Clutchfans- last night's 4th quarter collapse disgusted me so much that I got to wondering how our 4th quarter scoring is going over the season. maybe I was used to this year's team being able to hold on without collapsing- that seemed like something previous Rockets teams were known for. so I compiled all the 4th quarter scoring in all our games so far this season. I can elaborate more with the actual game stats but here is the recap so far. 16-2 when outscoring opponent in 4th Q 5-11 when outscored by opponent in 4th Q 0-2 when tied in 4th Q in the 11 losses when we were outscored, 5 were true 4th quarter collapses where the Rockets had the lead going into the 4th, including last night's season low 10 point effort. that means in the other 6 losses, we were already trailing after 3 quarters. and in the 5 wins when we were outscored, 3 were blowout wins in which the starters were resting and not needed. that means the Rockets were able to hang on for the win in the other 2 wins in which they were outscored. one other thing I could have tracked is how many times we made a comeback after trailing at the end of the 3rd Quarter. I can update with more specifics later.
The thing that annoys me is when down in the fourth quarter - we just launch the 3 ball seemingly every possession hoping to reign in the lead in quick succession. The two glaring examples of this that stick out in my mind is the latest San Antonio game and last night. San Antonio had a lead at around the 5-6 minute mark left in the third and all we did was shoot 3 ball after 3 ball with none of them dropping. San Antonio meanwhile built their lead up to double digits. The last couple of minutes we start running and driving the lanes again and reduced the deficit. If they'd done that instead of those few minutes where all they did was shoot outside shots - I wonder what the end result could've been. Same as last night. Long shot after long shot. An argument could be made as well for last night that even the penetration wasn't bringing any positive results for us. I understand we basically live and die by the 3. But I'd still like to see in close games going down to the wire - the team look to finish at the ring then hope for hay-makers each possession.
Teams that can't make jump shots tend to lose the 4th quarter of basketball games when opposing defenses tend to be much tougher, especially in the paint during a tight ball game. Jump Shot eFG% (season) Carlos Delfino 53.2% Toney Douglas 50.0% Marcus Morris 48.9% Patrick Patterson 48.4% Chandler Parsons 47.5% James Harden 44.4% Greg Smith 41.7% Jeremy Lin 38.6% Omer Asik 25.0%
you live by the jumper and you die with the jumper, on a back to back night, legs get tired, and you miss.
One bad game does not detract from the fact that we have been pretty good in the fourth quarter for most of the season.
