PORTLAND, Ore. – Five times Sunday, Damian Lillard was at least 29 feet from the basket and still launched a shot. Four times he made it.
That’s the basketball equivalent of a 50-foot putt. Welcome to the modern NBA. If the 3-point line is guarded, don’t go around the defender. Scoot back.
Pro basketball has become a game of mathematics. Three-point shots have become paramount. Win the 3-point game, win the actual game.
Through the first three days of the NBA playoffs, 10 games were played. Only one of the 10 was won by a team that had fewer 3-pointers and a worse 3-point percentage than its opponents.