seventh-lowest in terms of percentage in making shots near the basket. All of their 73 wins last season were made either from the perimeter of three-point distance.
