How Dunleavy sees Klay’s departure impacting Warriors’ 3-point shooting originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Warriors coach Steve Kerr has made 3-point shooting volume an emphasis during the NBA preseason, and his players are listening.
In three exhibition games, the Warriors have taken 48, 52 and 34 3-point attempts, respectively, good for an average of 44.6 per contest. If they continue that pace into the 2024-25 regular season, it would be an increase of nearly six per game over last season’s 38.9 average, which was the fourth most in the NBA.
General manager Mike Dunleavy is all-in on the strategy, and admitted during Friday’s NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast of the Warriors’ game against the Sacramento Kings that Klay Thompson’s offseason departure to the Dallas Mavericks will allow Golden State to spread the wealth of 3-point shots.
“There’s going to be nights where they are, and we hope there are more nights where they are than they aren’t,” Dunleavy told Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike when it was noted that there will be nights when the 3-pointers aren’t falling. “And as I said, last time I checked, the threes count more than the twos, so the more of those that we can get up, especially with the shooters we have, we want to do [that]. I would say with Klay departing, the last few years with Klay and Steph [Curry], there’s so much focus on getting them shots, and rightfully so.
“But in this scenario, with Klay out and just Steph there, let’s look for everyone now and I think that’s going to be our approach. We’ve got a bunch of guys who can get it up. And as long as they’re good shots, good rhythm and created the right way, we want to take them.”
What the Warriors are capable of was evident in Wednesday’s preseason game against the Kings, when Golden State made 28 3-pointers, which would have been a single-game franchise record, had it been a regular-season contest.
When Dunleavy entered the NBA as the No. 3 overall pick by the Warriors in the 2002 NBA Draft, the Boston Celtics led the NBA with 26.3 3-point attempts per game. By the time he retired in 2017, the James Harden-led Houston Rockets paced the league with 40.3 3-point attempts per contest.
Last season, the NBA champion Celtics pushed that mark to 42.5 3-point attempts per game, while the lowest per-game average was the Denver Nuggets at 31.2.
Thompson, over the last three seasons since he returned from two major lower leg injuries, averaged 9.7 3-pointers per game, so Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and others will have to fill the void left by the five-time NBA All-Star.
More 3-pointers — as long as they are good shots — is the way the game is played now, and Dunleavy has constructed a roster designed to shoot a lot.
“That’s part of it, the evolution and you’ve got to keep up with the times and I think we’re doing a pretty good job of that,” Dunleavy told Fitzgerald and Azubuike.
The Warriors will look to continue their 3-point trend when they continue their preseason slate by hosting the Detroit Pistons at 5:30 p.m. PT on Sunday at Chase Center. Watch the game on NBC Sports Bay Area and streaming in the NBC Sports app.
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