Schuhmann: Value of the corner 3

Interesting look at how the Spurs have transitioned from relying on the most efficient scoring option (inside restricted area) to the second most efficient (corner 3) as Tim Duncan has become less effective in the post.

One thing that caught my eye was that both Batum (#4) and Wesley (#8) both make the top 10 list for corner 3's attempted over the past two seasons. Maybe "doing a Portland" is not such a bad strategy after all.

4 months ago BaylessFace 8 comments 0 recs |

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doing a portland involves sitting around in the corner waiting for a three.

a little bit more movement instead of just standing around waiting for the three would help, but yeah it’s pretty efficient.

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by YoniRap on Jan 28, 2012 1:22 PM PST reply actions

Good point.

I would love to see more plays for Batum/Matthews like #5 in the article. Manu gets two great screens from Duncan and Blair on his way from corner to corner.

by BaylessFace on Jan 28, 2012 1:57 PM PST up reply actions

It also helps when you hit that three.

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by blazinagain on Jan 28, 2012 2:47 PM PST reply actions

It depends on who is taking it

Using admittedly homely personal experience, I had a pretty good long-range shot once upon a time but firing from either corner was almost guaranteed to be a miss for me because of the lack of backboard reference for depth perception. Even NBA players have comfort zones and preferred styles. I’m at ease when I see Nicolas Batum take a corner three. I tense up every time Gerald Wallace attempts it.

Also, to riff on a point that Yoni mentioned above, you have to take in account a player’s skill. You can’t really plan a ton of motion into a corner three attempt…at least not for the person taking it. Not one, but two sidelines act as defenders. Add in a real, live defender to boot and motion is limited. In fact one of the reason corner threes are so efficient is that all the motion has happened elsewhere, drawing the three-point shooter’s defender in. Thus the shot is almost always wide open or not attempted at all. Put Wesley Person in that corner and you have no argument with the strategy. You’re wasting Gerald Wallace there and not making full use of Nicolas Batum (maybe) either. If you want a corner-three shooting player get one whose game is built on the twin pillars of standing still and never missing an open shot. For my money Wesley Matthews is a much more likely guy to play that role than either of the SF’s. In fact I’d be just as happy if Matthews did nothing but that most nights.

—Dave

by Dave on Jan 29, 2012 12:03 AM PST reply actions

Good point about the corner 3 being a specialist's shot

According to the article, Batum takes 44.5% of his threes from the corner, and hits a league average 39.2% of them. Wesley takes just 35.4% of his triples from the corner but hits a borderline elite 45% of them. Your thought that maybe Wesley and Batum should swap roles here looks like a winner, all else equal.

A good corner shooter does usually have one other option, though. He can drive baseline on a defender making a hard close out. On that count, I would much rather see Batum drive baseline toward the hoop than Wesley, who needs an extra dribble and some luck at the rim.

Regarding motion setting up a corner 3, Schuhmann breaks down five ways SAS gets its C3 attempts. Only two of the five involve a shooter camped in the corner, hoping to be forgotten during action elsewhere (my working definition of “doing a Portland”). I pointed out the great play for Ginobili above, who got two screens as he ran the baseline corner to corner. A second play involved a fake cut into the lane on the weakside as the ball swung from the post to the opposite angle then hit the weakside cutter in rhythm for the C3 (Duncan-Parker-Jefferson, and to be honest, Aldridge-Felton-Batum/Matthews are nowhere near being able to execute this). A third resulted from a simple cross screen by Duncan as Kawhi Leonard cuts across the lane to the high corner (again, the pass needs to be timed for this to work). In sum, I’d say there’s scope for a lot more movement and involvement for our corner 3 shooters, but there is a learning curve. It’s also no coincidence that all three of the referenced plays involved either a Duncan pass or screen. LMA has a ways to go to before he can set effective off-ball screens and throw skip passes from the post a la Timmy.

Whew, that reply got a little more involved than I intended! Thanks for the comments, Dave.

by BaylessFace on Jan 29, 2012 12:10 PM PST up reply actions

"For my money Wesley Matthews is a much more likely guy to play that role than either of the SF’s."

Hence, Wesley Matthews is naturally a small forward more so than a shooting guard. Plus, his reckless dribble-drive game is a poor fit at the 2. At the 2, Portland needs a competent shot creator desperately.

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by AK1984 on Jan 30, 2012 2:14 AM PST up reply actions