UTAH JAZZ
What Success Should Jazz Expect As League’s Best Three-Point Shooting Team?
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz are the best three-point shooting team in the NBA. It’s a somewhat shocking development for a team that has been traditionally unremarkable as a three-point threat. Over the last 10 seasons, the Jazz have an average three-point shooting percentage of .356, and an average rank of 14.5 in the NBA.
Essentially, the Jazz have been firmly middle-class as a three-point shooting team.
That’s taken a dramatic turn for a team that not only leads the league in three-point shooting at .391 but also leads the number two ranked team by a full 1.3 percent. It’s moved the Jazz from the 26th offensive rank at one point early in the season to the 17th ranked offense, a number that will continue to climb if the three-point shooting continues.
Jazz cookin' with Clarkson in the 1st half 🔥🔥🔥🔥 #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/FPjiKgMGuu
— Jeremiah Jensen (@JJSportsBeat) January 7, 2020
In the offseason, Dennis Lindsey and the organization’s front office made a point to add three-point shooting.
During the team’s season-opening media day, Lindsey said the Jazz were looking to add “snipers at any position.” That approach led to the Jazz signing Bojan Bogdanovic, the 17th best three-point shooting this season with an average .418.
Bogdanovic, along with Georges Niang, Royce O’Neale, and Joe Ingles are top-25 three-point shooters in the NBA.
But, what does being a league-leading three-point shooting team mean for an NBA team?
Over the last decade, the worst three-point shooting to win the NBA Finals was the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, who finished 11th in the NBA. The second-worst team was the Miami Heat in 2012, who finished the season as the 9th worst three-point shooting team.
make a three, create a three ☔️☔️☔️#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/XR5zw8tMDM
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 5, 2020
Over the last eight seasons, only the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers (7th) and 2019 Toronto Raptors (6th) won a championship without a top-three three-point shooting average in the NBA. Three times in the past six seasons, the best three-point shooting team in the NBA won the Finals.
In the latest edition of the Jazz Notes Podcast, Ben Anderson looked at the Jazz three-point shooting hot streak and what it means for the team as they approach the playoffs.
