Spurs have long-range goals. (NBA Insider).(basketball teams)(Brief Article)

Having long tried to sell free agents the standard we-have-no-state-income-tax-but-plenty-of-warm-weather bill of fare, the Spurs now have an infomercial-ready recruiting pitch:

"Want to see your 3-point shooting improve? Come play with us!"

It doesn't matter whether it's Terry Porter, Antonio Daniels, Sean Elliott, Derek Anderson or Danny Ferry. Each has enjoyed a career-best season behind the line with the Spurs over the past two years.

Porter made a franchise-record 43.5 percent of his 3-pointers in his first season with the team (1999-2000) before Ferry set a new mark last season at 44.9 percent. Ferry's reign might be just as brief. Steve Smith, a career 34.5 percent 3-point shooter entering the season, made a remarkable 52 of 93 3-pointers (55.9 percent) in his first 27 games with the Spurs. That included an NBA record-tying 8-for-8 performance against Portland on November 3 and a 6-for-6 effort against Cleveland on November 16.

The secret to the Spurs' success?

"I don't know," Porter says, scratching his head. "Could it have something to do with No. 50 and No. 21?"

The impact of David Robinson and Tim Duncan on the team's long-distance shooting centers on the long-held theory that it's easier to make a shot without a hand in your face. Teams intent on double-teaming the Spurs' big men risk leaving someone else open on the perimeter.