Marc Gasol shoots threes now. It was a bit of a surprise, watching him receive a pass in the corner to shoot a game-winning three-pointer. There was no hesitation and the clippers behind him were left wondering when Gasol had begun shooting threes. Looking at the top rated American basketball Lines, everyone clearly believes that this development will change things.
It should be noted that Gasol has already acclimated to shooting long two-pointers; so stepping back behind the arc, on the encouragement of Coach David Fizdale wasn’t as difficult a challenge.
Interestingly enough, before this year, Gasol never made more than three three-pointers in any given season. Fizdale thought that Gasol’s three-pointers would make a difference during the Clippers game.
A team like the Clippers presents an incredible defense, probably one of the best in the league, and Fizdale thought that players like Gasol could improve their chances of success by becoming more versatile on the court.
Fizdale was heard boasting after the game that the Clippers were the team that Gasol personally beat; players like DeAndre Jordan simply gave him far too much space to bury his shots.
Jordan admitted that he misread the situation, especially when he saw Mike in the corner and presumed that he might need help; if he had stayed in the corner, the situation might have played out differently.
Jordan wasn’t acclimated to shadowing players around the three-point line, at least not so frequently; for this reason, it didn’t take much to spook him into stepping away from Gasol when it mattered most.
The Clippers have a decent defense, which is why they are sixth in defense in the NBA; however, their offense isn’t as impressive, which is why they are 24th offensively in the NBA. Fizdale hoped that encouraging Gasol to shoot three-pointers would make his team’s offense more high powered, and it clearly worked seeing as the Grizzlies took the victory.
Rick Carlisle admitted that Gasol’s three-pointers became a problem for his team; additionally, it is becoming a trend in the NBA for players like Gasol to experiment with three-pointers.
The NBA has had big men before who shot three-pointers; however, it used to be little more than a gimmick. Today, three-pointers are quickly becoming a necessity.
Brook Lopez spent so much time refusing to step out beyond the line that when he began shooting threes this season, it came as a surprise. Lopez has already doubled his attempts this season, and he has begun seeing real results.
Cousins also added the three-point shot to his arsenal last season, making 210 attempts in that one season. You also have the likes of Joel Embiid and Myles Turner attempting at least one triple per game.
While centers like Hassan Whiteside and Andre Drummond have chosen to retain their traditional skill set, it almost feels like the NBA as a whole is moving to adopt the three-point line as the norm.
This is less of a fad and more of a natural evolution; the sport has to keep reinventing itself in order to maintain its entertainment value. Players like Gasol are showing the tangible results that can manifest when players take a chance on new tactics and skills.
