That night in their gym, the 76ers had no difficulty fending off the Raptors. The difference was made in the second quarter with 44 points scored by the locals and a good address behind the arc (8/13). In this drill, Philadelphia finished with a very good 18/37 for the whole game.
This ratio pleases Doc Rivers. Last season, his troop finished only 26th in the standings of the teams who tried their luck the most at 3-points (30 attempts on average for 11 successes). With 37.4% of skill, the Sixers were however close to the Top 10 of the most skillful teams.
Today, the coach wants his players to shoot more. Or at least that they are less reluctant to draw, especially when it comes to open fire. The instructions are particularly aimed at the best sniper of the team and 6th percentage in the league last year (45%), Seth Curry.
« I want him to take the open shots, show coach. I don’t want him to take the disputed shots but at the start of last year he was refusing open shots. […] With such a weapon, one should not deprive oneself. »
“The more creators you have, the more 3-point shots you will have”
This message is valid for all the gunners of the team like Danny Green or Georges Niang. Doc Rivers also noticed that at the end of a time-out last night, one of them, Furkan Korkmaz, found himself alone but preferred to pass. ” It was a good pass but if you’re a shooter and you’re open, you shoot. »
A reflex more and more evident in today’s league where the award-winning shot represents nearly 35% of the points scored. But Doc Rivers doesn’t want to obsess over it either.
« Golden State led the league in layups the year they won. If you can go into the paint, you’re going to get 3-pointers, layups, and high percentage shots. That’s what I want. I don’t care how you score, and I say it all the time: if you take 50 3-point baskets in a game, that’s fine with me. 50 layups in a match is fine with me too. »
The technician does not forget that these opportunities also depend on players able to create them. ” I don’t think people make the connection between the two. The more creators you have, the more 3-point shots you will have. An indirect message to Ben Simmons from the Pennsylvania head coach?
