Throughout the 2015-16 campaign, the Portland Trail Blazers' bread and butter was the three-point assault led by guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Portland shot the fourth-best mark in the NBA at 37% during the regular season, but three games into the postseason, the Blazers have shot just 25.9% from behind the arc in their first-round series versus the Los Angeles Clippers.
What's been the difference? Not even head coach Terry Stotts can answer that question.
"I don’t know," he said of his squad's three-point shooting struggles. "I don’t know, they’re good looks."
Even in Saturday's 96-88 Game Three win in Portland, the Blazers shot just 6-of-25 (24%) as a team. Despite the shooting woes, the team found its offense through attacking the basket, mid-range jumpers and backdoor cuts. And while the three-pointers haven't fallen, the team has seen improved defense over the course of the series.
"Last night, we only hit six threes out of 20-something, which is not good at all," McCollum said at Sunday's media availability. "It’s not how we’ve shot for the entire year. I think we’re getting good looks; we’re just not knocking them down. That’ll come.
"But for us to be able to win a game where we hit six three-pointers and shoot sub-42%, like 40%, that shows we’re defending a lot better," the NBA's KIA Most Improved Player continued. "In the playoffs, defense is what’s going to win games. Offense is going to help you execute down the stretch, but you’ve gotta get stops."
If there's any blessing in the Trail Blazers' trouble to convert from deep, it's missed shots becoming offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities. Portland grabbed 16 offensive rebounds versus the Clippers in Saturday night's win, leading to 18 second-chance points.
"We score a lot on offensive rebounds," forward Maurice Harkless said. "We’ve got guys like Ed [Davis], Chief [Al-Farouq Aminu], myself, Mason [Plumlee] getting in there, just creating second-chance opportunities."
As for the three-point woes, Stotts and his players are confident the percentages will work themselves out.
"It’s gonna come around," Stotts said. "Even last night we were 6-for-25, and I do believe in the percentages and we’re due to break out from the three-point line."
Added Harkless, who is 2-for-10 from deep in the series: "I think we’ve just gotta keep shooting them. Guys haven’t made shots that they’ve been making all season. We’ve just gotta keep shooting them, and know that they’re going to go in."