Miami Heat three-point defense, and an NBA trend

The 3-point line was an American Basketball League invention (1961) that the NBA adopted in 1979, yet the league average didn’t break double-digit attempts until the 1994-95 season. Thirty-one years later, the lowest taken per game is 30.3 (Sacramento Kings), and the most is 45.1 (Golden State Warriors). Its integration has forced coaches and players to think more strategically at the end of games, and it has caused the most significant change in play style. Yet they still don’t know the math or how to guard it closely enough.

In its first NBA season, only 227 trifectas were attempted since it was used as a last resort. There have been 60,625 hoisted in 2025-26 as the season is slightly over two-thirds complete, and 90.7 percent are open to wide-open attempts. That’s not a misprint. The most lackadaisical 3-point protection (wide-open shots) comes from the Utah Jazz (24.8), and for open shots, it’s the Miami Heat (18.4).

Keep in mind that the NBA counts an open attempt as 4-6 feet of space and a wide-open one is six feet or more. Consider how the corner shot is the easiest in the league, and it’s the most compromised area, despite not having the most attempts coming from there. Passes to that zone are enough to put defenses in a scramble because the players guarding there always overload the lane. It’s common to see unnecessary help off the wings, too.

Toronto Raptors coach Darko Rajaković was asked by On SI in the scrum at All-Star media availability about his opinion on how the arc is guarded, and he said that the 3-point line cannot be guarded in theory. “Players nowadays are so talented and so gifted that they're going to get the shot no matter what.”

This season, the average shot attempts per game is 87.9 and 3-pointers are 41.4 percent of those shots.

Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, “It’s the new age of what the game is, trying to generate as many threes as you can. For us, we try to limit the amount of open ones. We know teams are going to take them. We want them to take more off the bounce than catch-and-shoot threes.”

Notably, even someone as lethal as the all-time 3-point leader, Stephen Curry, is not getting pressured on 76.5 percent of his deep shots. That’s not all coming from his off-ball movement.

San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said unscripted plays like offensive rebounds and transition opportunities make up some of the clean looks. Yet said, “The rim and the paint is still the highest value real estate on the basketball court, so you can’t guard everything.”

One strategy teams use to get threes off is attacking big men in drop coverage. With the help of a teammate screening for the ball handler, a defender needs to be perfect to get over the roadblock, and many times, they either get pinned or go under. That’s all the time a marksman needs.

Coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about guarding the corner on Feb. 3, saying it was the first commitment to be made. “It’s a mentality. I say it over and over. If you want to be a great defense, [if] you want to win in this league, you have to commit to doing really tough things. It’s a highly skilled league, and it’s a league that can attack off the dribble. Multiple players can do it, at multiple positions and ignite from three, and teams are playing faster, so there’s a lot of things you have to manage.”

So, it begs two questions: has the game been solved, and why is guarding the paint still the top priority?

Special note: Andy Roth, formerly, of Sports Phone, NBC Radio and AP Radio contributed to this report. You can follow him on Twitter @arhooptalk.