Yeah that bothers me too. He's often not properly set up for his 3s. Dirk can get away with his feet being in the wrong position so long as he gets his shoulders squared, but Chandler is no Dirk. But with that said, he's shooting .346 from 3, which is pretty good considering the volume of 3s he takes. So maybe I'm being nit-picky.
This topic required me to make an analogy - because I'm stupid, and analogies are easy. Football: Passing will earn more yards than running, so we overload on players suited for a passing offense and completely abandon the run, allowing opposing teams to just scheme against the pass. All of a sudden, passing is not nearly as efficient as it would be if mixed up with the occasional run, despite runs being considered to be less efficient.
Actually I would say a better analogy is we have a running game (dribble drives), and a long passing game (3 pointers), but we don't have a short passing game (3-5 yards). So, we stretch them out with a 1 in and 4 out play set, but if the 4 out aren't hitting, we don't have the players for a post/elbow game.
Analogies also make very flawed comparisons. In football, plays are dependent on the previous play. 2nd and 10 vs 2nd and 5 are different animals. 1st and goal at the 5 in run formation is more conducive to scoring than 4 wides. In basketball, possessions are mostly independent events. In other words, getting 2 points on 3 straight possessions is not inherently better than scoring 2-of-3 on 3 pointers. Also, the ability to get open 3s is a product of the inside-out game, not mid-range jumpers. You know the #1 3pt attempted team in the 93-94 season? Here's a hint, they were kind of successful.
http://nba.si.com/2013/01/10/miami-heat-los-angeles-lakers-shot-clock/?sct=uk_wr_a3 [rquoter] Houston doesn’t pass up good looks. The Rockets’ shot selection is pretty close to the analytical ideal in that Houston aims to create looks at the rim and behind the three-point line without much regard for mid-range jumpers. That in itself helps to explain why a team so inexperienced currently boasts a top-10 offense, but Houston’s clock usage more or less confirms that their style is something of a strategic mandate. Commentators everywhere frown on a player who attempts a three-pointer early in the shot clock, but for Houston an open shot is an open shot. As a result, a league-high 70 percent of the Rockets’ field goal attempts come in the first 15 seconds of the shot clock, all due to an approach that encourages uptempo execution and the capitalization on the first quality look available.[/rquoter]
It's not about shooting 3s; it's about shooting wide open 3s. This new tiny ball we've been experimenting with is producing very few quality 3 attempts.
Both of these are bad analogies because the short passing game isnt horribly inefficient compared to a midrange 2pt shot. I don't really understand why people want us taking more midrange 2pt shots...those don't open anything up, midrange 2pt shots are just bad. they are only open when your guards are driving to the basket, and they are usually taken by 4s who can't make 3pt shots. I don't really understand why you would want more of these. When compared, the open 3pt is always better than the open 2pt, especially when we have players that can shoot it.
We are basically like the D'antoni Suns or Baron Davis Warriors, only we don't have as many shooters so we are more inconsistent.
the real problem is that 3s and layups are Plan A. if its working, it seems like we can blow out any team in the league. but when it doesnt work, what's our Plan B? shoot even MORE 3s? that's not sound coaching imo... the problem is they dont even attempt a mid range game when everything else is failing. instead they hope the 3s start falling...
Up till now we've been 35% from 3P that's 14th in the NBA. So we're not exactly stinking from 3P. We only shot 25% from 3P against PHI and 27% against BOS so everyone is thinking we have a big problem. I think it's just a hiccup. Second time seeing some teams now so they know how to defend us better so we need to be smart and adjust our game plan. Maybe set more screens for Harden and Lin to attack the basket, but 3 straight road games means there is no time to practice. Harden has been money all season from 3P, but the last two games he's been 2/8 and 2/9 and many have been contested 3Ps.
A midrange game requires a player to either break someone down for a midrange shot, or come over a screen to shoot it. Our main ball handlers, Lin and Harden prefer to attack the rim or shoot the 3 ball. Harden is fine the way he plays and I don't think Lin has a stop and pop in his offense.
no harden is NOT fine the way he plays. people have to stop putting him on a pedestal just because his boxscore looks impressive. his lack of a mid range game will betray him as the #1 option in the playoffs... as for lin, he had a decent mid range game in ny. the fact that, that has been taken away from him explains a lot about his struggles this season. look at his ny games and honestly tell me he plays the same way in houston...
Jason Friedman and Craig Ackerman talked about 3P shooting today on Rocketscast-live. http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/rocketscast-live-dog-days-january
Midrange shots are the most inefficient in basketball. Marginally higher % than 3 point shots but obviously without the benefit of that extra point. Shooting 40% from 3 is equivalent to 60% from midrange.
This was before the days of advanced analytics. That's like saying the old Chicago Bears won super bowls just running the ball. So that's what you should do now.
