Ray Allen criticizes the NBA's 3-point revolution
Ray Allen isn't happy with the way the league is looking right now
One of the greatest shooters of all time, Ray Allen averaged 5.7 three-point attempts per game in his career. This season, 64 players in the NBA are attempting that same or higher amount of threes. According to the Hall of Famer, such a high volume of long-range shots hurts the game.
The game is still entertaining
I think the game is still extremely entertaining. There is a lack of appeal to it right now watching it because there are so many different dynamics to the game that are being lost.
Ray Allen, ESPN
It's a common critique among former NBA players about today's NBA being too uniformed. Something as complex as the game of basketball has been reduced to either hoisting up long-range bombs or driving the ball all the way to the basket. The in-between part of the game is nonexistent, despite it still proving to be a decisive factor for teams holding on to it.
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The mid-range game is being lost. You look at Toronto a couple of years ago when they won the championship -- they had some great three-point shooters. But you saw them pump fake and get into the paint and shoot the mid-range shot. Nowadays, guys pump fake and step sideways on the three-point line.
Ray Allen, ESPN
The mid-range game is lost
This is an excellent point from one of the greatest shooters of all time. When was the last time you saw a guy sell a pump fake and then take two dribbles and pull up for mid? Guys don't have a habit of doing that anymore, so analytics will tell you that's the right thing to do -- shooting a three is much more efficient than attempting a long two. But at what cost?
Seeing guys like Steph Curry and Damian Lillard pull up from half-court is amazing. Witnessing Klay Thompson dropping 60 points on 11 dribbles is out of this world. But it can't only be about that, and that's a message Allen is trying to get across to future generations.
What I tell my boys - I'm coaching the AAU team currently - I tell them, 'I want you guys to pay attention to what goes on in college, play hard, learn from the NBA the dos and don'ts, but don't settle for threes.'
Ray Allen, ESPN
There's a lot more to the game of basketball than just shooting threes. And when one of the NBA's greatest shooters says something like that, there must be something wrong.
