Marreese Speights entered the NBA as the 16th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Over his first six seasons in the league, he went 14-for-61 (23 percent) from 3-point territory.
When Steve Kerr became the Warriors' head coach in May 2014, he spoke with Speights about expanding the big man's range.
"Before last season actually, right when I came on board," Kerr explained after Golden State's win over the Knicks on Wednesday night. "I asked him if he felt comfortable taking one more step out. He was sort of non-committal...
"... We wanted him to shoot more 3s last year. He never really got comfortable with it."
The numbers support Kerr's statement. Speights attempted just 18 treys in 2014-15, making five of them.
Through the first 41 games this year, Speights went 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.
But things changed on Jan. 18 in Chicago when he drilled his only attempt.
Two days later, Speights made his only 3-point shot against Indiana. Three days after that, he went 2-for-2 from distance against the Spurs.
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On Wednesday against New York, the 6'10" forward/center went 3-for-5 from deep.
"If they leave me wide open I'm gonna shoot it," Speights said. "Every time I get the opportunity to. So it's good to have a green light from the 3-point line when you're open."
So he does have the green light?
"Any time he's open, I want him to take that 3," Kerr answered. "It's a great shot for us."
Over the Warriors' last 25 games, Speights is shooting over 48 percent (16-for-33) from 3-point territory.
"Just put a lot of work in," Speights said. "During the All-Star break, I started off shooting a lot of them. I knew coming back during practice I would have to put a lot of them up. It's all about repetition and getting them up."
Golden State leads the league in 3-pointers made per game (12.9) and 3-point percentage (41.5).
Speights' ability to shoot it from long range makes the Warriors even more dangerous.
"There's a lot of ball movement and then there's a lot of guys cutting. And normally he's (Speights) at the '5' position and centers want to stay in the paint," Kerr explained. "So he's gonna be open if he drifts out there.
"As long as it's within the flow, and he's open, we want him to let it fly."
