Gregg Popovich hates that the NBA is all about threes now: 'There's no beauty in it. It's pretty boring'

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/gregg-popovich-hates-nba-threes-now-theres-no-beauty-pretty-boring-002113593.html



Gregg Popovich hates that the NBA is all about threes now: 'There's no beauty in it. It's pretty boring'



Chris Cwik,Yahoo Sports
18 hours ago



The three-point shot is all the rage in the NBA these days. With each passing year, the league sets another record for most threes taken in a single season.

One of the game’s greatest coaches isn’t sure that’s a good thing. San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich isn’t a huge fan of the way the game is going. Popovich believes the over-reliance on the three is making basketball boring, according to Sam Smith of NBA.com.

“These days there’s such an emphasis on the three because it’s proven to be analytically correct,” Popovich Monday offered with what appeared to be a sneer. “Now you look at a stat sheet after a game and the first thing you look at is the threes. If you made threes and the other team didn’t, you win. You don’t even look at the rebounds or the turnovers or how much transition D was involved. You don’t even care. That’s how much an impact the three-point shot has and it’s evidenced by how everybody plays.” “I hate it, but I always have,” Popovich said even as he’s adjusted over the years. “I’ve hated the three for 20 years. That’s why I make a joke all the time (and say) if we’re going to make it a different game, let’s have a four-point play. Because if everybody likes the three, they’ll really like the four. People will jump out of their seats if you have a five-point play. It will be great. There’s no basketball anymore, there’s no beauty in it. It’s pretty boring. But it is what it is and you need to work with it.”

Popovich’s Spurs haven’t hopped on board the three-point train just yet. The team ranks 28th in three-point attempts this season. As Smith points out, the Spurs actually shoot the three pretty well, but the team isn’t built with a lot of three-point shooters.

That may not change soon given Popovich’s distaste for the three. But if any coach is going to challenge the way the game is going right now, it might as well be Popovich. The 69-year-old has a long history of success in the league. He’s led the Spurs to five NBA championships in his 23 years as the team’s coach. The league has gone through numerous changes during that period.

Popovich may not enjoy the way the game is trending right now, but his track record suggests he’ll find a way to adapt.



bob
MY NOTE: POP FOREVER!!!



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Learn to live with it - Sports are all about fads and trends - and counter fads and counter trends. Somewhere in the future we can expect to see effective counter measures to the 3 pointer.

swish

swish wrote:Learn to live with it - Sports are all about fads and trends - and counter fads and counter trends. Somewhere in the future we can expect to see effective counter measures to the 3 pointer.

 swish

Yes, teams should adapt to what defenses are giving them, but it might be slow to happen. Sports coaches aren't always the first to embrace innovation. It is amazing that it took the nba this long to understand the greater efficiency of the 3 - and the NFL still rarely goes for it on 4th down despite what the math says.

That being said, I agree with Pop regarding the aesthetics of the modern game.

bobc33 wrote:I’m hoping the trend towards more and more threes slows down, and reverses to a small extent.  I like the three point shot as an option, but not to the degree we now see where players are passing up relatively uncontested shots in the paint to kick it out for a three.

I hope the effective counter measures Swish mentions come sooner rather than later and we see a more traditional balance.

When things get out of balance the league hierarchy, if needed, can be counted on to make the changes needed to to maintain a reasonable balance. For example back in the late 1950's and into the 1960's the number of free throws in a game reached into the 70's - and spending a good part of the night watching boring free throw shooting prompted the league to pass rules that severely reduced the number of trips to the charity line. Following the rule change the number of free throws per game dropped down to the 50's and now is in the 40's.

swish

I agree with Pop. When they first put the three ball in I was all for it. Loved it. Fast forward to now. I don't like it. Everyone thinks they should shoot them. Curry started shooting from way beyond the line, which HE can do and now a ton of players do it. Even Lebron thinks he can shoot from 8 foot behind the line. The beauty of passing has left. Rebounding flys out to guards now and people talk how great a rebounder they are. Larry Bird hated the three point shot as well. I have seen Tatum and Horford be standing under the basket with only one man anywhere close and they throw it to a man outside. A layup has a much greater chance of going in than a open 3.