NEWSLETTER
I was reading through Seth Partnow’s latest at The Athletic when I came across something rather interesting: Zach LaVine and Thaddeus Young crack the list of top-10 players who’ve seen the largest jump in three-point field goal attempts per 100 possessions.
Check it out:
- Jaren Jackson Jr. +5.81
- Brandon Ingram +5.09
- Karl-Anthony Towns +4.87
- Pascal Siakam +4.22
- Thaddeus Young +4.16
- Garrett Temple +4.13
- Jayson Tatum +3.88
- Zach LaVine +3.67
- Giannis Antetokounmpo +3.44
- Davis Bertans +3.36
Considering the Bulls change in offensive approach this season – they’re attempting the 9th most 3-pointers per game this year compared to the 27th most last season – this isn’t much of a surprise, but it is quite a difference!
But what’s particularly interesting is seeing these two individuals on the list. For starters, this kind of puts into perspective how many 3-pointers the Bulls are letting Young take this season. A career 32.8% 3-point shooter, Young is averaging 3.3 attempts per game this year, which is the second-highest single-season mark of his career (3.7 per game in 2013-14, when he also averaged 34.4 minutes per game).
Unfortunatly, that doesn’t mean he’s hitting them: On the season, Young is shooting just under his career total at 32%, which clearly doesn’t justify the increase in attempts thus far.
While he did manage to shoot the second-best of his career from downtown last season (38.1%), he’s never been viewed as a consistent 3-point threat. Plus, he shot that impressive percentage on just 1.1 attempts per game, so … query whether this is the right split.
The Bulls new system calls for more 3-pointers, I get it, but we probably shouldn’t be seeing another game like December 21st, when Young hiked up seven 3-pointers (and knocked down only two). In fact, the most the big man ever shot in a single game last season was five, but he has five such performances (of at least five attempts) already this year. In other words, Young’s free rein from behind the arc just hasn’t proven to be worth it yet. He’s out there for only 20 minutes a game right now, and he’s playing more like a sharp-shooter than a big man. Not a great winning formula.
Anyway, unlike Young’s boost in 3-point attempts, LaVine’s have been a welcomed development. The Bulls star player is now averaging 7.8 attempts per game (11.1 per 100 possessions) compared to his 5.1 average last season (7.1 per 100).
He is currently shooting 39.5 percent, which if the season ended today, would be the best single-season percentage of his career. With how confident he’s been shooting from long range, it’s a safe bet to believe he’ll accomplish a personal best by the end of the season.
After an inconsistent start, LaVine has used that 3-ball to help build his scoring average to 23.6, meaning his only .1 percent away from reaching tying his season total from last season.
We all know LaVine wants to enter the All-Star discussion, and becoming a more reliable deep threat in today’s day and age is the perfect way to do that. He’s already shot a total of 248 3-pointers this season compared to his 2018-19 total of 321. Yup, so the guy has taken roughly 77 percent of the 3-pointers he took last season in just 32 games.
For some players, more 3-pointers isn’t always a good thing (*ahem* Thad), but for others, it can be a nice, useful statistical boost (*cough cough* LaVine).
