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why is the corner 3 so important? is shooting it an indicator of an overall great gameplan, or is it just a really effective shot? seems counterintuitive to me.
thanks for doing this, interesting stuff.
Aside from a layup or dunk, no other shot has a higher ev (points per attempt) than a corner 3 point shot.
Its the shortest distance of any of the 3 point shot and you get 3 points for it if it goes in. There are 2 point shots that are further (tougher) that net you around .80 points per attempt and the corner 3 point shots are ~1.5x as efficient.
So its the most effective shot aside from a close in paint shot, AND a team game planning around the corner 3 is a good crude indicator of effective game planing.
In a perfect world all you would want to do is take layups or corner 3 point shots. Of course basketball doesn't work like this - and if the other team knows that is all you are trying to attempt they would just go out of their way to protect these areas so you have to balance it.
A good example of this was evident when Seattle played San Antonio in the 2005 playoffs. The Spurs really closed out on Seattle's 3 point shooters and Seattle had to resort to a midrange game.
It actually worked out "okay" for Seattle because they had some really good midrange shooters (Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis for instance) they ran above historic EV on the mid range shots because they were better more open looks, but still lost the series 4 games to 2.