[Basel A]

I would suspect that 3-pointers these days are usually taken only when they're open or minimally defended. That situation happens when you have the inside guys who leverage basketball's anti-defence rules going straight for the basket. If you can pull more than one player to your inside guy, then you'll have someone open on the outside. The inside player's other purpose is to rebound, which I think you pointed out, though the most valuable inside players can score as well. I agree with you to some degree: an open 3-pointer is always better than an open mid-range jumper and driving the basket is over-rated.