The Philadelphia 76ers have been mixing and matching lineups so far this preseason, and that is perfectly normal for a team that has brought in a handful of new faces over the summer. But one subtle but visible trend as of late is the fact that the squad is shooting more three-point shots, and that could very well be a strong indicator of a major change they are planning for their scoring attack this season.
In their three preseason outings so far, the 76ers have averaged 42 three-point attempts per outing. Last season, they attempted just 35.3 triples a night, so there is a noticeable leap in their shot volume from beyond the arc. If anything, that is a good sign that this team is now in the process of optimizing the offense as they smooth the edges around their plethora of stars.
The 76ers are finally taking more three-point shots this preseason
As fans know too well, the 76ers have fallen kind of short when scaled to the league average when it comes to three-point shooting. Philly was in the bottom third of the league last season in all metrics from beyond the arc from attempts, makes, and success rate. With the team adding two All-NBA players this season, a reprisal of that trend simply cannot transpire.
Fortunately, the team seems intent on taking the first step toward becoming a lethal shooting team, which is actually taking more shots from downtown. While they have canned just 31 percent of their threes this preseason, the fact that they are not shying away from taking those shots is arguably more important than making them at this juncture.
Given the new normal in the NBA, becoming a good three-point shooting team is a tremendous floor and ceiling raise, especially in the regular season. Sure, the 76ers may boast superior talent night in and out, but winning the math battle by shooting and draining threes should easily hand them more dubs in the wins column, which is crucial given the small margin of error they are facing in the now-jam-packed East.
Hopefully, this trend spills over to the regular season. The 76ers do not necessarily have to be the most trigger-happy squad out there, but being more comfortable as a collective from beyond the arc will do them much more good than bad. After all, there is nothing better to complement their boatload of raw talent and star power than lethal shooting.
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