While we were pretty good offensively in the playoffs I think one of our weaknesses in the playoffs was the midrange game. If the Spurs packed the paint and guarded the three point line, the rockets refused to take open mid range jumpers. CP3 loves the midrange shot. 47% of his shots were from the midrange (10-23 feet). He is very good at this shot as well. He hit almost 50% of his midrange shots. Obviously Morey hates the midrange shot and from a mathematical view it makes perfect sense. Most people can't hit the shot at a high rate, and even CP3s midrange % is lower than his overall efg. However I feel it causes the opposition to worry about guarding another part of the floor which they might not. So will Morey force cp3 and Melo to play Moreyball or will he allow them to play their games?
Morey talked about this on the Bill Simmons podcast the other day. He basically said that it doesn't make sense mathematically for MOST players to shoot from the midrange, but that exceptional midrange shooters such as Chris Paul are an exception.
Harden shoots mid range jumpers, I don't see why cp3 can't be given that same level of liberty. Moneyball is in place for players that are mediocre, not excellent.
cp3 is going to have the freedom to do what he wants in this system. that's the luxury of being an elite player.
Let Chris play his game, mid-range included. "You don't get Chris Paul & not allow him to take mid-range shots."
Good Quote but they bother me so much because the NBA allows the Gasols of the world to hang out in the lane and not guard anyone so yea. . . .. he can shut down the paint Rocket River
Harden is pretty much the definition of a Moreyball player. He does not shot many midrange shots. I remember the rockets went a few games with 0 made midrange shots. Just for a visual comparison here are two players one of them is harden.
I can definitely see this turning into a true D'Antoni style offense rather than a Moreyball offense if/once Melo gets added. CP3 = Steve Nash Melo = Shawn Marion (minus defense and a ton of athleticism) Harden = Boris Diaw (added playmaking ability) Only thing that's missing is a strong big that shoots the jumper ala Amare Stoudemire. Which Capela won't ever be but with time Qi might be able to become. Its only summer league but the kid can play!
If CP3 gets his mid range game going then the 3pt shot will really open up even more, he's to efficient a player to be shackled in not being himself as a creator slash scorer on the floor. Paul's basketball IQ and leadership will help especially after watching some of the bonehead plays when closing out some the games against OKC in the playoffs.
this. when you get a true elite talent you play to their actual strengths. it's not limited to the actual system the role players are playing within.
Moreyball is getting Team USA players and they do what they want. CP3 is a Team USA player. He'll fit right in.
Harden tied Nate Archibald's stats as best EVER in single season NBA history as PG. Why would CP NOT want to post those sorts of numbers? (Or BETTER?)
Chris Paul to help reintroduce 2-pointer to Rockets' offense The Rockets' offense had rolled, ranking among the best in NBA history. But it had been slowed in the playoff series loss to San Antonio, so coach Mike D'Antoni immediately began plotting tweaks, the next evolution in the offensive style that had changed the NBA. There would be "layers" to add to the system, he said, as if weighing plans to soup up a muscle car. Enter Chris Paul. This would qualify as adding considerably more than a few "layers" to an offense and was probably well beyond what D'Antoni had in mind in early May. But to D'Antoni, long the cutting-edge architect of NBA offense built around point-guard play, there is no such thing as having too many point guards - or whatever other go-to scorer might also come aboard. D'Antoni could not speak of the Rockets' widely reported pursuit of Carmelo Anthony or how adding another star scorer might impact the offense. But to D'Antoni, the notion that there could be a problem in meshing the playmaking talents of Paul and James Harden, beyond an adjustment period, was laughable, like learning how to see too many perfect sunsets or hit too many holes-in-one. The retooled Rockets' offense might not work quite so ideally once it goes from drawing boards to courts. Yet, as the Rockets prepared to show off Paul on Friday, with a public event they have billed as Chris Paul Day, D'Antoni also knew he would soon get to tinker with more than layers of the offense. "I just find it amusing a little bit that you hear people question that you only have one ball," D'Antoni said. "Well, they're so good at what they do, that's why they've been so ball dominant. Now, they'll share it. They're willing. That's not even going to be an issue. "Each guy will be more efficient. Each guy will add to his game, like spot shooting that they probably haven't done a lot over their careers because they were making the plays. There's a lot of possibilities we'll see. I'm excited." Making offense more efficient The Rockets' immediate plan was to have 48 minutes of elite point guard play by never having both Paul and Harden on the bench. But for the 24 minutes or so that they share the court, one will not initiate the offense. In some ways, the adjustment will be easy. When off the ball, Paul can get far more catch-and-shoot 3s than he did with the Los Angeles Clippers when he made 49.3 percent of his 3-pointers set up by teammates' passes last season. (Harden made 38.3 percent.) Beyond changing the Rockets' off-ball shooter, having a second facilitator goes back to D'Antoni's goal to add layers to the offense. The Spurs slowed the Rockets by defending Harden in pick-and-roll with one long defender (Kawhi Leonard or Jonathon Simmons) going over screens and chasing him into the lane where a big man back-pedaled to protect the rim. That left defenders in position to close out on the Rockets' 3-point shooters. The answer, D'Antoni said, would be adding attack off-the-dribble, not just in pick-and-roll to start the offense but when the ball begins to move. "Layers, just meaning doing different things, for instance slinging the ball to the weak side, extra pick-and-roll," D'Antoni said. Having Harden or Paul attack from the wing could lead to more of the midrange shots considered the antithesis of typical Rockets' offense. The Rockets had so much disdain for midrange shots that Paul took more after the All-Star break than the entire Rockets team. But Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has long sought to land midrange specialists, pursuing Chris Bosh, LaMarcus Aldridge, Al Horford, Anthony and Paul. With Paul - second only to Kevin Durant in the past three years in midrange shooting - on board, D'Antoni said fire away. "All I'm trying to do is get our effective field-goal percentage (which factors in the value of 3-pointers) close to or above 55 percent, definitely above 50," D'Antoni said. "Why would I want to change him, him being the most effective of anybody? "Go back to that last (series,) they run you off the 3, he steps in and hits the 2." A 'fresher' Harden Paul last season made 51.9 percent of his midrange shots. He had an effective field goal-percentage of 55.5 percent, but D'Antoni said that should go even higher with more 3s that will come when playing with Harden. More than that, D'Antoni said Harden will benefit, saying Harden's 35 percent 3-point shooting should rise to close to 40 percent (his catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage the past three seasons) when more of his 3s come off passes, rather than off the dribble. "He will be fresher in the regular season," D'Antoni said. "By being fresher, it cuts down on the turnovers. By being fresher, he'll finish games up even better. Everything he does will be enhanced on and off the ball because of Chris Paul. You can question anything. There's no doubt it's going to work. To what degree, we'll see. We'll see what the synergy is between the two guys. But they add so many different possibilities to us."
Reminds me of the 2015 - 2016 Astros. Known for Striking out or Hitting Home Runs. But this year they added Veterans that hit for contact/put ball in play. And it looks like it worked out because look at their record now. If the Rockets trade for Carmelo. We would have two of the best Mid-range shooters in the league.
