Troy Murphy: Statistical Oddity

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz The Hoop Doctors have unearthed 10 interesting facts while poring over data from the 2008-09 season. Among the findings: Troy Murphy was assisted on 100% of his 3-pointers made finishing with 161, which was 12th best in the NBA. That helps explain how he finished 3rd in 3-point shooting percentage at 45.0%, even though he is a 6-11 forward/center. This raised some eyebrows. As Celtics Hub's Zach Lowe e-mailed, "Every single one of Troy Murphy's 161 threes had an assist attached to it? Every one? There wasn't one instance when an assist wasn't deserved?"  In the service of truth-squadding, I cued up Murphy's oeuvre of 3-pointers from last season. You know what?  Among the dozens of 3s, there isn't a single shot that doesn't warrant a dime, even if you subscribe to the strictest definition of assist. Murphy gets his 3-point attempts in a variety of ways -- almost always near the top of the arc. He's particularly lethal in transition, which makes sense when ...