The latest BS on ISH: the 90's didn't defend the 3-pointer

[3ball]

Teams attempted far less 3-pointers and had worse 3-pt efficiency in the 90's - so how did the 90's NOT stop the 3?

ALL eras defend good shooters tightly on the perimeter... So guys like Reggie Miller, Bird or Dale Ellis were guarded just as tightly as today.

Infact, they were guarded much tighter due to legal hand-checking, which is banned in today's game - the NBA's current hands-off rule requires space between defender and ballhandler, allowing for easier driving and shooting than previous eras.
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[aquaadverse]

Seriously, welcomed to my ignore list. I've ignored exactly 3 people in 35 year
of following the NBA. Seek help.

[3ball]

Seriously, welcomed to my ignore list. I've ignored exactly 3 people in 35 year
of following the NBA. Seek help.

I'm glad the OP pissed you off that much.

[Spurs5Rings2014]

Seriously, welcomed to my ignore list. I've ignored exactly 3 people in 35 year
of following the NBA. Seek help.

[3ball]

ALL eras defend good shooters tightly on the perimeter... So guys like Reggie Miller, Bird or Dale Ellis were guarded just as tightly as today.

However, 3-point defense was a secondary concern against most 80's and 90's players because few were 3-point shooters and [COLOR="Navy"]the 3-point-producing, drive-and-kick plays of today's game weren't common back then[/COLOR] - POST-UPS were the staple of most offenses, so teams had to emphasize defending the paint instead of the 3-point line.
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[bigkingsfan]

[3ball]

Now that teams have sufficient 3-point shooting personnel to drive-and-kick for 3-pointers (as opposed to 2-pointers), the drive-and-kick format has become more efficient than the post-up format.. This proves that the decline in post-ups is due to higher efficiency drive-and-kick made possible by 3-pointers, not defensive tactics.. In the absence of 3-pointers, no amount of defensive strategy could prevent post-ups from supplanting drive-and-kick..

Since post-ups, mid-range, off-ball and isolations were the only things left in the 80's without the 3-pointers needed to make drive-and-kick worthwhile, we can say with certainty that many of today's elite players would be lesser players back then - their 3-and-D skill sets exclude elite ability in any of the aforementioned areas.

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[Cocaine80s]

[ShawkFactory]

[nba_55]

[3ball]

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Thread Cliffs:


ALL eras defend good shooters tightly on the perimeter - guys like Reggie Miller, Bird or Dale Ellis were guarded just as tightly as today.

Infact, they were guarded much tighter due to legal hand-checking, which is banned in today's game - the NBA's current hands-off rule requires space between defender and ballhandler, allowing for easier driving and shooting than previous eras.

However, 3-point defense was a secondary concern against most 80's and 90's players because few were 3-point shooters and the 3-point-producing, drive-and-kick plays of today's game weren't common back then - POST-UPS were the staple of most offenses, so teams had to emphasize defending the paint instead of the 3-point line.

But now that teams have sufficient 3-point shooting personnel to drive-and-kick for 3-pointers (as opposed to 2-pointers), the drive-and-kick format has become more efficient than the post-up format.. This proves that the decline in post-ups is due to higher efficiency drive-and-kick made possible by 3-pointers, not defensive tactics.. In the absence of 3-pointers, no amount of defensive strategy could prevent post-ups from supplanting drive-and-kick..

Since post-ups, mid-range, off-ball and isolations were the only things left in the 80's without the 3-pointers needed to make drive-and-kick worthwhile, we can say with certainty that many of today's elite players would be lesser players back then - their 3-and-D skill sets exclude elite ability in any of the aforementioned areas.

[livinglegend]

[raprap]

[Cali Syndicate]

I recall many players that had an open 3 would still take a quick dribble inside the arc for an uncontested 18-20 foot midrange. A lot of that was because many players outside of 3 pt specialists didn't practice that shot as much as players do today. It's not that the 3 wasn't a contested shot, it's overall even long Midrange was considered a more efficient shot. This not the case in today's game,it's clearly just a different style of offense now. Defense as well for this very reason

[Nilocon165]

ignored