http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1812761 Season's wins, losses follow highs, lows of 3-point shooting percentage By JOSEPH DUARTE Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle With time running out in the first quarter Saturday, Rockets guard Steve Francis drove toward the basket, allowing him to draw the defender inside and set up a wide-open 25-footer for Eddie Griffin at the buzzer. On another occasion midway through the second quarter, the Rockets executed an almost identical play. This time, they worked the ball around before guard Cuttino Mobley broke to the basket. He dished off at the last second to forward Glen Rice, who drained a 3-pointer from the corner. It was a rare night when the Rockets were able to move the basketball inside and outside with success in an 83-71 dismantling of the New Jersey Nets. The Rockets shot 42.9 percent from 3-point range -- their best performance in nearly two weeks. "We've got the type of offense that sometimes we go down low," Mobley said. "If we're not hitting our shots from the outside, it can be a problem. But if we are, we're blowing people out. Simple as that." During a recent stretch, the Rockets lost 13 consecutive games in which they shot below 30 percent from 3-point range, a clear barometer that has figured prominently in wins and losses. During the past 24 games, the Rockets have shot below 30 percent 14 times. They are 1-13 in those games, the lone exception a 97-95 victory over Toronto last Wednesday in which they made only 23 percent of their long-range attempts. Over the same span, the Rockets are 7-2 when hitting more than 30 percent of their 3-point shots. It's no coincidence that about the time the 3-point shooting struggles began, the Rockets were seven games above .500 at 23-16. They now find themselves 32-30 and trailing Phoenix by one game for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. "You can execute great plays and get the open shots, but if you don't make the shot, it's a big part of the game," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I don't know what the theory is, but I can tell you generally it's a really big part of the game. Shooting takes pressure off the inside game and things like that. You've got to have consistent outside shooting to be successful in this league." Before making a trey during the fourth quarter Saturday, Francis had missed 11 consecutive 3-point attempts. Griffin went five games without making one before hitting at the buzzer against the Nets. Mobley has made only four of his last 15 attempts. Among regulars, Rice, who had seven treys in a game against Phoenix last month, leads the team with 37.8 percent accuracy on 3-pointers. Rice is considered something of an expert on the art of the 3-point shot. About to complete his 14th season, he ranks fourth in NBA history with 1,514 3-pointers. But even he encounters difficulty explaining how much weight the Rockets' lack of success from beyond the arc has in the loss column. "I think it sticks out a little bit more when we lose," Rice said. "When we go out and play the way we're capable of playing on the defensive end, that sort of hides it a little bit more. We're going to shoot a lot of 3-pointers, and we're going to shoot a lot of jump shots because most of the guys we have on the team do that." Entering Monday, the Rockets ranked 21st out of 29 NBA teams with a 33.4 percent accuracy rate from 3-point range. New York, Sacramento, Dallas and Milwaukee are all shooting better than 38 percent to rank among the league leaders. "We have a lot of good shooters," Francis said. "Sometimes the ball doesn't go in the basket, whether it's from three or from two. We just need to stay consistent at what we do, whether it's shooting from behind the arc or a layup." Showing how much of an inexact science it can be, the Rockets have been on the losing end of some of their best 3-point-shooting games this season. They shot 56.3 percent (9-for-16) and 57.1 percent (8-for-14) in November losses to Seattle and Phoenix. But the correlation has been clear in other games. They hit a season-best 66.7 percent (10-for-15) in an overtime victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 17. Three days later, the Rockets went 2-for-11 -- 18.2 percent -- in a loss at San Antonio. In 1994, the Rockets began a franchise-record streak of 473 games with making at least one 3-pointer. It lasted until the 2000 season. This season, the Rockets have already gone two games without making a 3-pointer. "We definitely would like to hit more on a consistent basis, but sometimes it doesn't roll like that," Mobley said. "We're up and down."
