Don't Leave These NBA Snipers Open
Spacing is king in today's NBA offenses. Without it, the lane gets congested, passing lanes shrink and the pick-and-roll looks more like a stick-and-stay.
That's why there's a bigger premium than ever on having ace shooters from long range.
Nowadays, smart teams know that there are only a few superstar wings who can play the jack-of-all-trades role on offense. Outside of luminaries like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, the next best thing to have is a lights-out catch-and-shoot artist who creates the kind of spacing offenses so desperately crave.
Using data from SportVU that is now available on NBA.com, we've gone through and isolated the league's deadliest floor-spacers. What follows is a list of the most dangerous catch-and-shoot snipers from beyond the arc this year.
We've limited the field to players who attempt at least two catch-and-shoot threes per game, and have also pared away any shooters who haven't contributed in at least 10 games for their teams. There will be no small-sample anomalies here.
Finally, the shots we're talking about here are those in which a player receives the ball beyond the arc, has it for two seconds or less and fires up a shot without dribbling.
With parameters set, let's fire away.
*All stats via NBA.com.
Andre Iguodala, G/F, Golden State Warriors
1 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 1.6
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 2.6
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 61.8%
We kick off the list with a major surprise.
Andre Iguodala, currently sidelined by a strained hamstring, isn't supposed to be an elite shooter. He's too good at everything else for that to be fair. Yet of all the players who qualified under the criteria listed in the introduction, nobody shoots a higher percentage on catch-and-shoot threes than Iggy.
Much of his hot start to the season has to do with the massive defensive attention paid to the Golden State Warriors' other great shooters. If you're a defender who has to choose between picking up Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson or Iguodala as they float to the wings in transition, you're probably going to worry least about Iggy.
For his career, Iguodala has made just 33 percent of his three-point attempts. So his remarkable early numbers are sure to dip. But there's no denying the benefit of being ignored by opposing defenses. The Warriors' do-it-all wing will continue to find himself with ample time to get his feet set for clear looks all season long.
Life with the Warriors has been very good to Iguodala.
Kyle Korver, G/F, Atlanta Hawks
2 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 2.6
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 4.6
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 57.8%
It's safe to say that Kyle Korver is far less of a surprise here than Iguodala was on the previous slide.
One of the NBA's most historically-deadly shooters, Korver has made the second-most catch-and-shoot threes per game this season. Coupled with a relatively low number of attempts, he's arguably the most efficient standstill sniper in the NBA.
A career 42-percent shooter from long distance, defenses have known for a long time that leaving Korver open is playing with fire.
Per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, if Korver hits at least one long bomb in each of his next two games, he'll tie Dana Barros' NBA record by stringing together 89 straight contests with at least one triple.
Arron Afflalo, G/F, Orlando Magic
3 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 2.2
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 3.9
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 56.9%
Arron Afflalo's shooting numbers fell off a cliff last year, as he saw his three-point percentage dip to just 30 percent on the year. Based on his current accuracy rate of 50 percent, it's safe to say he's rediscovered his stroke.
And when he's had the chance to fire off triples without taking a dribble, he's been even better.
The seventh-year guard is having his best all-around season, averaging 21.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists. But it's been his long-distance destruction that has really made him a valuable piece of the Orlando Magic's offense.
With at least two made triples in nine games this season, he's been a remarkably consistent threat. With rookie Victor Oladipo in need of an open floor to work on his still-progressing point guard skills, Afflalo's work from distance has been immensely valuable.
Bradley Beal, G, Washington Wizards
4 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 2.5
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 5.4
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 47.1%
Second-year guard Bradley Beal likes to shoot. You won't hear the Washington Wizards complaining about that, though, because the 20-year-old has been ripping nets from long range all season long.
Only one qualified player has attempted more catch-and-shoot triples per game than Beal this year.
According to Grantland's Bill Simmons, Beal has reinjured the same right fibula that cost him time last year, which could lead to a prolonged absence.
I guess that's one way to slow him down from long distance. With his range, though, I wouldn't rule out a few feathery jumpers from the bench.
Wesley Matthews, G/F, Portland Trail Blazers
5 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 2.4
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 4.5
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 51.5%
The Portland Trail Blazers have been burying threes at the third-best clip in the NBA this season, per NBA.com, and Wesley Matthews is a huge reason for that.
His 2.4 made catch-and-shoot bombs per game trails Beal's 2.5 by just a hair. But Matthews is attempting almost one fewer three per game than the Wizards guard, which means he's been notably more efficient so far.
With Matthews, Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard all liable to fire away from 24 feet at any time, the Blazers have become a real handful for NBA defenses. I guess that's why they've amassed 13 wins in their first 15 games.
Mario Chalmers, G, Miami Heat
6 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 1.6
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 2.7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 59.4%
Thanks to the presence of three elite (and unselfish) offensive players alongside him in the Miami Heat's starting lineup, Mario Chalmers generally finds himself open for plenty of standstill threes.
He's been making the most of those opportunities this year.
A relatively discerning shooter, Chalmers has managed to knock down a whopping 59.4 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point opportunities this season. At just 2.7 attempts per game, his 1.6 makes are truly remarkable.
LeBron James routinely reads defenses well enough to anticipate openings for Chalmers, and all the point guard has to do is aim and fire when the pass arrives.
Miami will go as far as its stars can take it, but guys like Chalmers are still integral parts of the Heat's championship chase.
Klay Thompson, G, Golden State Warriors
7 of 7
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGM per game: 2.9
Catch-and-Shoot 3FGA per game: 5.8
Catch-and-Shoot 3FG%: 49.4%
Nobody has made or attempted more catch-and-shoot threes this year than Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson.
There's a reason for that: Thompson has a beautiful, effortless, yet somehow still lightning-quick stroke that makes him an absolutely ideal perimeter assassin. When the ball reaches his hands, defenses can't even blink before his high release sends the ball arcing toward the cup.
His jumper is all legs and wrist, which makes it practically immune to the kinds of slumps that afflict those with more moving parts to their form.
Sure, Thompson's accuracy rate on catch-and-shoot threes is "only" 49.4 percent this year, but on the strength of his prolific production, he still leads all NBA players in total points on standstill jumpers, per NBA.com.
Don't leave this guy alone at any cost.
