Steph Curry shoots better as he takes more 3-pointers, and numbers prove it

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Programming note: Watch tonight's Warriors-Jazz game streaming live at 6 p.m. PT on the MyTeams app.

It doesn't matter that Steph Curry is shooting 32.3 percent from distance over the last three games. He is the greatest 3-point shooter in NBA history. Period. Glad we got that out of the way immediately.

Through 20 games this season, the Warriors star is shooting 47.4 percent from deep on 10.7 attempts per game. That is crazy. But it's actually crazy that he doesn't average more like 15 3-point attempts per game.

NBC Sports NBA Insider Tom Haberstroh crunched the numbers and found that over the last five seasons (with this being the fifth season), the two-time NBA MVP is shooting:
-- 43 percent on attempts 1 through 5 in a game
-- 43 percent on attempts 6 through 10 in game
-- 49 percent on attempts 11 through 15 in a game

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So yes, Curry shoots better as he shoots more 3-pointers. I decided to look into what Haberstroh is calling the "Third Rack Phenomenon" for this season specifically, and the results are even more staggering:

The only unanimous MVP in NBA history is shooting 53 percent (18-for-34) on attempts 11 through 15 this year, and he was at 60 percent before he missed his final four 3-pointers last Friday at Sacramento.

In summation, Curry should shoot 47 3-pointers per game. The end.

Drew Shiller is the co-host of Warriors Outsiders. Follow him on Twitter @DrewShiller

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