Paul Pierce proposes wild NBA rule limiting three point attempts
As the NBA has evolved, players have taken shots from further and further away. At the beginning of the league, Bill Russell dominated in the paint, leading the Boston Celtics to 11 championships. When Paul Pierce played, mid-range shots dominated the game. Kevin Durant, one of the NBA's best mid-range shooters, has made a career operating within the three-point line.
Advertisement
Pierce spoke with Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George about how 3-pointers have changed the league.
Pierce appeared on Monday's episode of Podcast P with George, talking to the former All-Star about today's offense. Teams like the Celtics and 76ers are shooting from shots from deep than ever, resulting in a less-appealing game in his opinion. He complained about the lead offensive strategy in the NBA today, suggesting a rule change that could fix it.
'You know what's bothering me now about the NBA right now is just the amount of threes,' Pierce said. 'I saw the Celtics shoot 60 threes in a game. I was just like damn they could just take it to the bucket. I would just like implement like threes can only be shot at a certain point of the game. Like make the three LED. Turn that s–t off and then turn it on.'
Pierce expanded on his thought, saying that the lights would be on in specific stretches of the game. When it is off, players cannot shoot 3-pointers. He told George that it would bring more excitement to the game, keeping things fair in the process.
Advertisement
'We're going to get LED threes and now it's off for the next three or four minutes,' Pierce suggested. 'You ain't going to know when it's off though. But you know for the next five minutes it's going to be on. But it's always on the last five minutes of the game for you to try to come back.'
The 76ers do not shoot as many threes as the Celtics do, but the shot is a staple of every offense in the league. Last season, both Boston and the Utah Jazz shot 63 3-pointers in a single game. Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, and LaMelo Ball each had a game where they attempted 20.
While Pierce's change might not be the direction the league goes in, the rise in 3-pointers has changed how teams build their rosters. Players like George have been coached to shoot threes or layups, disregarding inefficient mid-range shots.
Older players like Pierce and LeBron James don't like the way the NBA has evolved. Unfortunately for them, the 3-point shot is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Related: NBA rumors: Bulls insider dumps cold water on Jonathan Kuminga possibility
Related: Why Paul Pierce thinks Michael Jordan will change how Ex-players cover the NBA
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
7 minutes ago
- New York Post
Nets draft pick Drake Powell not playing in summer league due to knee injury
Drake Powell posted an impressive 43-inch vertical leap at the NBA scouting combine before the Nets used the No. 22 pick in the draft on the shooting guard from North Carolina following a trade with Atlanta. Perhaps even more impressive? He made that jump while dealing with a troublesome left knee. Powell told The Post that he tweaked his knee during the lead-up to the draft, and the Nets say the injury — which they described as tendinopathy — will preclude him from playing alongside the Nets' other four first-round picks during summer league action beginning later this week in Las Vegas. The Nets and the 19-year-old Powell stressed he's being held out as a precaution, and the rookie added he'd be playing if these were regular-season games. 'Absolutely. It's extremely disappointing not to play [in summer league] because coming in with these guys, I want to compete with them,' Powell said Monday at an appearance with the other Nets rookies at a camp for kids in Sunset Park in Brooklyn. 'So yeah it's definitely frustrating, but I understand it. I'd say it's more of a precaution type thing right now.' Drake Powell won't play in Summer League for the Nets. AP The 6-foot-5 Powell averaged 7.4 points and 25.6 minutes per game while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range in 37 games (24 starts) as a freshman for the Tar Heels last season. He will accompany the team to Las Vegas even though he will be unable to suit up for the games. 'Definitely, just to be there for breaking down film and seeing what we run offensively and defensively and also to get to know my teammates and coaches,' Powell said, adding he was 'not sure' how much higher he would have jumped at the combine if not for his knee issue. 'I feel like my explosiveness is what I can bring to the team, both offensively and defensively. 'My defense is very important and I think it's one of the staples of my game. I try to be myself, but I try to take bits and pieces from other people's games, too, like Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges, guys like that.' Drake Powell (R.) speaks at his introductory Nets press conference on July 1, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Powell will get to show the Nets that athleticism soon enough on the court, just not this month in Vegas. The Nets made the trade for Powell's rights official on Monday, also taking on Terance Mann's contract from the Hawks in a three-team swap with the Celtics.
