History of three man

[Tim Roden]

I was watching the 1987 championship game on ESPN classic last night. Wow was that something. I didn't watch that much of the game but the mechanics of the three man crew was interesting to watch. It looked like an L and two T's from two man. They were way out on the court and they moved a lot. Today's three man is so cool in comparison. L moved back and forth so much I wasn't sure which side of the floor he would be on in transition. I would like to know how they knew who would be the new lead without having to turn around and see which side of the floor the old L was coming down. The L also spent a lot of time looking right down the paint. I noticed very little time being wide. At the T/C, they were always moving. Looking for that look through angle between players. They did not rotate based on L but more on where the competitive matchup was.

I don't know if anyone here was doing three man in 1987 but could you tell me if my observations are close?