Six Stats about the 2016-17 Phoenix Suns You Won't Believe - Part Two
The Team’s Three-Point Shooting Percentage is Awful, but Jared Dudley is Great
Suns shooting percentage for teams with over 1,000 three-point attempts in a season
1993-94 – 33.0%
2000-01 – 31.5%
2001-02 – 32.7%
2012-13 – 33.0%
2016-17 – 33.5%
Granted there is still time left in the season to turn it around, but Phoenix is currently on pace to set their 5th worst three-point shooting percentage of any team to take over 1,000 threes in a season, in franchise history.
As of very recently Head Coach Earl Watson is pushing the Suns to shoot more threes than they had been in the first 20+ games of the season. So far the Suns average 24.6 three-point attempts per game – good for 22nd in the league – although for a high pace team, ranking that low is a bit surprising. With the new push for more threes, and with a 32.7 three-point attempts per game average over the past three games (before the game with Oklahoma City and tied with Golden State), the Suns are beginning to creep back up the rankings ladder.
On a similar note, Jared Dudley is shooting from the outside at a torrential rate, currently draining 45.7% of his shots, 5th best in the NBA – he also leads the Suns in three-point field goals.
While it is still early in the season, Dudley is on pace to be among the greatest three-point shooters in franchise history.
A list of the top three-point shooting percentages in franchise history are as follows (minimum 200 attempts)
1. 2006-07 – Tim Thomas (48.6%)
2. 2004-05 – Joe Johnson (47.8%)
3. 2007-08 – Steve Nash (47.0%)
4. 2010-11 – Jared Dudley (45.8%)
5. 2016-17 – JARED DUDLEY (45.7%)*
6. 2006-07 – Steve Nash (45.5%)
7. 2005-06 – Raja Bell (44.2%)
8. 1996-97 – Kevin Johnson (44.1%)
T-9. 1999-00 – Rodney Rogers (43.9%)
T-9. 2008-09 – Steve Nash (43.9%)
T-9. 2005-06 – Steve Nash (43.9%)
T-9. 2010-11 – Channing Frye (43.9%)
10. 1994-95 – Wesley Person (43.6%)
Dudley is currently averaging 1.6 of 3.5 from three per game. If he could somehow double those attempts and stay around the same percentage pace, then that alone would help with the Suns’ three-point shooting percentage moving forward this season.
Overtimes (project out to the rest of the season)
With the overtime game against the New York Knicks on December 13, the Suns set a franchise record for most overtimes in the team’s first 25 games with five – the previous record being four.
The franchise record for most overtimes in a single season is nine set by the 2010-11 team – where they went 5-4.
There is no way to project how many overtimes the Suns may have the rest of the season as the opportunity for an overtime is entirely arbitrary. However, should the Suns keep up this early season “pace” of five overtimes in every 25 games, they would finish the year with 16.4, shattering their regular season record.
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