

Just one great point guard is difficult for teams to attain, let alone three. But then why is it not a more popular lineup choice for teams around the league? It’s clear that three-point-guard lineups can work, at least in limited samples. The three-point-guard unit is thus a hypermodern reflection of the pace-and-space era itself: It prioritizes ball-handling, speed, shooting and turnovers while punting on the size that’s so helpful for rebounding - a process that the NBA at large has already begun.
#Phoenix point guard free
All five lineups scored at a 91st-percentile rate or above, generally by minimizing mistakes, drawing free throws and ratcheting up both transition attempts and efficiency. The three-point-guard lineups had lower turnover percentages on offense and forced higher ones on defense as compared to their team averages, with the lone exception of the Hornets this season. Other than the Raptors, they recorded effective field-goal percentages in the 93rd percentile or higher for their respective seasons. The three-point-guard lineups all played with more pace than their overall teams.
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These lineups found similar frameworks for success. 2 While the trios of point guards for the 2014-15 Phoenix Suns, 2014-15 Toronto Raptors and 2018-19 Los Angeles Clippers were relatively less effective at attacking closeouts compared to their respective teams, those three lineups had significantly smaller performance gaps with their teams in general. In 2019-20, Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were three of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s four best against closeouts. Such skill sets can be more than the sum of their parts in creating open shots. Per Second Spectrum, Graham, Rozier and Ball are three of Charlotte’s four most efficient scorers when attacking closeouts. It’s possible for multiple players to initiate the offense, but the real threat is that once a defense is compromised, there are other point guards on the floor who can capitalize with shooting, driving or passing when attacking rotating defenders. The purpose of playing three point guards at the same time is simple: trade size for skill and hope the benefits - particularly maximizing the ball-handling on the floor - outweigh the costs. Sources: Second Spectrum, Cleaning the Glass Players must be classified as point guards or combo guards to qualify.
#Phoenix point guard full
full team for NBA teams featuring three point guards with at least 200 possessions played together, since 2014-15Ģ020-21 stats through games of April 7. Point differential per 100 possessions by lineup vs. Three-point-guard lineups outperform their teams
