Again, posting stories here as I finish them ... this has some of the better quotes that I was able to get - from McGrady, Wells and JVG. T-Mac was pretty funny. http://www.clutchfans.net/news/1369/rockets_cant_afford_three-peat/
Love this. I bet Hakeem felt the same way when he was spinning, faking, dribbling on that baseline and Bullard, Kenny, Elie, etc. were twiddling their thumbs....
This year we have so many options for 3 pointers. This is the roster i would like to see Yao/Mutombo Batti/JHO/Hayes Tmac/Snyder/Novak/Padgett Bonzi/Head/Jacobsen Alston/Span/JL3 Lets look at the above average 3-pt shooters: Battier, Tmac, Novak, Padgett, Head, Jacobsen and average 3pt shooters are Bonzi, Alston n Span. 3-point shooting wont be the Rox problem at all this season. They have so many options. If everyone healthy and creates a good chemistry, this squad is awesome on both offense and defense.
I think we couldn't hit those 3 points not only because of our players,but also because of the offensive rhythm . If JVG can't solve this problem , we will be lack of good 3-point shooter agian just like last season.
Bonzi and Spanoulis are below average. Hopefully Spanoulis will develop his jumpshot ... if he can become as good as Manu from the outside, he could become one of the best combo guards in this league. But right now he's got work to do.
Great article Clutch. I know you're probably done with meeting up with the guys, but if you have another chance soon, could you ask them if they every anaylze their hotzones stats? I recently did a short analysis here: http://bbs.clutchfans.com/showthread.php?t=118361 I concluded that Rafer and Luther are 2 of the Best 3pt shooters in the league when it comes to shooting from three 3pt zones (the 2 corners and the top straight 3), but they were very poor last year from the 2 elbow 3's (left-center and right-center). And what made things worse was that The Rockets as a team (with Luther, Rafer, and T-Mac the main culprits) shot the MAJORITY of their 3's from the 2 worst zones. And while the Spurs shot 3's better than the Rockets across the board, they were similar in that the Spurs best zones were the same as the Rockets, and the Spurs worst zones were the same as the Rockets...and the Spurs shot the majority of their 3's from their best zones and much fewer from their worst. Hopefully with the return of Padgett, the emergence of Novak, and the improvement of Luther (and Alston too) can bring the Rocket's 3pt shooting up to par not only in terms of overall %, but also in terms of floor balance. The Rockets you spoke of (from 2 years ago) were good 3pt shooters from every hotzone (www.nba.com/hotzones), ...so with the right mix and match, I think it could possible work again this year. Somebody is going to have to hit those damn elbow 3's to allow all the other guys who can hit the corner and straight away. Battier is BruceBowen light and only shoots from the corners. I'm really banking on T-Mac to regain his 3pt touch.
I don't remember, I just recall last night (or this morning...whatever) that it happened. I was upset I was going to have to wait till the morning. But as I was posting it came back up. I think at around 2.
I posted at 1:49am last night and it was down. but with in minutes it was back up. So I'm thinking at 2am, or just before.
Just read it. Man, it's disappointing that Bonzi isn't even going to try to work on his 3 point shot. It's like he's just given up on it as a possibility altogether. Otherwise, very well written and optimism-inspiring article. If our guards can knock 'em down from the outside, it'll be that much easier for our big man to knock 'em down on the inside. Also, bold prediction: Alston will shoot 40.7% from 3 next year. Book it.
i don't think that Wells has given up. i think that he just knows who he is and what his game is. he still shoots the 3 every once in a while including a buzzer beating game winner last season, and it's not a horrible percentage either. if it's the only shot he has, or a wide open shot with offensive rebounders around the basket, i'm sure he'll take it. but as he said, he knows where his strength lies and plays to it. after all, Yao's not always going to be on the floor. who's going to score or draw fouls and get the other team in the penalty and foul trouble if the jumpshots just aren't falling?
