6.75 is his: Martinez was 4-of-5 on threes
With the ACB converting its courts to that with the new FIBA standard three-pointer and key, most fans will be closely watching the effects on the Spanish league’s many sharpshooters. And while one week’s worth of games is an awfully small sample size, the early numbers show that lovers of barnburners have nothing to worry about this season.
Players shot a combined 128 of 350 on three-pointers in ACB week one, good for a 36.57% overall league average. Of note, too, is that the league’s worst two performances (CB Granada’s 2-of-17 and Manresa’s 4-of-20) played against the teams with the top three-point shooting (Valencia at 11-of-19, Bizkaia Bilbao Basket’s 11-of-18) in the opening games.
The overall numbers compare very nicely to 2009-10, as last season the ACB as a whole shot an average of 35.9% from the closer arc. Individually, University of Rhode Island alum Jimmy Baron Jr. teed off to go 5-of-7 often waaaaay beyond the new line, while Rafa Martinez’ 4-of-5 helped him to the top spot in week one scoring with 25 points.
What’s even more impressive about these (again, admittedly quite early) results with the new arc can be seen in the below official ACB highlight compilation entitled “¿6,75? ¡Y a mí qué,” which BiE will loosely translate as “6.75 meters? That’s mine!” Check out the locations on all these shots – and observe how the three from the corner is utterly ignored as a weapon.
Just as Sergio Scariolo forecast in his clip for Euroleague TV, it appears that ACB teams have not yet adjusted their offense to play for the three around the ends of the wider arc. The first team that learns how to use that spacing for the corner three, whether in Euroleague or ACB, will certainly have quite an advantage in the short term.
