Illustrations show just how much the mid-range game has vanished





If you've been watching NBA basketball the past several years, you know already that the amount of 3-point attempts has skyrocketed. You also know that the post game has taken a very significant hit as teams would rather attempt a 3-pointer than a 2, regardless of a size advantage or one's inside game.

Stat people have said for quite some time that the worst shot in the NBA is the one right in front of the 3-point line. Some players have excelled at that location (think Kevin Garnett and Dennis Johnson to name a couple former Celtics), but if they were young players today there is no way their coaches would allow those shots. They'd tell them to take a step back.

The graphics show just how much of a ghost town shots that aren't drives to the hoop or 3-pointers have become.





Do you prefer the modern NBA Game with the more NBA Jam-like offense of 3-pointers and drives to the hoop or did you prefer the older version of the game with a more diverse range of shots? Reality is it's not going back to the old way regardless. It's a simple math thing. Kind of surprising it took so long to realize that you could shoot 34% from beyond the arc and outscore the player shooting 50% from inside it. Lots of options have been thrown out there, like widening the court and extending the baseline 3-pt shot, eliminating the corner 3, or moving the 3-point line back all around.

Reality is the math is the biggest obstacle. If instead of 3-pt line you had let's say a 2.7 pt line then you'd have a more diverse shot chart again. But you can't have a 2.7 point shot. If today'd 2's became worth 6 points and today's 3's became worth 8 points, then again you'd have more old fashioned shots, but that would change the whole scoring system and you'd have games in the 300's and players averaging like 85 points a game. And then all the talking heads would have a harder time with their obsessive debates on the GOAT or which of two players (one current and one of the past) were better?

So Rest In Peace the NBA mid-range game and baseline 2's. We enjoyed you during your time.