The 4 Point Line!

[baldereagle]

Agreed a 4point line isn’t worth it, but why not make the half way line a 5point line ?

[spacejammer]

Aug 24, 2024 6:38:46 GMT baldereagle said:

Agreed a 4point line isn’t worth it, but why not make the half way line a 5point line ?

It would be interesting to see how players and the game would adapt to a point line.
Last season Ricky Mcgill shot some incredible baskets from just past the half way line.

And I remember watching a video of Bakken Bears on their Facebook page before playing us in game 1 doing a half court shooting challenge at the end of their practice.

[massiveridersfan]

I don't understand why some want to add 4 or 5 point lines. Are you dissatisfied with the status quo?

[SamH]

Interestingly enough there was a documentary programme on TNT this week about the evolution of the 3 point line - worth a watch if you have TNT and can find when it gets repeated. It is amazing how much the game has changed - they said in the highest scoring game in NBA history, between Denver and Detroit with a scoreline of 186-184 (3 overtimes played) only 4 three pointers were attempted in the entire game, of which 2 were made. This game was in the 80s. Also, I didn't know this - Michael Jordan shot just 9 for 52 on threes in his rookie season, and didn't shoot better than 20% from 3 point range for over 5 years, but as the use of the shot grew and developed, by the 90s MJ was up to 43% and shooting them a lot more. You wonder how many he'd have taken if he was playing today, and whether it would result his scoring averages being even higher.

And they did touch upon the 4 point line at the end of the show, although only briefly. I think the view of most professionals now though, at least in the NBA, is that the 3 point shot has developed so much it's now a legit scoring weapon and something to strategise your offensive plans around, whereas for a long time it was seen as a bit of a gimmick and then slowly became something that was beneficial but still in relatively small doses, and something useful to help catch up in the 4th. Now it's an integral part of the game and if you add a 4 point line it could risk taking away from that and setting up poorly executed shots. The counter argument is that the 4 point line could follow the same pattern the 3 point line has over the next 25 years, however I do think there are limits to how far out the average player can really go and still hit a decent percentage from and I don't think enough players would hit a high enough percentage ever from 4 point range, regardless of how much they practice it, to make it a viable addition even in the long term.