Golden State Warriors: This might be their best 3-point shooting team yet
By Tony Pesta
The Golden State Warriors have not taken much time to mix new veterans with the existing core. The result has been a beautiful brand of basketball that has the team in a position to break records from behind the 3-point line.
We have seen some amazing Golden State Warriors teams in the past but this might be the best collection of shooters they have ever had.
We can start by addressing the elephant in the room — nothing the Warriors do will outshine the incredible offensive dynamic of having Kevin Durant next to the Splash Brothers. With that being said, this roster is loaded with more pure 3-point shooters than at any point in franchise history.
While we already know what Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can do, the additions of names like Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. has given them a boost of shooting that makes them even more intriguing when factoring in the rise of Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins as consistent 3-point threats.
Wiggins had the best shooting season of his career by clipping 38.0 percent of his 5.2 attempts per game. Meanwhile, Poole is on a blazing hot streak in the preseason, shaping up to be an elite off-ball and live-dribble shooter.
As for the vets, Bjelica and Porter are two players who can shoot and pass. This dynamic, alongside other high-IQ players like Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green and Avery Bradley, has led to a ton of wide-open 3-pointers for the Warriors. What’s more, Porter’s career 40.2 percent clip makes him the most efficient shooter to ever play with the Splash Bros.
Thus far in the preseason, Golden State is attempting 10 more 3-pointers than the next closest team and shattering the competition in 3-pointers made. All the while, they are shooting the eighth-best percentage in the NBA.
At their current rate (which is probably not sustainable) they would absolutely destroy the previous single-season record of 1,323 total 3-pointers made by the Houston Rockets by posting an insane total of 1,779.
On paper, this is the best shooting team in history. Whether they fulfill their destiny or not remains to be seen.