Golden State is More than Just Three Point Shooters

The NBA of today is different from the 1980s, 1990s and the early years of the new millennium. Today there is more the just one formula to be a winner in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors are one team that plays to its strengths to get the most out of its roster of players.

The Warriors may have the greatest backcourt shooters in NBA history and the two catalysts Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are just 25 and 23 years of age respectively.

Last season Curry broke the all time record for made three point shots in a season with 272. That figure would be even more impressive for someone who does not shot all that well, but Curry shot 45.3% from three-point range.

Pairing just any shooter who was above average with Curry would give Golden State one of the best shooting duos in the backcourt in the NBA. However, Thompson gives the Warriors credentials that border on being the best ever. Thompson himself knocked down 211 three points shots, which were the third most in the league last season and ranked 22^nd all time.

He has hit 62 through the teams first 18 games thus far to put him on a season long pace that would shatter the record set by Curry.

Currently Curry is second to Thompson in the league with 51 made threes, although he missed three of the 18 games thus far.

Of course being great shooters does not always translate into wins, but head coach Mark Jackson the staff he has built around him have simplified it immensely. Their game plan is to get Thompson and Curry their shots as often as possible.

The formula has in turn given Golden State one of the most potent attacks on offense in the league. However, their game plan is also receiving plenty of criticism. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley have repeatedly said Golden State is just a team of jump shooters and called their style unsustainable.

The team is not what Barkley and O’Neal call them – a “jump shooting team.” Several teams in the NBA love shooting jump shots live and die by their three point shots and cannot consistently score down the stretch when called upon.

Look at the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets, the three biggest three point shooting clubs in the NBA. The three vary a great deal in their won loss record and shooting ability, but all three are jumping shooting clubs.

For Houston, James Harden has taken 87 attempts from three-point range and six other players have 50 or more attempts.

The Lakers have six players who have 50 plus attempts, while the Knicks have eight players that have shot 30 or more three pointers.

In contrast, only six Golden State players have shot more than 10 threes and just four have 30 or more shots and two have 60 or more.

Thompson and Curry have taken 227 threes between them, which is more than the both the Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies teams have taken.

The team hits nearly 44% of their threes and lead the NBA in that category.

The Warriors are doing this as a game plan, it has worked and it has made them a strong contender in the Western Conference.

Time will tell where it takes them after 82 regular season games, but they are not worried about their game plan.