Is Brooklyn Nets’ 3-point shooting sustainable?

Hot shooting from 3-point range has played a major role in the Brooklyn Nets offensive success thus far. What are the chances this continues?

The Brooklyn Nets might have some issues on the defensive end of the floor, but the team has performed well offensively thus far.

A lot of this success has been driven by the team’s 3-point shooting. Kenny Atkinson’s squad ranks sixth in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game and 11th in 3-point attempt rate. Only four teams (Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat) have made 3s at a higher rate than Brooklyn’s 37.8 percent.

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Several players deserve credit for the hot shooting thus far this season. Among six Nets players that have attempted at least 10 3-pointers, five are shooting at least 34.9 percent.

Joe Harris: 28-for-57 (49.1 percent)
Taurean Prince: 28-for-65 (43.1 percent)
Garrett Temple: 15-for-42 (35.7 percent)
Kyrie Irving: 30-for-86 (34.9 percent)
Caris LeVert: 13-for-36 (36.1 percent)
Spencer Dinwiddie: 17-for-54 (31.5 percent)

Sustainable?

The question, however, is how sustainable this early 3-point success can be. Looking at individual players, most of their shooting percentages aren’t too far off from last season, suggesting perhaps it can be sustainable.

Harris: 49.1 percent (47.4 percent last season)
Prince: 43.1 percent (39.0 percent last season)
Temple: 35.7 percent (34.1 percent last season)
Irving: 34.9 percent (40.1 percent last season)
LeVert: 36.1 percent (31.2 percent last season)
Dinwiddie: 31.5 percent (33.5 percent last season)

Joe Harris’s 49.1 percent number might seem eye-popping, but it’s actually not far off from his 47.4 percent last season. Taurean Prince might not have come into the year with an incredible reputation, but he’s been a consistently strong shooter for years now.

Caris LeVert has shot noticeably better than last season, but this sort of improvement has been anticipated, making it unlikely to be a fluke.

It’s also worth mentioning that Kyrie Irving and Spencer Dinwiddie are actually shooting worse percentages thus far compared to 2018-19, so there’s actually reason to expect improved shooting from parts of the roster.

Unsustainable?

When examined through a different lens, however, it appears the team’s 3-point percentage will likely come back to earth a bit. Nearly half — 15.6 (43.3 percent) — of the team’s 36.0 3-point attempts per game have been classified as open by NBA.com, meaning the closest defender has been within four to six feet feet.

(1.7 percent have been very tight (zero to two feet), with 20.0 percent as tight (two to four feet) and 35.0 percent have been wide open (more than six feet))

The Nets are currently shooting 39.7 percent on open 3-pointers, tied for third in the NBA. Last season, no team finished better than 38.7 percent on these shots (Golden State Warriors) and only one team in the last six seasons has finished greater than 40.0 percent (Warriors, 2015-16).

Unless Brooklyn is a historically great 3-point shooting team, the 39.7 percent number will likely decline a bit.  But even if this is the case as expected, this doesn’t mean 3-point shooting can’t be a significant strength of the team’s offense.

As discussed, the team has a group of solid shooters that aren’t performing significantly (if at all) better than they did last season. The long ball should continue to be a pleasant sight for Nets supporters.