It’s safe to say the Golden State Warriors died by the three during the 2016 NBA Finals, and a crazy stat illustrates this point to perfection.
As pointed out by Reddit user CarlRemy on Tuesday, the Warriors became the first team in NBA history to score 18 or less two-point field goals in four straight games, only one of which was a win Game 4 in Oakland). They converted just 69-of-175 two-point shots during this stretch, which is not sharp.
Even more alarming, Golden State made just 61 of 159 three-point field goals. That’s 38.4 percent, which is markedly lower than the 41.6 percent converted during the regular season.
Of further note is the excessive reliance on the three during this stretch, during which they averaged 40 three-point shots per game. This is much higher than the 31.6 percent this team attempted during the regular season, during which their threes accounted for 36.2 percent of their total attempts compared to 47.6 percent in these final four games.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were particularly cold during the final three games, combining to make just 26 out of 73 three-point attempts (35.6 percent). These two converted 44.1 percent of their threes during the regular season, showing just how frigid they got during crunch time of the NBA Finals.
The Warriors won 73 regular-season games launching threes at a rate unlike anything we’ve seen in history, but they ratcheted it up a notch or three during the final four games of the NBA Finals. Head coach Steve Kerr continuously talked about how his team needed to move the ball more during this stretch, but his players never got the message.
This team lived and died by the three the entire year, winning at an historical rate. But in the end, there can be no doubt they lost the championship because they fell too much in love with the three-point line.