Warriors advise Livingston to fire away more 3-pointers

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It’s a sight commonly seen after practice and after shootaround and occasionally when the Warriors are warming up for a game.

Shaun Livingston, the 6-foot-7 backup to Steph Curry, is firing and draining 3-pointers as if it’s how he makes his salary. It’s not. Livingston more typically maneuvers to the block to post up shorter defenders or to the elbow to twist into his trusty mid-range jumper.

The Warriors, having seen Livingston swish so many treys in non-game situations, are quietly urging the veteran point guard to set up and launch from deep.

[POOLE: Warriors outlook: Livingston aims to build on strong finish]

“I was on Shaun all of last year, in a joking manner, because he’d make corner 3s all the time in practice,” coach Steve Kerr said before taking an indefinite leave of absence last week.

“He should shoot 3s,” interim coach Luke Walton said Tuesday.

Well, Shaun?

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“Everybody says that, from the owner to the coach to Luke to the guys who work with me in pre-game,” Livingston said. “It’s going to come.”

In 544 regular-season games over his 11-year NBA career, Livingston has taken 51 3-pointers and made 10. In 45 playoff games, he has taken three and made two. In 99 total games last season, his first with the Warriors, he was 0-for-3 from deep.

So while the trey may be a shot Livingston can make, it’s also a shot he rarely takes.

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“One problem is I’d have to stay out there (20-25 feet from the basket),” he said. “And I’m always rolling to the basket or cutting back door; I’m one of the best cutters in the league. I can’t make any (3s) if I’m not out there.”

Livingston off the ball tends to roll toward the hoop or cut back door. He’s good at it. He is, by nature, a ball-handler who looks to penetrate. But keeping defenses honest beyond the arc would, Walton said, “add another dimension” to the offense.

“He’s played for so long without ever shooting them, he naturally drifts into the paint,” Walton said. “He’s had a lot of success in the paint.

“He needs to retrain his mind . . . we want him shooting 3s.”

Neither Kerr nor Walton is ready to insist on Livingston adding the 3-pointer to his normal scoring arsenal. Both, however, are nudging him toward it. Walton is dangling an incentive.

“Shaun and I have a bet,” the interim coach said, “that he owes me pushups whenever he doesn’t shoot an open 3.”

So if you see Livingston doing pushups, or hear about him doing pushups, it’s probably because his coaches have found him guilty of being too bashful.

“It’s a mindset,” Livingston said. “Just mentally switching it on. It’s hard to get out of that. I know my game, I know what has worked and I know what we need. I’ve got to take that next step, and right now (in preseason) is the best time. It’s coming.”

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