San Antonio Spurs Need Increased Production From Danny Green

The 2015-16 campaign was disastrous for San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green. His numbers declined in every category, with his field goal percentage dropping by 6.0 percent and his long range shooting fell 8.6 percent from the previous season. If Green can’t regain his shooting touch, the team may be forced to find it elsewhere.

The process for the San Antonio Spurs remained the same last season, only the results from Danny Green were drastically different.

The team would rapidly swing the ball from the post to the perimeter, darting the ball around until an easy look opened up on the perimeter for Green. The only difference was the frequency of the 3-point shot, and any other attempt from Green, falling through the net.

Over the past three seasons, Green has converted 439 shots from beyond the arc, with 93.7 percent of those attempts being set up by an assist from a teammate, according to Basketball-Reference.

Green is one of just 13 active players to boast a career average of 40 percent or higher from beyond the arc, but his accuracy took a nose dive during the 2015-16 season.

In 2013, Green set an NBA Finals record (later broken by Stephen Curry) with 27 made 3-point field goals and he made seven 3-point shots against the Heat in Game 3 of the series, one fewer than Ray Allen for the all-time high in a championship round game.

The 6-foot-6 guard connected on just 33.2 percent of his attempts, while league averaged a percentage of 35.4 percent from 3-point range last season, and made 75 fewer 3-point field goals a year after setting a career high with 191.

The long range shooting of Green wasn’t the only area to experience a significant drop-off, as his field goal shooting declined by 6.0 percent and his free throw shooting fell 13.5 percent.

Despite starting in 79 contests, Green earned just 46 trips to the free throw line, becoming just the sixth different player in league history to attempt fewer than 50 free throws while starting more than 75 games.

The contrast between his minutes spent on the floor and the low free throw attempts becomes a bit more understandable considering the last time Green converted more shots inside the arc than from 3-point range came five seasons ago.

San Antonio experienced a decline across the board from Green, as his scoring, rebounding, assist, steal and block averages all dipped from the 2014-15 season, resulting in 250 fewer minutes spent on the floor.

San Antonio guard Danny Green has converted 40.3 percent of his career attempts from 3-point range, the 11th most accurate among all active NBA players. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

To remedy the issue, the 29-year-old opted to undergo LASIK eye surgery even though he regained his shooting touch in the playoffs, shooting 24-for-48 from beyond the arc.

The 50 percent shooting from Green was the second-best among any playoff performer that converted 20 or more shots from 3-point range.

Even though Green’s regular season scoring dropped by 40 percent, the Spurs retooled in the off-season by focusing primarily in the front court.

The team selected Washington’s Dejounte Murray with the 29th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft as a possible replacement for Tony Parker at the point guard position.

Once free agency began, the team signed free agent Pau Gasol to a two-year, $30 million deal following the retirement of Tim Duncan.

Along with the addition of Gasol, the team inked David Lee and Dewayne Dedmon to contracts, reinforcing San Antonio’s belief in Green.