ESPN Insider: Talking 3 Pointers with Kyle Korver

[Admin]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12002219/nba-kyle-korver-answers-questions-players-whove-assisted-3s?ex_cid=InsiderTwitter_haberstroh_korver3pointers

 

As valuable as statistical analysis can be in the NBA, it's important to remember that numbers aren't randomly generated by a computer. They're the product of humans playing on the court. To provide that context and understand the thinking behind the stats, ESPN Insider is sitting down with NBA players for "Data Dialogues" to discuss their games and their numbers.

 

Recently Tom Haberstroh sat down with Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Kyle Korver and played a little guessing game -- call it "I.Q" or Insider Quiz -- about the players who have assisted him on at least 40 3-pointers in his career.

Tom Haberstroh: I've got a game for you.

Kyle Korver: A game?

TH: Yup. Heading into tonight, you've made 1,556 3-pointers in your NBA career. A total of 14 players have assisted you at least 40 3-pointers in your career. Who are those 14?

KK: You want me to name those 14?

TH: That's right.

KK: OK. I'm gonna say ... Allen Iverson.

TH: Yup. Most on the list! 160 in all.

KK: I'll say Andre Miller.

TH: Yup. What's the difference between getting a pass from AI versus Andre Miller?

KK: Man, that was a long time ago. Really, with AI, it was after a drive-and-kick most of the time. With AI, we wanted him going to the basket all the time. When he was stuck, I was supposed to be in a spot that he could kick it out to. But he also got me a lot on the break, too ... Andre Miller, he was just a great setup point guard. I only played with him for a couple years, but he's got to be pretty high on the list.

TH: So, Andre Miller has 43. AI has the most at 160. So you have two. There are 14.

KK: How about Andre Iguodala?

TH: No. 4 four on the list. There are four with over 100 and he is one of them. He has 101.

KK: Yeah. OK. Umm ... I'm gonna say ... Deron Williams. TH: No. 3. With 117.

KK: Have I gotten No. 2 yet?

TH: Not yet. He's technically not in this locker room, at this moment.

KK: OK. I'm gonna say, Jeff Teague.

TH: That's right. No. 2! Too easy. 128.

KK: I know Josh Smith is on there.

TH: That he is. 42.

KK: Millsap is probably on there.

TH: Yup. 64. No. 6 on the list.

KK: How about ... Derrick Rose.

TH: No. 5. OK, so you have Nos. one, two, three, four, five, six on the list. Looking for seven, eight, nine, 10 and 11.

KK: How about ... Oh! Carlos Boozer.

TH: Carlos is not on there. Only 23. So, he technically doesn't have over 40 ...

KK: OK, well. I played with him for so many years, you'd think he'd be on there ... OK, Al?

TH: Al Horford, yep.

KK: Andrei Kirilenko.

TH: Nope. He's got only 10 for you. You have to go back to your Philly days.

KK: Whoo boy. How about um ... Willie Green?

TH: Just below. 37. Eric Snow 27.

KK: I don't think Joakim's on there.

TH: Nope. Just 11.

KK: There's gotta be more Bulls guys.

TH: The one you're looking for is a borderline Hall of Famer.

KK: Hall of Famer? ... Webb?

TH: Yep! Chris Webber. Among bigs, there's Millsap, Horford and Webber. He's an incredible passer.

KK: Oh, man. There was no one more excited than I was when we traded for him. It didn't work out quite the way we hoped. I was just dreaming about being Peja [stojakovic] in the corner. Didn't work out though.

TH: Peja! OK, three more.

KK: Three more. How about Brevin Knight?

TH: Not quite. High on the list. Actually, this guy, he's assisted you on two teams.

KK: Ronnie Brewer?

TH: Actually, not the one I'm looking for.

A few seats over in the locker room, DeMarre Carroll looks over as he ties his shoes.

DC: What's this list?

TH: Guys who have assisted him the most in his career.

KK: You didn't make the list, DeMarre. But you're workin' on it. Paul [Millsap], you made the list.

Millsap grins as he cleans up his locker next to Carroll.

Millsap: That's right!

TH: Kyle, next guy you're looking for was traded from this team over the summer.

KK: Lou?

TH: Yup, Lou Williams.

KK: Oh yeah. In Philly too.

DC: Carlos Boozer!

KK: Nah, not him. Four and a half years I played with Booz. And he didn't make the list ...

TH: Ha. Think backup point guard.

KK: C.J. Watson.

TH: Yup, C.J. Last one on the list ... is kind of tough. Give up?

KK: Hit me.

TH: John Salmons.

KK: Oh, I thought about him! Interesting. Sorry, John!

TH [runs through the list]:

KK: That's pretty cool.

TH: OK, so who hit you right on the money the most when you were trying to get a 3?

DC: Josh Smith!

KK: In the corner? I tell you what, Josh Smith was amazing at finding me in the corner. He was amazing. Andre Miller was really great, too. So was Deron Wiliams.

TH: So, that's the full list. Actually, you were unassisted 59 times in your career. Can you believe that?

KK: That's a lot for me.

TH: OK, bonus question before you get out of here. A toughie. Who assisted you on your first 3-pointer in the NBA?

KK: Aaron McKie.

TH: Yes! How did you know that?

KK: [smiles] No idea.

[benhillboy]

Cool article. Josh did throw some nice corner passes.

[Guest]

That Josh snippet brought a tear to my face. I mean wait no it's just raining out here that is all.

