(07-07-2022, 10:47 PM)Mavsfan12 Wrote: I get the idea, but that isn't how math works. Even if he gives up shots at a higher %, the opposition still has to make them. If Shaq is hitting at 70%, he is outpacing someone who is hitting 40% on 3's. Even if he hit at 60%, which is close to his career avg, he still breaks even, but it still opens up all the free looks for HIS team when the defense has to collapse to prevent him from hitting 90%... which is what would happen if he was 1v1 on Draymond in the post.
The best shot in basketball is still a dunk. No one shoots a high enough % from 3 to beat the efficiency of a dunk. Also add in the fact that it is better for your defense if the opposing team is inbounding the ball that much, vs transition basketball off of misses/long rebounds.
It is just hypothetical, but I really do think that at some point, a dominant big will rise up again and take over against these small guys. Could you imagine what Hakeem could be like in today's game? OMG! Post moves galore and the ability to guard anyone. I just think that the pendulum has probably swung too far towards the perimeter game - or will in the not to distant future. Who knows... 3pt %'s could also rise to higher leaguewide avg's to compensate.
The game has swung towards the perimeter game because the skill level of NBA non stars, from starters down to end of the bench, has risen 10 fold. Everyone can shoot, so 3's are the most valuable shot. The most effective shot is a dunk, but it's much much easier to get a 3 point shot than it is a dunk. Hakeem doesn't cut it IMO, you literally would need a Shaq who can literally get layups/dunks on almost every possession because he can just go through literally every players in the league. We might not see a Shaq for ever again, especially because developmentally, kids are being pushed to develop skillsets that are completely different to when Shaq himself was a kid. Shaq growing up today might have been pushed to develop his shooting and actually be out on the perimeter knocking down 3 pointers and never developed his post game the way he did growing up in the 80's.