If You Can’t Shoot, You’ve Got Nowhere To Hide

You might detest it, but the three-point shot has unquestionably changed the NBA.

The NBA Finals series between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors is locked at one game all in a best-of-seven series.

The result will almost be decided by one stat - which team takes and makes the most threes.

If you can’t shoot, you’ve got nowhere to hide.

With just under two minutes left in the third quarter of Game 1, the Warriors had a substantial 15-point advantage.

Stephen Curry, the Warriors superstar, casually dribbled the ball up the court, preapring to size up his defender.

He crossed the ball over and stepped back, creating just enough room from his defender to get a clean shot up.

The ball leaves his fingertips.

The crowd leave their seats, ready to explode.

A successful attempt would’ve put his side up by 18 points and crushed any hope of a Boston comeback.

Clank! The ball hit the back of the rim and Warriors fans let out a collective groan.

The third quarter buzzer sounded.

The Celtics went to their bench with a sliver of hope.

And a sliver was all they needed.

A surprising sense of calm fell over the Celtics. They were down, but they weren’t out.

Ime Udoka, Boston’s impressive first-year coach, decided there was only one way to quickly close the Warriors’ hefty lead.

He ordered his team to take as many three-point shots as possible.

The Celtics made 15 total shots during the fourth quarter of Game 1, nine of them were threes.

Point guard Marcus Smart, veteran big man Al Horford and tenacious guard Derrick White made a collective 15 three-point field goals from 23 attempts over the course of Game 1.

Mathematically, when looking at that trio’s regular season three-point field goal percentage, the possibility of repeating that Game 1 shooting performance had just a one in 5000 chance of occurring.

The Celtics had given the Warriors a taste of their own medicine.

The three-pointer was made famous by Golden State’s fast-paced and free flowing offense.

The Warriors’ style had changed the league but now the opposition was successfully replicating those very tactics that had been crucial in its last three NBA titles.

The three-pointers had just robbed them of victory in Game 1.

But in Game 2, the Warriors reminded the world why they will be remembered as the three-point kings.

The third quarter began with Steve Kerr’s team holding a slender two-point lead – the score was 52 to 50.

Astoundingly, it ended with the Warriors up 87-64.

The Warriors were seven of 12 from long distance during the record-breaking quarter.

Steph Curry and his splash brother Klay Thompson were on fire from the perimeter. Not to be outdone, Warriors young gun Jordan Poole even swished an outrageous half-court shot that beat the third quarter buzzer and crushed any optimism the Celtics had left.

The Warriors eventually prevailed 107-88, evening the series.

This year’s NBA Finals is going to be decided by how well each of the two teams shoot the ball from range.

The Celtics realise to match the Warriors they must take a large portion of their shots from behind the three-point line, a high risk, high reward strategy.

On the other hand, the Warriors have attempted nearly half of their total shots from behind the three-point line during the first two finals games.

The three-point shot can swing a game in an instant.

Both teams have experienced the incredible highs and devastating lows that long-range shooting can bring.

This series is incredibly difficult to predict because of the variation of success the high volume three-point shooting teams brings.

There will be moments over the next five games where both teams look invincible and times when they look horrible.

Both sides are going to live or die by the most difficult shot in the game.

Don’t overreact to one shot, one moment, or even one game because when there are a combined 70-plus threes being shot every game, no lead is sacred and anything is possible.