San Francisco is about to be Splash City.
It has only been four preseason games, but coach Steve Kerr’s offensive philosophy is clear: The Warriors are going to shoot more 3-pointers this season.
Yeah, you read that right. More 3-pointers for the Dubs.
NBA writer Owen Phillips compared last season’s 3-point rates for all 30 teams to their outputs for this preseason. As Phillips noted, preseason 3-point rates have been pretty solid indicators for how teams will play in the regular season.
Though it’s a small sample size, the Warriors are launching nearly 14 percent more 3-pointers this preseason compared to the 2020-21 campaign, with 3-point attempts accounting for more than 58 percent of their overall shots.
Reading the tea leaves from Golden State’s offseason moves, this isn’t unexpected. The team reshaped its roster by adding shooters like Otto Porter Jr. and Nemanja Bjelica, parting ways with slashers like Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kent Bazemore, and bruisers like Eric Paschall. Intriguing shooting guard Jordan Poole is set for a bigger role this season, while rookie Moses Moody is also viewed as a “3 and D” specialist who likes to hoist from beyond arc.
But nearly 60 percent of a team’s shots as 3-pointers? That’s next level.
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The Warriors started off the preseason with a whopping 69 trifecta attempts against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 4, just one short of the NBA regular-season record. After the game, coach Steve Kerr told reporters he would be fine if his team took 80 3-pointers, so long as they were quality looks.
In the four preseason games so far, the Warriors are averaging 55 3-pointers per contest, which would shatter the NBA record of 45.4 3-pointers per game by the 2018-19 Houston Rockets. But Kerr would probably like to see more efficiency from beyond the arc, as the Warriors shot just 22.4 percent (11-for-49) from 3-point land in Tuesday’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers and are shooting 34.5 percent from 3-point range this preseason.
Regardless, get ready for the Warriors to space ‘em and shoot this season.
