The masters of the left corner

Nearly every player on the New York Knicks' roster operates with one rallying cry repeated daily by coaches: "If you're open, shoot it." The left corner on the floor has become the Knicks' Promised Land. According to the article - The Masters of the Left Corner - the Knicks' have made 49% of their 112 3-point shots from the left corner. The league average on all 3-pointers is just 35.9%.

The left corner is the prime real estate for a number of Knicks: five players shoot at least 50 percent from there, including Mr. Felton's 80%, Shawne Williams, 73.3% and 50% from Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari.

What makes the left corner so effective? D'Antoni's philosophy is based on his belief that 3-point shooting skills are inherent in nearly every NBA-caliber athlete. His staff immediately started preaching the corner 3-pointer for the floor space it creates for other players to drive to the basket and for the increased reward it produces on the scoreboard. The article also discusses the impact of Raymond Felton and Amare Stoudemire's pick n' roll game that creates open shots. Different than traditional pick n' rolls D'Antonio has always run spread pick n' rolls.

Some excellent lessons for the advantages of 3-point shooting and the use of pick n' rolls to create advantage situations.