The Philadelphia 76ers have shot a combined 15-for-72 from deep in their previous two games, both road losses, and over their past six road games, they are shooting only 25% from deep. However, they must continue to shoot.
It’s easy to read that statement and say “No way! They need to stop shooting and get into the paint!”, but it’s pretty hard to do so if teams are going to pack the paint against you. That’s why despite the issues shooting the ball recently, they must continue to dial it up from distance.
For example, in Monday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers, there was a possession late where Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons attempted to run a pick-and-roll. Al Horford posted up on the low block and the play was ruined because of the lack of spacing. A Richardson desperation 3-pointer bailed them out in the possession.
It is possessions like this one that really illustrate why the Sixers need to continue to hoist 3-pointers. The paint needs to be unpacked and spaced for Simmons to operate as well as Horford and Joel Embiid once he returns.
When one considers the fact that the Sixers shot a poor 18-for-50 on uncontested shots Monday, it can be chalked up to “they just missed”. Coach Brett Brown drew up enough plays and the players executed enough to get 50 uncontested looks out of 89 total field goal attempts on the night.
“We just have to make more open looks,” said Tobias Harris who shot 1-for-5 from deep on Monday. “I think all around we haven’t shot it well from three, we’ve got to stick with it. But at the same time, we’ve got to make more looks, more shots that we’re getting.”
Sixers shot 18-50 on uncontested shots last night.
— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) January 14, 2020
The Sixers for the season shoot 37.5% from deep on shots that are considered wide open. The NBA’s official stats website considers that as defenders that are 6+ feet away. It’s not like that number is going to blow anybody away, but it’s a number that is respectable and a number that could rise with the addition of a shooter before the deadline–see their interest in adding a shooter.
At the end of the day, the Sixers have got to find a way to space the floor and the easiest way to do that is to keep hoisting 3-pointers. On Monday, they just missed a lot of open looks and they even had a lot of good looks on Saturday that they just missed.
Basketball can be boiled down sometimes to a make or miss game and when you aren’t making shots, the best way to breakthrough is to keep shooting. [lawrence-related id=23445,23436,23419]