UNIVERSITY PARK – Shooting 3-pointers in the NBA used to be for finesse teams, which was a euphemism for soft teams.

Those that relied on shots from beyond the arc usually were too weak to withstand the meat grinder in the paint and often flamed out in the playoffs, no matter how good their shooters were.

No more.

The top six 3-point shooting teams last season made the playoffs. Two of them – Boston and the Los Angeles Lakers – were in the NBA Finals. Of the bottom 11 teams in 3-point percentage, only the Mavericks, Houston and Philadelphia made the playoffs. None of them made it past the first round.

This trend cannot be ignored, nor will it be by new Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and his staff. He wants the Mavericks to get back to their old form as one of the best 3-point teams in the league.

Last season, the Mavs ranked 20th at slightly better than 35 percent. They shot 17 3-pointers per game. In the playoffs, they were worse, hitting 34.6 percent to New Orleans' 45.9 percent.

That won't cut it.

"If you're really going to contend, you've got to be shooting it 36 [percent] or higher," Carlisle said. "And most teams in that category shoot 18 to 20 times. For example, last year [the Mavs] were 12-3 in games where [they] shot 36 percent and had 18 or more attempts. It just shows you the quantum power of the 3-point shot.

"We just want it to be the kind of thing where the right guys are shooting them, obviously, and when the opportunities present themselves, we're just stepping into them and not thinking about them."

It goes beyond the fact that shooting 40 percent from 3-point range provides as many points as shooting 60 percent from inside the arc. The 3-point shot can deflate an opponent. It can boost a team psychologically to hit two or three of them.

The Mavericks have spent plenty of practice time working on their perimeter shooting. Carlisle wants to encourage smart 3-point shots. He's not opposed to Dirk Nowitzki trailing a fast break and getting a trey with 16 or 18 seconds left on the shot clock.

Not that he wants to make a habit of it. But if the shots are taken in rhythm, he's not opposed to the occasional quick 3-point heave.

"You don't want to get in the habit of shooting bad shots," Nowitzki said. "It's got to be in the flow of the game.

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Dirk Nowitzki's 3-point shooting percentage last season was .359, down from his career mark of .381.

"But I think we're going to see some more quick scores, hopefully, some more easy baskets. And we all know if guys get some easy layups, some easy 15-footers, then the basket starts looking bigger from 3, too."

Not that Nowitzki wants to get carried away. Efficiency on offense comes from being diverse. But the 3-point shot will have to be a weapon for the Mavericks, if for no other reason than they are flush with shooters.

In particular, Carlisle wants Josh Howard to regain his touch from afar. Nowitzki and Jason Terry are always going to be 3-point threats. It was Howard who had the biggest falloff last season.

"I've encouraged him to spend a lot of time working on it this summer, and he has," Carlisle said of Howard. "He's one of the guys that's got to mix it up the right way. He can get a jump shot anytime he wants, because people back off of him because of his driving ability.

"We need him to put pressure on the defense with his ability to put the ball on the floor and be ready to shoot spot-up 3s when they present themselves. We're going to be asking an awful lot of him this year because he's so multidimensional, both offensively and defensively."

A look at the Mavericks' 3-point percentages during their eight-year playoff run:

Last season was one of the worst for 3-point shooting by all but one of the key Mavericks shooters.

* Before last season

Saturday: Four players had to sit out practice with injuries. Jason Kidd had a sore right hamstring, Josh Howard had lower back tightness, and Keith McLeod was out with a right hamstring problem. Eddie Jones also was out. He's missed all of training camp with a strained left hamstring. McLeod's injury is the only one that's cause for concern. He is expected to miss at least a week or two. As for Kidd, coach Rick Carlisle said: "He's got some stiffness. He's been out here going at 78 rpm the first four days, where most of the rest of us have been going at 33. So I'm not surprised he's a little stiff."

Today: After five days of staring at each other during drills and scrimmages, the Mavs get a day off. "The gym's closed," Carlisle said. That doesn't mean there won't be a few guys getting treatment and such, but a day off is always welcomed, even if it comes only six days into training camp. Kidd and Howard are expected to be back in action Monday.

Eddie Sefko