Our offensive efficiency has dropped from top 10 to 20th in the league and that is with having the easiest schedule of any team in the league: http://espn.go.com/nba/stats/rpi/_/sort/SOS Stats are proving the eye-test: we've been pretty bad on offense, especially given our soft schedule. If we have this much trouble scoring against so-so competition, how are we going to do against teams like the Grizzlies, Bulls, Mavs, Blazers, Wizards, Cavs & Raptors? Personally, I think we should be worried. Our shooting from the outside in the first few games was just insane, but that is something you cannot rely night in and night out. FT shooting is something we cannot rely on either when only Harden makes them at a high percentage. Discussing whether we need more mid-range shots is something I will leave up to others, since it's been talked to death and not going to change with Morey and McHale at the top. I'm not saying the sky is falling is either. However, everybody will agree that just because we're 9-1, does not mean we are playing great basketball. Defensively we are #1 in the league and that's why we're winning despite that offensive efficiency. In the end defense is not enough, you need some good sets, ball and body movement and the threat of a 2pt shot at least. Right now you see teams pressuring our 3pt shooters and with no inside threat other than Howard and too much iso ball, opponents have it fairly easy against us. I hope we can implement more sets and the ball and body movement will increase as the season progresses. We are still a relatively young team who need time to gel on offense so while I think we will be better offensively later on, I really hope our coaches will instruct our guys so that we have to rely less on iso ball and 3pt shots.
We started out shooting better then was ever sustainable and now were shooting worse than is possible to sustain. Things will level out. This team is too talentented offensively to finish outside the top 10 in efficiency. Not worried at all.
My thoughts were that playing hard defense requires effort and more effort defensively affects your shot. I think we have to learn how to be more efficient with that balance. It's a product of alot of guys not having to do that before. As the season progresses they will get used to it and adjust.
The problem is that they are not running the fast break much at all. That was their bread and butter last year. That is how they scored so many points so easily. They'd get a lot of easy shots off the fast break either directly or from the defense not being set and the Rockets getting an easy bucket in the early offense. This year, they are playing almost exclusively half-court ball. They've got to run the floor more if they want to increase their point production. However, running the floor will take away from their defense. So they have to find that sweet spot in terms of how often they need to run to maximize their point differential.
If we shot 30% yesterday (which is low) from the 3 pt line, it wouldn't be a close game. Law of averages says we will get better.
We're in a bad shooting slump. Some of this can be contributed to tired legs and increased defensive intensity from last year. But i'm not worried about offensive efficiency. We have James Harden. Our shots will start falling again. In the playoffs we'll be glad we slowed things down and fixed our defense.
The reason we got so many easy fast break points last season is that Parsons would continually leak out before the rebound was secured. Thus we were about the worst defensive rebounding team in the league. Everything is a trade off.
Ahh the life of a Rockets fan. When we're winning "Should we worry?" when were losing "Should we worry??". The only time you shouldn't worry about your team is when they receiving their rings and even then your like "Can they do it again??"
That may have been by design. Not everybody stays to rebound. Fundamentally, your 2 big guys crash the boards, the PG stays close for the outlet pass, and the wings take off with one spotting up on the wing and the other spotting up on the opposite corner.
They are 9-1 and they have one of the top defenses. A great defense team will never lead the league is scoring, its the 4th law of quantum physics.
Yes, we need to have more than just Harden able to create on the floor, we need a 2nd penetrating player, on the floor with him - I know Bev is the starter for now, but it might be better to have Cannan in there more often with Harden. DD
I've been very happy with Canaan. He's been good at closing out on shooters, but still has trouble defending when his man gets close to rim. Knew his offense was just a matter of whether he can get his shot off against faster close outs. I think he's proven he can get his shoot off in the NBA.
It's because everyone keeps passing up open mid range shots which usually leads to contested three pointers.
I think with the renewed focus on defense, we're not going to be as prolific on offense as we've been the past couple of years. Obviously our efficiency the last couple of games have been unacceptable, but I'll take a few offensive struggles in return of consistent great defense.
I feel the same way I did when we started the season. We need another guy that can create his own shot and facilitate for others. We also need McHale to figure out a way we can counter effectively when the opponent focuses on taking away the 3. Analytically the 3 is great, blah, blah, blah. But once you alter your offensive scheme to take as many 3's as we do, opponents will adapt. Ultimately that affects the success rate and the analytics will begin to tell a different story as opposing gameplans begin to catch up with you. It's like a good run team in football. If a team takes away the run your QB better be able to pass. The answer is simple. Find a way to counter. Like when Yao had trouble when being fronted. We failed to find a counter to that issue for far too long... hopefully this coaching staff can put something together quickly.
Moreyball got them allergic to shooting 15ft from the rim. Ariza was an above average midrange shooter in Washington but once he gets a open shot now he looks for someone else to be open for a 3pt shot