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
New Orleans Pelicans sign veteran forward/center Kevin Looney
NEW ORLEANS, La. (WGNO) – The New Orleans Pelicans have officially added veteran forward/center Kevon Looney to their roster. In line with team policy, the terms of the agreement were not made public. 'Kevon Looney is the definition of a consummate professional, with a track record of championship success,' said Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Pelicans. 'He brings grit, effort, and leadership to our locker room—qualities that align perfectly with the culture we're building in New Orleans. We're thrilled to welcome him aboard.' Advertisement Standing at 6-foot-9 and weighing 260 pounds, Looney brings a decade of NBA experience, spending all of his career with the Golden State Warriors. He contributed to three NBA championships (2017, 2018, and 2022). Originally the 30th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Looney has played in 599 regular season games, making 262 starts. Over his career, he has averaged 5.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 17.2 minutes per game, while shooting 57.5% from the field and 60.8% from the free-throw line. Last season, the UCLA alum appeared in 76 games for Golden State, starting six. He averaged 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 15 minutes per game. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO.
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dodgers can't overcome Yoshinobu Yamamoto's horrific first inning, fall to Brewers
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto looks on during a brutal first inning against the Brewers Monday in Milwaukee. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press) Yoshinobu Yamamoto was one pitch away from a clean first inning Monday night. Instead, it devolved into a sudden, unstoppable nightmare. In the shortest start of his MLB career, and in an outing that somehow rivaled his disastrous debut in the majors last March in South Korea, Yamamoto missed one chance after the next to escape the bottom of the first against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Poor defense and bad batted-ball luck didn't help in what became a 41-pitch collapse. Advertisement By the time it was all over, the Brewers were leading by five runs, manager Dave Roberts was summoning a reliever just two outs into the game, and the Dodgers were well on their way to a fourth consecutive defeat, never coming close to a comeback in a 9-1 loss to open a six-game road trip. Read more: How Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'elevated his game to another level' in his second year The trouble started quickly beneath an open retractable roof on a mild summer night in Wisconsin. Sal Frelick hammered a hanging curveball for a leadoff double. Willson Contreras drew a walk when Yamamoto couldn't locate his splitter near the zone. And the two outs that followed — a fly ball from Jackson Chourio and grounder from Christian Yelich — proved to be only a temporary reprieve. Advertisement In the next at-bat, newly acquired Brewers slugger Andrew Vaughn came to the plate in his first game with the team. He got three straight sliders from Yamamoto to start, fanning on the first before laying off two that missed the zone next. Then, after a called strike on a fastball at the knees evened the count 2-and-2, catcher Will Smith dialed up another curveball from Yamamoto again. It was supposed to be down and on the outside corner. Instead, it fluttered up and above the zone. Vaughn connected with a mighty upper-cut swing. The ball soared beyond the left-field wall, making it 3-0 Brewers just like that. Somehow, the inning would only get worse from there. Read more: 'Really impressed.' Shohei Ohtani's return to two-way role going (mostly) well a month in Advertisement Despite entering the night coming off a first-career All-Star selection, and leading the majors in road ERA at 1.57, Yamamoto failed to settle down. In a 1-and-2 count against Isaac Collins, he left a fastball down the middle that was hammered for a single. After falling behind 3-and-0 to Brice Turang, Yamamoto worked the count full only to miss badly with a fastball and issue an inning-extending walk. With his pitch count climbing at that point, Roberts began to stir the bullpen. Yamamoto appeared to finally find an escape route against Caleb Durbin, inducing a grounder with a splitter that was hit straight to shortstop Mookie Betts. But, in a rare defensive lapse at his new position, Betts spiked a throw to first that Freddie Freeman couldn't corral. Collins came racing around from second to score. The inning stayed alive when it once again should've ended. Advertisement Read more: Clayton Kershaw grateful for 'weird but cool' All-Star selection as 'Legend Pick' Yamamoto's leash finally ran out on pitch 41, when Andruw Monasterio lobbed a bloop RBI single down the right-field line in the next at-bat. As another run scored, Roberts came walking out of the bullpen to give the team's season-long ace an unimaginably early hook. The two teams played the final eight innings. But the result already seemed well in hand. The Dodgers' lineup was shorthanded, missing Teoscar Hernández with a bruised foot and Tommy Edman with a pinky toe fracture (both are expected back in the lineup by Wednesday). Before the game, Kiké Hernández was also put on the injured list with an elbow injury that had been bothering him since he made an awkward slide in Cleveland in late May, and flared up to the point of requiring a cortisone shot this past weekend. Not to be forgotten, Max Muncy also remains sidelined by his bum knee. Advertisement In their places, the Dodgers started James Outman in center field (who was called up from triple A pregame), Miguel Rojas at third base and Hyeseong Kim at second against Brewers All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta. The outcome was predictable: Six innings of shutout ball in which the Dodgers managed only five hits, one walk and struck out seven times. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
