NBA: Should San Antonio Spurs Be Worried About Three Point Shooting Slump?
The San Antonio Spurs haven't got off to a great start this season with their three point shooting.
Until now, the team has been the most efficient three point shooting team in the 21st century, thanks to head coach Gregg Popovich. As Tim Duncan has aged, the Spurs have evolved from an interior team to an exterior team that can beat any other from the perimeter.
Unfortunately, the Spurs currently rank 26th in three point shots made per game this season. That's very "un-Spurs like" for NBA viewers.
It all started with Danny Green, who got off to a terrible start by his standards. Green made a career-high 191 three pointers last season, shooting an impressive 41.8 percent from downtown, but this year he hasn't quiet been the same. Through the first 11 games, Green has only made 15 three point shots, with a 30 percent shooting percentage from the perimeter.
Green's 15 three pointers rank third on the team behind Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills. Manu Ginobili, who is currently battling a hip injury, can only be asked to do so much because of his age. The 38-year-old shooting guard out of Argentina had a disappointing shooting season last year.
On the other hand, maybe Spurs fans shouldn't be worried at all. After all, their team is 9-2 this year, good enough for second place in the Western Conference.
This Spurs team is a bit more reminiscent of the late 1990s, early 2000s Spurs squads. Remember them? They would absolutely dominate teams down low with Duncan and David Robinson. They were known as the "Twin Towers" because of their success in the paint.
LaMarcus Aldridge has proven to be a fantastic free agent signing, and paired with Duncan, maybe three point shooting isn't as critical as fans think it is for this team.
Although no one is talking about him lately, Ray Allen is currently a free agent. Wouldn't it be something if he signed with the Spurs? The greatest shot of Allen's career came in the 2013 NBA Finals, when he hit an amazing three point shot in Game 6 to force overtime -- against the Spurs. Allen would be a great fit in this Spurs system, playing limited minutes off the bench.
There's been no indication that the Spurs will make a run for Allen, but it would make for great basketball. More than likely, the Spurs will figure things out and improve their deep ball shooting as the season progresses.
Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1