[Admin]

Biggest thing I miss about Josh Smith is his vastly underrated passing. 

[AHF]

Biggest thing I miss about Josh Smith is his vastly underrated passing. 

 

He was a study in contradictions.  He had a great natural feel for passing and shot blocking but struggled so badly in shot selection (which some guys have naturally and others learn and apparently others never learn).

[Admin]

He was a study in contradictions.  He had a great natural feel for passing and shot blocking but struggled so badly in shot selection (which some guys have naturally and others learn and apparently others never learn).

 

He was certainly polarizing because of the incredibly good and incredibly bad aspects of who he was/is. 

[capstone21]

I miss nothing about Josh Smith ... I was never a fan when he was here and was happy when he was gone.

 

Always a talent but is such a moron that he kinda ruined a potentially great career.  Frustrated me every game he played in.  I use to yell at the TV when I watched him play.  Funny I don't do that anymore.

[DrReality]

It's impressive who he's played with..... Some stars from years back

[Guest]

Thought this was hilarious from a "Kirk Goldsberry is a total douche that doesn't know what the *bleep* is going on in the NBA" type of perspective:

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How exactly is it surprising that Josh is on there? I don't think anyone on this board is surprised by that. We know Korver isn't.

[Duff_Man]

Biggest thing I miss about Josh Smith is his vastly underrated passing.

You mean leaving his feet, panicking and firing a one handed missle?

Although he may have gotten the ball to someone, his passing was extremely broken fundamentally.

[Admin]

You mean leaving his feet, panicking and firing a one handed missle?

Although he may have gotten the ball to someone, his passing was extremely broken fundamentally.

 

Who on our team doesn't do that? I see Teague do it routinely. Josh had terrific passing vision and ability and for all of his faults, that was one major area of strength he had. 

[SalvorMallow]

Yeah if you're going to diss Josh, his passing shouldn't even be in the discussion. He is one of the best passing big men in the game.

[Duff_Man]

Who on our team doesn't do that? I see Teague do it routinely. Josh had terrific passing vision and ability and for all of his faults, that was one major area of strength he had. 

 

Most players mainly do it occasionally. Josh did it almost to a complete fault. Josh would constantly dribble into trouble on the sideline and rocket a one-handed (or over the head), cross-court jump pass to whatever he could find standing out there. Wade has this same terrible habit of leaving his feet and it is infuriating to watch.  

 

I have watched pretty much 85% of the games he played in his Hawks career. I have never seen him throw a two-handed chest pass. I have never seen him throw an actual sound bounce pass.  He could not throw an outlet pass (or was just completely reluctant to do it). 

 

All of those things add up to a complete lack of fundamental understanding of basketball. I can't label anyone like that a "good passer" just because he threw a few lobs to Horford and his awful passes led to some threes. 

Edited January 21, 2015 by Duff_Man

[Guest]

For a passing big man I have no complaints about Josh in that department.

Except when he tried two half court passes in one game and hit the backboard BOTH times. It takes a special skill to pull that off.

[Guest]

For a passing big man I have no complaints about Josh in that department.

Except when he tried two half court passes in one game and hit the backboard BOTH times. It takes a special skill to pull that off.

I remember that game. I know it was in LA, pretty sure against the Lakers. I think we got blown the f*** out after the second one.

[Guest]

Another 3 point article (Insider)

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12203959/which-teams-most-least-effectively-utilize-3-pointer-nba

 

Live by the 3-pointer, die by the 3-pointer.

We hear it all the time. When a 3-point-happy team loses a game, it almost always comes with that warning.

It's an odd response when you think about it. When was the last time we heard "live by the rebound, die by the rebound" when a glass-cleaning squad got ousted? Or "live by the assist, die by the assist" when a pass-heavy team got beat?

Apparently, 3-point shooting carries a certain stigma that other playing styles do not, even though 3-point shooting teams have been wildly successful. Last season, the San Antonio Spurs were the best 3-point shooting team in the league and took 118 3-pointers in the first five games of the Finals, tied for the most all time. Before them, the 2013 champion Miami Heat won 66 games while firing up 3s at a top-five rate. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks? As jump-shooting as it gets. All took home the Larry O'Brien Trophy.

You don't have to look at just the recent champions. More and more, teams are winning by the 3-point shot. Just look at the standings. Golden State is 33-6 with probably the best shooting backcourt of all time. Every player in Atlanta's rotation shoots 3-pointers, and the Hawks are 27-2 since Thanksgiving. And then there's Portland, with the third-best record in the NBA and also the third-highest 3-point volume in the league.

It's time to retire the "live by the 3, die by the 3" cliché. The NBA is becoming more 3-point heavy than ever and the successful teams are leveraging it to their advantage. But which team uses the 3-pointer the most? And which teams use it most effectively?

At the season's halfway point, let's take a look at Insider's new 3-Point Index.

[Atlantaholic]

Josh was on the cusp of being a great player that one year that Woody sent him to hypnotherapy (I'm assuming) to get him off of 3 pointers. If the guy had been commited to defense and slashing + posting up, and forgetting about trying to be Tracy Mcgrady he would have been a perennial all-star. Unfortunetly his flirtation with common sense was short lived and he quickly degenerated into the abomination of a basketball player he is today. I was a big fan of his, but in the end couldn't even watch this team because of the way he sucked the life out of the team everytime he was on the court (Josh Smith's last season is the only season during my 18 years of fandom that boycotted the Hawks).