"and yet you spent 2 paragraphs talking about Amare and his 3point shooting?"
A sign my mother put on my desk reading "Improve Each Shining Hour" changed my athletic career. Since practicing was the key to improvement, over and over, I kept trying to find a "better way". My desire to improve was so strong, I succeeded way beyond my own expectations, (ending up a Division 1 collegiate All American).
So I love to watch other athletes like Toney Douglas, Amare and David Lee, whose work ethics allow them to keep making progress year after year. Seeing evidence that Amare had improved his long range shooting naturally caught my eye. Yes, I admit that I probably should have checked to see what the number of shot Amare had taken. But I still love the fact that a career .227 3 point shooter has the guts and self confidence to take 3 point shots late, with the game on the line. The fact that Amare has managed to make 5 out 9 is evidence that he feels better about his long range shooting. Amare making progress in his long range shooting is a big deal for the Knicks. First, it make it much harder for the people guarding him, to defend both the long ball and the drive. Second, since the Knicks have guaranteed him 5 years, improved long range shooting should improve Amare's contribution to the Knicks winning ways during the final 2 years of his contract.
Hope that helps explains a little better, why I was infatuated with that statistic, that everyone else seems to feel is inconsequential.