By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Three rounds into the young 2020-21 7DAYS EuroCup season, shooting three-pointers seems to be becoming a bigger trend. Eleven different teams are averaging ten or more triples made, and nine teams are shooting 40.0% or higher from beyond the arc.
The evolution in the importance of three-pointers has been thoroughly documented all over the basketball world. Statistically, three points are better than two, and any player solely focusing on the inside game is now considered extremely rare. This context has spread into the EuroCup in the form of increased use of long-range shots early in the 2020-21 season
A high rate of triples, of course, influences game momentum, whether mounting leads or launching comebacks. Frutti Extra Bursaspor, with 13 threes per game made per game, and JR Bourg en Bresse, dialing in 41.7% of its attempts, highlight the respective lists, both of which include undefeated Virtus Segafredo Bologna.
Three-pointers per game
Only two teams finished the previous prematurely-ended season connecting from downtown more than 10 times per contest: MoraBanc Andorra (10.8) and ratiopharm Ulm (10.1). Both sides have improved the average of threes made this season – and they’re accompanied by nine more clubs so far.
| TEAM | 3PTS PER GAME |
| Frutti Extra Bursaspor | 13.0 |
| Mornar Bar | 12.7 |
| ratiopharm Ulm | 12.7 |
| UNICS Kazan | 12.3 |
| Cedevita Olimpija | 12.0 |
| JL Bourg | 12.0 |
| MoraBanc Andorra | 11.3 |
| Unicaja Malaga | 11.0 |
| Nanterre 92 | 10.6 |
| Herbalife Gran Canaria | 10.0 |
| Segafredo Virtus Bologna | 10.0 |
Three-point accuracy
A similar look into the percentages. Limoges CSP led the 2019-20 field with 41.3% and the MoraBanc followed with 40.4%. This season, nine teams are sinking at least 40.0% from beyond the arc through three games.
| TEAM | 3PTS % |
| JL Bourg | 47.1% |
| ratiopharm Ulm | 44.7% |
| Lokomotiv Kuban | 44.3% |
| UNICS Kazan | 44.1% |
| Nanterre 92 | 44.1% |
| Segafredo Virtus Bologna | 41.1% |
| Buducnost VOLI | 41.1% |
| Mornar Bar | 40.1% |
| Frutti Extra Bursaspor | 40.0% |
Sharpshooters made in Italy
It’s a three-point basketball world we live in, happily, Virtus fans chant. The team coached by Sasa Djordjevic enjoys plenty of successful outside shots, with seven players having landed in at least one three during the team’s 3-0 EuroCup start.
Experienced Milos Teodosic leads the pack with 7 made long-range shots in 14 attempts. Kyle Weems and Giampaolo Ricci have made 5 apiece, Josh Adams and Amar Alibegovic 4 each, Awudu Abass 3 and Stefan Markovic 2.
Last season saw the Italian club advance through the regular season and the Top 16 with 35.5% accuracy from beyond the arc. Teodosic was once again the main force, sinking 43 of 106 out of the team’s 150-for-433 total. It’s still early for extensive comparisons but an optimistic touch stemming from players finding their range early is sure to excite the storied club’s fanbase.
Additional notes
Among the players in high standing for the three-friendly teams above are Jamar Smith and Isaiah Canaan of UNICS Kazan. That duo has combined for 22 made triples over the three first matches, which averages to more than 7 per game from just two players.
Among teams with two victories, UNICS has the highest rate with 14 treys per victorious effort. Unicaja Malaga is next with 13. UNICS also has the single-game season-high of 19 triples landed against Bahcesehir Koleji Istanbul in Round 2. That’s only one behind the EuroCup record for a non-overtime game that UNICS owns from having hit 20 against another Istanbul team, Besiktas, way back in 2009.