Written by Scott Cacciola at New York Times
Amid their record-breaking march, the Golden State Warriors have made more 3-pointers this season than any other team in N.B.A. history. The ability to launch shots from intergalactic ZIP codes seems like a requirement for employment. Stephen Curry has gotten so good at it that he has somehow made the halfcourt heave look passé.
But on a team cluttered with long-distance technicians, Festus Ezeli counts himself as a member of a smaller, less renowned group — a group that has largely resisted the seductive pull of the 3-point line. These guys are like Bolshoi dancers who cannot stand on their tippy toes or veterinarians who are allergic to cats.
Meet the Warriors’ curiously subdued 2-point crew.
“I know my role,” said Ezeli, a reserve center and layup specialist who has not so much as sniffed the 3-point line in three N.B.A. seasons, “and that is not it. I love certainty. I love dunking.”
Not so long ago, the slam dunk dominated sports highlight shows. But as the Warriors (72-9) prepare for their regular-season finale Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies — and for an opportunity to eclipse the record they now share with the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls for the most victories in a single season — they continue to push the 3-point shot into the spotlight.
Led by Curry, who weeks ago broke his own record for 3-pointers made in a season, the Warriors make an average of 13 3-pointers a game while connecting on 41.5 percent of their attempts, leading the league in both categories. Curry and Klay Thompson have combined to take 1,507 3-point attempts this season.
And then there are players like Andrew Bogut and Shaun Livingston, who have combined to take 13.
Last month, during an otherwise nondescript victory against the New Orleans Pelicans, Bogut, the team’s starting center, did something that he had not done in 1,102 days: He took a 3-point attempt. More surprising, he made it, prompting his teammates to celebrate as if they had just clinched another championship.
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