THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Gimme a good 2 instead of a bunch of 3s any day

I hate the 3-point shot.

Not because it’s been painful watching Gonzaga lose some big games because they can’t shoot the thing, either.

And.

Not because Caitlin Clark, the young gunner from Iowa who has lit up the women’s game, has broken every scoring record by shooting from the parking lot.

No, I’ve hated the entire concept of the 3-point shot forever.

Funny, because I wasn’t bad at shooting the thing.

The 3-pointer was a carnival act when it was introduced (1967), and now it’s taken over the sport.

Watching Steph Curry routinely can jumpers from 40 feet, there have been NBA gurus suggesting that we need ANOTHER line to signify a 4-point heave.

Please, spare me the circus.

The weird thing about the 3-pointer was that it was absolutely intended to be a gimmick — something to give fans a special buzz.

It started with the old American Basketball Association (ABA), which used the 3-pointers and things like a red, white and blue ball to distinguish itself from the crusty old NBA.

Ironically, the ABA commissioner who championed the long shot was Hall of Famer George Mikan — a 6-11 center who never would have shot the 3-pointer in his career.

Mikan, though, saw a thrill factor.

"We called it the home run, because the 3-pointer was exactly that," Mikan said in a book about the ABA. 

"It brought fans out of their seats."

ANYONE who was around in the early days of the 3-pointer — when it was integrated into the NBA and then college and below — probably would have agreed with Mikan about firing up the spectators.

But nobody expected a shot from 20-some feet to become mainstream.

Unfortunately, it’s gone past that.

When we you watch players of any age shooting around, they’re dunking if they’re big enough or launching 3s if they’re not.

In the first decade of so after the 3-pointer came into use, it was a rare animal.

Players and coaches more or less adopted the theory that you only shot from deep out of desperation.

Then guys began practicing the 3-pointer and the game went nuts.

It’s not unusual now to see somebody turn down a 10-footer in the lane to find a wide-open 3-point shooter in the corner.

That’s where the game lost me.

Sure, I’m going to sound like the old man who wants you to get off his lawn, but basketball wasn’t even remotely designed to shoot further and further from the hoop.

The game was about getting good shots on offense (layups if possible), and preventing those looks on defense.

Now?

There’s almost no way to stop a team that gets hot from outside.

Of course, teams who live by the 3-pointer are also prone to dying by it on the nights that shots rattle out.

SO MANY nuances and beautiful basketball plays have gotten lost in this helter-skelter game that revolves around pulling up for a 3-pointer.

Why not go to the county fair and win a giant panda bear if you can toss in a couple of shots?

I’ll say this for Gonzaga: The team’s philosophy is not built around the 3-point shot.

Mark Few wants to have a reliable inside game, and then hit you with a 3-ball when the double team arrives in the post.

In other words, inside-then-out.

Not the other way around.

That’s one reason I like watching the Zags.

It’s not a carnival show.

If I could change the rules (realizing it’s impossible to dump the 3-pointer), I think I’d put limits on number of attempts per player — kind of like counting fouls.

And maybe lift that limit in the final two minutes of each half.

We’ll never get rid of these shots out near halfcourt, not unless they’re drastically cut down at the youth and high school levels.

As long as little kids are heaving up 3-balls and thinking that IS the sport, things will keep getting more ridiculous.

You know they’re going to do what they see on SportsCenter.

Caitlin Clark intentionally broke the NCAA career scoring record with a 3-pointer that she shot from the Iowa logo on the court.

I understand that was a marketing move.

Bless her.

But.

It’s too much.

It’s too often.

Can’t we go back to just playing basketball?

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”