Gregg Popovich on the aesthetic of the NBA in 2018

blueline

EOG Master
There's no basketball anymore, there's no beauty in it," he said

Pop honed in: "Now you look at a stat sheet after a game and the first thing you look at is the 3s. If you made 3s and the other team didn't, you win. You don't even look at the rebounds or the turnovers or how much transition D was involved. You don't even care.
"These days there's such an emphasis on the 3 because it's proven to be analytically correct."
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
I remember reading a story in which Popovich demanded Tony Parker to stop shooting 3's unless it was a corner 3.

Bruce Bowen made a career of playing sticky defense and shooting the corner 3.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Tne next phase in basketball: Defending the 3-ball as ferociously as they defend the paint.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
The end game in basketball in the days before the 3 was a bore.

Down six n the final minute, most teams were drawing dead.
 

John Kelly

Born Gambler
Staff member
Jimmy V always came back down 6, pre 3


Of course, Jimmy V gamed the then-archaic system.

Hard to believe, all common fouls were 1-and-1's after seven team fouls.

Valvano used a foul-for-profit strategy that worked, especially when you foul the right opposing players.
 
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