How many threes per game is too many for a player?

[SCdac]

Over the last few years some players and teams have been really trigger happy. No doubt the three point shot is one of the most important shots in terms of strategy, but is it overdone nowadays? About 1 out of every 4 shots in the league is a three pointer



Pop picked up on their usefulness over a decade ago, signing pin-point/clutch shooters like Steve Kerr to the Spurs almost exclusively for long range shooting. But other players/coaches had been using three's since it's inception. Nowadays, Stephen Curry (arguably the best shooter in today's game) broke a record for "most made 3's in a season" with 272 a year ago, and Danny Green lit up the Finals in 2013 (though at the time I thought it was unreliable way to be winning games, and sure enough it turned out to be as Green simmered down).

But at what point does a player become too dependent on the three point shot? How many should a superstar be taking (ala Kevin Durant or Lebron) vs. a role player? What is a good amount for a big man vs. a guard? Which three point shooters could afford to cut down and improve their midrange or post game (ala Dirk Nowitzki in the late 2000s)? ... Personally, there's something odd about a player taking ~10 three's in a single game, yet nowadays it's typically done by the players capable of hitting them. Still bugs me, IDk, call me old fashioned. Reminds me of growing up and used to play my neighbors in NBA2K and all they'd do was shoot three's, especially if they were losing (weak comeback attempt). The shot has def grown in popularity since then.

Some stats....

The top shooters in 2014:

Curry (7.9)
Lillard (6.8)
Harden (6.6)
Love (6.6)
Klay (6.6)

In the playoffs, most of their attempts increased (some stayed about the same), but Harden's definitely jumped the most from 6.6 in the reg season to 9 three-attempts per game in the Rockets' first round exit.

Top shooters in 2004:

B-Diddy (8.7)
McGrady (7.7)
Allen (6.8)
Crawford (6.5)
Arenas (6.1)

For whatever reason, none of them made it to the Finals as leaders of their team, though all were talented and T-Mac was an MVP-type talent around that time.

Top shooters in 1994:

Majerle (6.3)
Starks (5.7)
Maxwell (5.4)
Sprewell (4.8)
Scott (4.7)

Clearly players were taking much less threes, most of the MVP's of the 1990's were not living beyond the arch. Jordan for instance averaged only 1.7 attempts through his career.

[Droid101]

Corner threes are just good math. No reason to not design your offense around getting open shots from there. That's why three point shots have gone up every year since they were invented.

[imnew09]

as long as it goes in, it doesnt matter how many you take

[fpliii]

Modern spacing makes basketball look like a completely different sport from when I started watching. Not necessarily better or worse, just...different.

[SCdac]

But how many is too many? what is the threshold iyo

[SCdac]

how many three's should Chris Bosh or Pau Gasol be taking, ideally?

[k0kakw0rld]

If your name is Stephen Curry, take as many threes as you want. He can take 10+ each game for what I care.
The rest, an average of 4 is fine with me.