More 3-point attempts in 1980 NBA Playoffs than now?

[That_Admiral]

Is there a reason behind this?
I understand that it was the first year to bring in the 3 point shot, but why such a big difference?

[warriorfan]

increased pace and shittier players

[1987_Lakers]

Many players didn't have the range to shoot from 3 since they never shot that far throughout their careers. And most coaches frowned upon that shot as well, they didn't want players taking a 3 since it was such a low percentage shot when it was introduced.

It wasn't until the late 80's when teams actually started using the 3 as a weapon.

[That_Admiral]

see that's what i thought as well, that's why i'm wondering why there are so many attempts.

[Prime_Shaq]

Many players didn't have the range to shoot from 3 since they never shot that far throughout their careers. And most coaches frowned upon that shot as well, they didn't want players taking a 3 since it was such a low percentage shot when it was introduced.

It wasn't until the late 80's when teams actually started using the 3 as a weapon.

And shooting 3s arent considered a winning basketball recipe until as recent as 2012

[Rocketswin2013]

I remember a Rockets announcer saying guys literally weren't strong enough to shootthat range.

[shmozzle]

Your image isn't working but I'm going to assume it is the one i saw earlier comparing the 1980 playoffs to just steph curry in these playoffs.

Average 3 point attempts per team for the 1980 nba playoffs: 29
Average 3 point attempts per team for the 2015 nba playoffs: 255

[SHAQisGOAT]

It's not easy to adjust to such a considerable change.

Those guys grew up without the 3pt-line, played ball all their life (all the way to the pros) without it... Even being great shooters with range, it takes time to adapt, even more so when it's not emphasized much.

Plus, coaches took time to adjust to that as well, most of them didn't like for players to shoot many 3's, ran little to no plays for it, plenty of great shooters were doing it mostly on bailout shots.

Only adopted in college ball since '87, I believe.

For example, make the dribbling rules much tighter right now and increase the physicality too, like it used to be... You'd see a bunch of dudes struggling not to get called for palming and such, and what about those players who always complain about the slightest touch? Forget about it. And those aren't even that big as adding a 3pt-line.

I remember a Rockets announcer saying guys literally weren't strong enough to shootthat range.

That's bullshit... Lots of dudes had great range but it takes time to adapt to such a thing, knowing their spots and so on...
Plus, without a 3pt-line there wasn't much reward in shooting that far out, even if plenty still did it.

Go watch Bird in college, dude was shooting plenty of "4pt-shots" if anything, then shot 40.6% on 1.7 attempts from 3 in his 1st pro-year (even after an injured index finger)... Coach Fitch didn't really roll with that, Larry spent his next 4 seasons shooting at max 1 per game, not many plays for it, not many catch-n-shoot, most of them at the end of shot-clocks off the dribble for the bailout...
Then his attempts increased considerably around '84 and his %'s went way up, shooting them at over 40%. He kept working on the shot and at that point, plays were ran for it, KC Jones emphasized it, so on...

Corpse of Pistol Pete still shot 10/15 from 3 in his last season... Imagine him in his prime with the 3pt-line Dude had 4pt-range, great shooter/scorer in many different ways and wasn't shy about pulling up from anywhere.

Look at Craig Hodges, terrific pure shooter (mostly spot-up and catch-n-shoot), only shot 22.2% on 1.2 3PA's in his 1st season... When he really got used to the line, was shooting it as high as 49% on 3 attempts, making the most baskets in a row in the 3pt contest or the most points in a round - records that stand til this day.

Downtown Fred Brown was a killer shooter with lots of range, line was introduced when he was past his prime but still got to shoot 44.3% for one season... His attempts limited to not more than 1.1 though.

Calvin Murphy was simply a great shooter but the line was only there when he was about to retire, didn't serve him much.

Jordan said Brian Winters was probably the best shooter he went up against... 3pt line only there in his final seasons and nobody emphasized the shot much, he could've been murderous from there, still got to shoot 38.7% on 1.5 attempts in his penultimate season.

I swear that Chuck Person rarely pulled up for a 3 from just right beyond the 3pt-line... People would've go crazy for him nowadays, dude was mostly stroking it from like more than 3 feet beyond the 3pt-line, still had some very good shooting seasons.

Most people never even heard of Trent Tucker... Had he played right now that would've been considerably different.
Grew up without the 3pt-line, ofc, it was then introduced (in the pros!) 3 years before he got in the league... Still had years of shooting way over 40%, and such, without much plays ran for him, without much emphasis.

Dale Ellis, probably the most underrated shooter ever, one of the most underrated scorers for his prime, got into the league in 1983 and by '89 was shooting 47.8% from 3 on over 4 3PA's, 50% from the field too.
Legit 6'7 player, very good athlete, elite shooting from everywhere except the FT line, had a post-game to boot, great without the ball, great catch-n-shoot, killer on those jumpers off of baseline curls.

Danny Ainge's 1st 5 sesons? 28.9% from 3 on 0.5 attempts per game. Following 10? 38.5% on 3.6 3PA's.

Michael Cooper 1st 6 seasons? 27.7% on 0.7 3PA's. Last 5? 36.1% on 2.4 attempts in 26 MPG. %'s up for the post-season too.

Terry Porter shot 29.2% on 0.7 3PA's in his 3 1st seasons... 39% 3pt-shooter for the rest of his whole career combined.

Horncek shot 30.8% on little attempts in his 1st 3 years, then went on to be a 40% 3pt-shooter.

Ever heard of Reggie Miller? In his 1st season he didn't shoot more than 35.5% from 3.

increased pace and shittier players

Gtfoh, little child...

Would love to see your precious boy AMC30 (isn't that your pet name for him?) getting turned into a straight up beta in those days...
He'd be totally ****ed up trying to dribble around the place the way he does now or trying to go into the paint looking all frail Oh, and back then you could actually touch shooters.

I can't help to laugh at the notion of Curry even being close to MVP in a league with Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Moses, Barkley, Dr J, Malone No weak-ass era, son.
In a much tougher time, non-guard oriented league, not much emphasis on 3pt shooting... as well

Kevin Johnson, Mark Price or Stockton were never even top6 in MVP voting. Zeke top5 once, his best.
Terry Porter only once in the top10.
Not even gonna go into comparions now but c'mon...

And Steph's prime/career won't even last as long, because little dudes couldn't sustain doing it for long during those days, being roughed up like crazy, injuries, medicine not even the same... Tougher, more durable players than Curry didn't last that long.

[That_Admiral]

Your image isn't working but I'm going to assume it is the one i saw earlier comparing the 1980 playoffs to just steph curry in these playoffs.

Average 3 point attempts per team for the 1980 nba playoffs: 29
Average 3 point attempts per team for the 2015 nba playoffs: 255

oh was it just curry? that makes so much more sense, i initially thought it was comparing nba teams from 80's to current teams i'm so dumb

[CavaliersFTW]

Are you guys serious, 8 posts in and none of you have figured out it's a comparison between the entire NBA playoffs of 1980 and strictly Steph Curry?

ISH off to a bad start today