Unfortunately, it looks like this could be the story of the 19'-20' Houston Rockets. The biggest question I have for Daryl Morey is why implement a strategy of taking a high volume amount of 3's while loading the roster with some of the worst shooters the league has to offer. I liked the the trade for Russ because I felt CP3 was slowing down significantly and the relationship between him and Harden wasn't the greatest, but something isn't right. I'll admit I really didn't pay attention to his shooting percentages and I also didn't pay attention to those who swore this would be a bad fit because I think people love to **** on Harden and the Rockets in general for some strange reason. His energy and leadership are definitely two of his best qualities, but the shot selection and shooting percentages are mystifying to say the least. That 8 game winning streak against mostly lesser competition helped to mask a lot of issues that I'm not sure Morey can even fix. I don't think the sky is falling because we were competitive against 3 pretty good teams, but now that we've played some quality competition the lack of shooting and defensive awareness are the two key issues that were hard to miss. This team generates nearly the highest # of open 3pt shots in the league but has one of the lowest 3pt shooting percentages. How does that even make sense?
I won't try but I think we have many players that could shoot themselves into a nice rhythm and out of it at the same time. So it is at least not surprising. We are now at a new low in terms of shooting. The system since McHale was to either shoot 3s or lay it up. We are also missing many layups.
That is the end all be all of it all Hit open shots Period Hit open shots No one is asking these guys to do something dynamic and new Rocket River
Seriously, the amount of open 3's that we brick. Makes no sense. I feel like doubling Hardenh actually created tons of open looks for others, we just have incompetent players.
With Gordon out and no Green (as streaky as he is) we are relying on guys that probably wouldn't be getting as much playing time to hit all these shots (open or not) and they just are not getting it done. All these guys are vet mins players that should only be backup role players, but right now we need them to be more than that. I will give it a little more time, but im sure Morey and Tilman see what's going on and KNOW we still need a better SF and/or PF to be real contenders. How they make that happen is the hard part...
EG better come back with guns blazing. If teams are going to continue to double Harden, EG has to step up, start nailing 3's at a much higher clip(closer to 39% or so), and play elite defense. His handles are horrible and his passing is below average so I don't even want him trying to play make. House needs more touches. In the half court he is our second best passer/playmaker. He makes good decisions with the ball and if you back off him he can shoot. I don't know his #'s but he looks to be pretty decent in ISO situations. House also does a better job at delivering passes right into the "shooting pocket" of open shooters. It's much more difficult to have to jump or bend down for a pass and then get off a clean 3. Russ makes a lot of errant passes to open shooters. Maybe this is also contributing to lower 3 point percentages. I don't know. Maybe if we let House handle the ball a little more in the half court, it could pay dividends long term. Westbrook could cut to the basket more or be available for more lob opportunities when he cuts from either baseline. Plus I would rather House pull up for a 3 point shot on a 4 on 3 situation instead of Russ. As far as our defense goes, again EG needs to return to the form that he showed in the playoffs. Other than that I don't see any other reasonable fixes to the defensive awareness issues with our current roster. Clemons is more aware than BMac so maybe he can help out more until EG returns. Clark is very aware defensively but he won't play. IHart can help defensively and on the boards but he won't play much either.
SSDY Spoiler 2008 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...ud-of-team-but-where-are-our-shooters.147478/ 2009 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/shooter-wanted.169675/ 2012 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/shooters.223117/ 2013 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/the-rockets-have-no-shooters.248578/ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/help-wanted-perimeter-shooters.246393/ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/the-missing-piece-3-pt-shooter.240881/ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/available-wing-players-shooters-defense.238767/ 2014 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...-in-the-league-they-need-shooters-bad.249435/ 2015 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/the-rockets-need-some-pure-shooters.267005/ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...hooters-still-available-on-the-market.267509/ 2016 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/seriously-morey-we-need-shooters.274317/ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php...ld-be-our-top-priority-this-offseason.274437/ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/index.php?threads/3-point-shooters.274073/
Respectable 3 point shooters are expensive...there's the answer. Once the team starts hitting 3's (could be 1-5 games) the double on Harden will stop. The issue I have is on the defensive side, which is 100% controllable.
According to many on this board, our personell isn't changing. The coaching staff has find a way to make the "others" more efficient. If not then yes we may be in a little trouble. I don't know how to make these guys shoot any better. Maybe go old school and get their asses in the gym more? I wish I knew.
Tilman hasn't shown us otherwise though. Imagine this, we're tracking one of our best players rebounding numbers bc it impacts the luxury tax due to his actual bonus. And not only that, we're also tracking the full guaranteed dates for players like Ben, IHart, clark etc. All of this because we know LTS is in full effect. So in all honesty its very plausible that personnel isn't changing bc I would love to know what players the rockets are getting with what money
remember when our defense was bad for the 1st 6 games(and the stats showed it should be OK) then the opponents hot shooting 3s fell of a cliff and we suddenly 'got much better' defensively
I disagree completely that personnel isn't changing. I can totally see us dumping someone to compensate for the bonus $ we have to pay Capela. Morey knows Tilman is fixated on not crossing that LT threshold. Personnel moves are guided by that more than anything.
i don't really consider dumping a personnel change. I'd gear adding players more of a change. that's what i meant by it. I can absolutely see the rockets dumping guys like clark, maybe ben, maybe IHart because of LTS
Yeah, if I'm a guy with a non-guaranteed contract on this team, I wouldn't bother unpacking my belongings. It's easy to imagine Tilman calling Morey with inane questions like, "Hey Daryl, I was thinking: What if we went with just a 10-man roster? Mike doesn't like long rotations anyway, and that could save us a bit."
Top 5 rebounds and offence still lose the matches. It is due to poor shooting accuracy and defence. They can calculate 5 players shooting accuracy to prevent 5 low poor shooting guy in the court. Can we acquire Kevin love without losing caplea? We can use golden state approach to use 4 big with those bench players to play. Previously, we should get Howard, I really don't know why they dont get it, at least he brings Houston to get into westerrn final 1 time.
The top teams lose of point ranked 20th to 30th, but Houston ranked top 10 for point lose. It should find a defensive coach for improvement
