The depths of Pacers 3-point shooting

The Pacers shot one-for-18 from deep last week against the Heat. Does it get any worse than that?

Indiana Pacers fans, you may have forgotten about last week – it’s okay, we had a long weekend – and if so, here’s a quick rundown.

Last week was the week before this week, and it included a M-T-W-Tr-F whole thing, just like this week and most weeks you’ve ever been a part of.

Now that that’s squared away, you may remember in a game last Wednesday against the Heat, the Pacers put up a revolting line from behind the three-point arc: the guys went one-for-18, good for 5.6 percent. It’s the worst team-performance behind the arc this season. Dipo missed six. Bojan whiffed on four. Lance shot four but did manage the teams only make. CoJo went for three misses of his own.

That’s bad! Since the advent of the three-point line, five other teams have shot that exact line: one make and 17 whiffs. And there have been a few dozen performances worse than those.

On December 20, 2012 – just a day before the world was to end – the Nuggets shot an all-time rancid line from three: zero-for-22, against the Blazers of Trail. Andre Iguodala shot and clanked six. Ty Lawson missed 4.

Just ten days earlier, their opponents – those same Blazers – shot zero-for-20 from three-range themselves! That Blazers futility currently stands as the second-worst 3FG% for any team in a game (min. 15 attempts), if we can rank the varying degrees of 0% – somehow, all zeroes are not equal.

While the Pacers’ 5.6 percent night last Wednesday was ugly, it was not an oh-for-20+ Nuggets/Blazers brick-fest, or any of the other 33 sub-5.6 3FG% performances.

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But.

The Pacers were responsible for one of those 33 performances, and it too occurred in 2012 – not coincidentally about the year when coaches began to see the advantages of a three-heavy offense and players were given the greenish-yellow lights to shoot through any slumps.

A performance to blame on the lockout

You remember early 2012 Pacers Fandom. The lockout-shortened season had just kicked off in late-late December – and Pacer fans were eager to see how David West and Indy’s own, George Hill, would fit into the lineup with the previous season’s 37-45 team.

Roy Hibbert was improbably about to be selected for his first All-Star game. Glow-in-the-Dark Paul George was just a month away from the dunk contest.

It was a rusty January 27 night and the Pacers shot one-for-19 from three against the Boston Celtics. The Pacers only lost that game by seven points – not unlike last week against Miami – and Paul Pierce turned the ball over six times (and was just two assists shy of a triple-double). But he also shot four-for-seven that night from three.

You may have even watched that game. You might even have the misfortune to remember it. And one day, you might tell your kids about the futility you witnessed that night.

Those same Pacers went on to finish the season 42-24 and easily defeat the Magic in the first round – the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2005 – before ultimately falling 4-2 to the Heat in the second round.

Weird how different things are now – just six years later – huh?

Darren Collison was on those 2012 Indiana Pacers, too. He played almost 41 minutes in the abhorrent game in question, and missed three of those 19. Danny Granger missed six, but had the only make – and unlike Jay-Z, I believe moral victories are NOT just for minor league coaches. George Hill missed four. PG had three of ‘em. Lance was there and missed one. NBA Champion Dahntay Jones missed one! It was bad.

Pacers fans can rest easy, however, knowing those kinds of regrettable three-point performances are relatively rare.

It’s not all bad for the Indiana Pacers

Back in just December, this current Pacers squad tied a franchise record by shooting 39 treys (15 makes) in a win over the Cavs. The other time was at the tail-end of the 2008 season; they knocked down 13 of ’em.

The most three-point makes for the Pacers? 17, which they’ve done three times, most recently on December 12 of 2016. That night, the team took 36 threes – Myles lead the way and knocked down four-of-seven, Jeff Teague hit all three of his attempts, PG went three-for-seven, and the much-missed C.J. Miles, missed much that night, going three-for-nine. The Pacers took care of the Hornets pretty easily.

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The Indiana Pacers have a couple of nine-for-twelve performances from deep, the latest occurring back in 2008 against the David West-Hornets of New Orleans. Danny hit four-of-four. Travis Diener (!) hit both of his attempts. And Troy “Ya Boy” Murphy went two-for-four. Imagine a Pacers team shooting just 12 three-pointers today. There are only five instances this season of a team – any team – shooting 12 threes or less.

The team’s best statistical performance (min. 15 attempts) from behind the three-line went down back in 2001, a February 25 home win against the Wolves, back when Bankers Life was still Conseco. The team shot an unfathomable 14-for-19 from deep, good for 74%.

UNITED STATES - MAY 08: Indiana Pacers star Reggie Miller tries on a firefighter's helmet and jacket at Ladder Co. 7, Engine Co. 16 firehouse on E. 29th St. Miller presented the company with a $206,000 check - $1,000 for each of the 206 three-point shots he made during the 2001-2 NBA season. The money will benefit the Uniformed Firefighters Associations' Widows and Children's Fund. The firehouse lost eight firefighters in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center disaster. (Photo by Linda Cataffo/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Naturally, Reggie Miller lead the way, shooting an always-open 7/11. Jalen Rose hit both of his attempts, Austin Croshere hit all three of his, and Sam “Big Smooth” Perkins went two-for-three.

Things aren’t likely to go that well from deep again.

Next: Boy, could Damien Wilkins defend

But most importantly, the Indiana Pacers are very unlikely to repeat last week’s one-for-18 performance – or anything resembling it – anytime soon. Thank goodness.