#three-point-shooting

#three-point-shooting

Bilal Coulibaly entered the season with a lot to prove as a third-year man who's struggled to stay on the court long enough to prove why the Washington Wizards took a swing on his potential in the 2024 NBA Draft. As a former No. 7 overall pick, expectations were high for the French product entering the league, and as they should be considering the stock Washington invested in him when they opted to select him top 10.

During his rookie season, Bub Carringston struggled with inefficiency at times. The Washington Wizards threw him into the fire a bit, and while it could be good for his long-term development, his jump-shooting woes were clear as day. So far this season, he's shooting much better, but he can't make a shot inside the paint. It's been a very odd trend to follow, as his offensive areas of preference have seemingly flipped, at least in terms of efficiency.

Aaron Gordon's 10th and final made 3 on Thursday night at Chase Center felt like the final dagger. It came with 26 seconds left in regulation, putting the visiting Denver Nuggets up by three and punctuating a career night for the 12th-year forward. But the biggest perimeter fireworks show in Gordon's life happened to come against the greatest shooter of all-time.

Before Vincent could even think about getting off his fifth three-pointer, Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg smothered him. Vincent stumbled and fell, scrambling to keep control of the ball. He did and passed it to a teammate. When Vincent got to his feet and got the ball back, the fans began to shout, "Shooot it!" So, Vincent did, nailing his fifth three-pointer over the outstretched hand of the 6-9 Flagg, drawing more cheers from the pro-Lakers crowd.

That first season when he came over from the Blazers had me 100% sold on the Gary Trent Jr. stocks, and I was passionate enough to tell everybody about it. But I slowly realized, and I think the Raptors organization did too, that Trent Jr. wasn't quite going to be the continuous developmental piece that was initially hoped. Trent might have hit his ceiling as a spark plug, but largely streaky shooter,

Jamison Battle deserves all the praise he can get. The Raptors took a chance on him as an older, undrafted prospect from the 2024 class, and when Toronto needed an offensive spark, Battle proved he was more than capable of knocking down the three. Battle finished his rookie campaign averaging solid stats: 7.1 points on 42.9% shooting, a stellar 40.5% from three, 88.9% from the free-throw line, and 2.7 rebounds.

Nets finished just 5-for-25 from deep, emphasizing their inability to hit 3-pointers and their reticence to attempt them, which was concerning for coaches.