Hawks, Sixers Among NBA Teams Practicing With New 'Four-Point Line'
More and more players around the NBA are learning to stretch the court thanks to a new trend coaches and teams across the league are calling the "four-point line."
According to ESPN's Malika Andrews, the Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks are among the teams that have practiced with some variation of a four-point line.
Sixers coach Brett Brown was one of the first to start the trend. In addition to adding extra markings and drawing out special zones, Brown installed a gray four-point line on the team's practice court in February 2017. The Chicago Bulls followed suit, taping a white four-point line at the Advocate Center over the summer. The Hawks adopted the practice this past offseason, while the Nets, like the Sixers, have had one since the 2016-17 season.
"We are all thieves," Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said, per Andrews. "It is a copycat league. I look at it as a compliment that other people value that."
Hawks rookie guard Trae Young is one of the players using the practice line to his advantage. Atlanta's four-point line is drawn five feet beyond the regular three-point line, helping the 2018 fifth-overall pick visualize his range.
Young is only shooting 24.1 percent from three-point range and 37.8 percent overall, but the four-point line isn't only being used for scoring purposes. For Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, today's NBA game is all about spreading out the defense.
"Spacing is everything," Pierce told Andrews. "When Trae gets [to the four-point line], he has decisions to make. If someone is going to meet him at the rim, he is going to know to make those passes out."
Pierce said the line, coupled with belief from the Hawks' coaching unit, will be key to getting the young team's shots to finally fall.
"The message now is don't stop," Pierce told Andrews. "Shoot it more."
