If there is one thing that has defined Pedro Martínez’s teams in recent years, it is their fast-paced style of play, increasingly focused on attacking within the first few seconds of a possession. To that end, there is little doubt that the three-point shot has become an essential weapon in modern basketball. As Real Madrid’s new head coach has been saying for years, and advanced analytics continue to confirm as the game evolves, shooting from beyond the arc is far more efficient (obviously, if the shots are good ones) than over-relying on scoring in the paint.
However, Real Madrid have yet to find a reliable ally in the three-point shot at the start of this season, and that has so far translated into defeats in both of their EuroLeague road games, against Dubai Basketball and Anadolu Efes.
Admittedly, winning the EuroLeague Super Cup has given Martínez’s new project some breathing room. But at a club like Real Madrid, two straight defeats in Europe’s premier competition are enough for nerves to start fraying if the team fails to turn things around.
A review of the team’s games so far makes its struggles to find consistency from beyond the arc abundantly clear. They got off to a difficult start in the EuroLeague Super Cup semifinal against Dubai, making just three of their first ten three-point attempts. That allowed the Emirati side to build a commanding lead midway through the second quarter (36-20). From that point on, however, the tide turned. With Edy Tavares playing a pivotal role in swinging the momentum, Martínez’s team began generating quality looks from the perimeter and eventually won the game 95-98 in overtime, finishing with a highly respectable 54.1% from three (13-for-24).
That, however, remains the only game this season in which the reigning EuroLeague runner-up has managed to shoot above 50% from beyond the arc. In fact, it is also the only one in which they have surpassed 40%.
Just 24 hours after beating Dubai in Abu Dhabi, Real Madrid defeated Olympiacos to become the first-ever EuroLeague Super Cup champions. But they did so without needing a particularly hot night from the perimeter, as their nine made threes on 27 attempts (33.3%) illustrate.
The game against the Piraeus side marked the beginning of a trend that has continued in their subsequent outings. In their EuroLeague opener, once again against Dubai, Martínez’s men shot 35.7% from three (10-for-28), eventually falling 78-77 in a game they appeared to have well under control with just minutes remaining. Next came their first Liga Endesa outing, a narrow 89-87 win over Unicaja in which Los Blancos actually had to overcome a sizeable deficit (70-78) with just six minutes left. It was another afternoon of shooting from deep well below the standard Martínez would like to see from his new team: six makes on 26 attempts (23%).
The Spanish powerhouse’s most recent outing came on Tuesday, in a EuroLeague road game against Anadolu Efes, whose coaching staff includes Real Madrid legend Pablo Laso. Efes came away with a 94-84 victory, leaving the Spanish side winless after two rounds and beginning to echo the poor away form they displayed in last season’s EuroLeague campaign.
It was also the game in which American guard Nick Smith Jr., Real Madrid’s latest signing, made his debut. He is expected to help address the team’s struggles from the perimeter. The former Los Angeles Lakers player showed flashes of his talent, but looked far from comfortable with the European game, as evidenced by his limited tactical adjustment and defensive struggles. He picked up several personal fouls after falling for Efes’ offensive tricks, particularly those of Mike James.
And although Smith knocked down his first three-pointer in a Real Madrid jersey (finishing with 10 points in 13 minutes), the long-range shot once again deserted the Spanish side, who managed just nine makes on 26 attempts (34.6%).
In fact, at a crucial point in the game, two wide-open looks from Chuma Okeke (the game’s leading three-point shooter, with three makes on six attempts) and Theo Maledon could have brought Madrid within one point of Efes with two minutes remaining. Neither shot fell, however, and the Turkish side went on to seal the win relatively comfortably in the final minute.
The Istanbul loss, in which Real Madrid paid dearly for a disastrous second quarter (26-12), was also Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot’s worst outing so far in his new team’s colors. The Frenchman failed to score and played fewer than 11 minutes.
Against this backdrop, it is worth recalling Pedro Martínez’s comments after beating Olympiacos to win the Super Cup, when he voiced his concerns over how his team had approached the three-point shot in Abu Dhabi. The veteran coach clearly refused to be carried away by the result alone. He had already begun to identify a weakness that is now becoming increasingly apparent and that needs to be addressed if Real Madrid are genuinely going to contend for major honors this season.
This Thursday, Los Blancos will be back on the road, making it three consecutive away games to open their EuroLeague campaign. They will face Hapoel Tel Aviv in Sofia, in a matchup where their three-point shooting is once again likely to be a decisive factor in the final result.
