H1 Thunder Basketball: Video: Thunder hit 14 treys

Friday, January 10, 2014

Video: Thunder hit 14 treys

Here's a look at all 14 3-point shots the Thunder made against Swish. 14 out of 24 is 58 percent. It's great to see the hard work and reps the boys put in turn into a nice reward.

Here's my take on 3-point shooting and what it means for our team. (From the H1 Thunder Facebook page.)

Skills. It takes work to improve skills. A lot of our Thunder work a lot on their 3-point shooting. There's no other way to become a good sharpshooter. Still, some days, we'll shoot less well. Other days, even better.

But all in all, our 3-point shooting on Wednesday was outstanding. 14 for 24 from the 3-point arc is phenomenal accuracy for any level of the game. This is the math when a team shoots 58% from deep: 14 x 3, or 42 points.

If you take 24 shots from inside the 3-point line, you'd have to make 21 shots to equal 42 points. TWENTY-ONE of 24! That would be 88%, which is extremely rare.

In general, 33.3% from the 3-point line is acceptable. Doesn't mean it's always the best shot. Lots depends on the situation, like if we're down 1 point with 10 seconds left. Getting to the free-throw line is a better percentage play than most other shots.

But anything above 33% from 3-point range is decent; above 40% is good; above 50% is incredible. It's also do-able. That's why reps are so crucial in basketball, more than ever.

Back to 33%. A team that shoots 33% from the 3-point line scores the same amount of points by shooting 50% inside the arc.

There's also the flip side. A cold shooting performance at the 3-point line shouldn't spook any shooter. Keep your mind focused and your shooting will balance out. The math — and law of averages — will be on your side. Less attention to negatives and more attention to mechanics of your shot (fundamentals) ... that's one way to view the game.

There's more to basketball than 3-point shooting, of course. Winning the turnover battle is always crucial. Free-throw shooting. Closing out on the other team's shooters. Boxing out. But 3-point shooting is a big part of the Thunder offense, so we'll keep working on it every chance we get. Sharpen the tools daily. WE LUB THIS GAME!