Maybe we should shoot the higher percentage 2s instead of taking risk with our low percentage 3s? -G'day-
No surprise that we are one of the worst 3-pt shooting teams in the league. Apart from Rice (who is always injuried), we have no pure shooter in our rotation. Teams double team our post players and more often than not we couldn't make them pay.
Sounds like a lot of success to me -- they ride a 43% clip from the arc all the way to the stunning offensive output of 83 points. That sure is "dismantling" a team and "blowing people out."
We shoot a lot of low percentage 2's as well. The team just doesn't work for the open look. Got to work harder and then take a desperation 3.
Those are the more telling quotes of the story. Mobley still don't get it and Rudy had not got thru to him. With Yao, Taylor and Griffin they should play inside out and not just "go down low sometimes"!! And he sat there wondering why we're up and down!! Athletes these days are better than players 20 yrs ago, yet do they know why there are only 10 in the entirely league shooting better than 50%?
Joseph Duarte and Jonathan Feigen make Fran Blinebury look like a Pulitzer Prize winner. Last week, Feigen told us that feeding the post was like solving geometry problems. This week, Duarte wants to tell us that when the Rockets have success hitting the three pointers, they win. Next week, Feigen will tell us that Rockets have great shooters. However, the other team has 5 players on the court and it makes it hard to score.
Well, there's no doubt that main problem the Rockets have had this season is poor shooting. Not neccesarily from 3-point land, but just in general. You can't be a below average shooting team and think you're going to make the playoffs.
3's are always going to be a big part of the Rockets offense. Rudy likes the 3 ball. We've got a low post threat that has to be doubled. And, then, the 3 is more effective than the jump shot. Sad, but true. People lament the lack of mid-range jump shots. But they're disappearing not only because fewer players can hit them consistently... but also because they're not as important. A player who hits just 33.3% of his 3's is doing about the same as someone who hits 50% of his 2's statistically. Of course, in reality, he's not playing quite so well, since there're other issues that go along with a miss and all sorts of strategy issues that go with the situation. But, still, the name of the game is scoring efficiency... and the 3 pays. We don't need to give up on the 3. We just need better 3 point shooters.
I don't understand why that article makes people think we shoot a bunch of 3s. We don't this year. The article merely says that wins seem tied to our 3FG *percentage*. We are 15th in the league in 3-pt field goal attempted. right smack in the middle of the field. Dallas, Sacramento, Lakers, San Antonio and Phoenix all shoot more 3s than us, and that is a wide ranging difference in offensive systems.
It has been in the Rockets history that we either live or die by the 3. They seriously have to redo their offense and copy the Mavericks or Kings playbook.
If the Rockets would start passing the ball around instead of dribbling it around, then they would get easier shots and shoot a higher percentage. I think the Rockets have some decent shooters, they just don't get easy jumpshots because we don't have enough ball movement.
I understand what you're saying, but if this team or most teams were getting quality high %mid range shots like Utah, then it would be very,very beneficial. During our runs in the mid 90's, when this team couldn't hit the 3 , they struggled. That was one of the reasons why clyde was brought in to give this team a new dimension on offense. No matter what anyone says, most teams will give up that shot as opposed to a 15ft er. Why, because the chances of making a 15-18ft shots are much greater than 24-25ft shots. If this team had a true offense that got players moving and getting good scoring positions, this team would score more than 93pts per game. I look at golden state who has probably about equal talent, and even though they give up 100pts, the score 100pts. Why? Because they get 83 shots on goal as opposed to the rockets getting 76 shots a game. If this team pushed the ball more and got more shots attempts, they would score more and we wouldn't have these prolonged scoring slumps during games.
Francis - "We have a lot of good shooters." Who are they? Is he kidding? The Rockets are one of the worst shooting teams I have ever seen. I wish I had a dollar for every wide open shot they missed this season. I could retire. Mobley - "Sometimes they just don't go in." That is called a "miss" or sometimes called "not a good shot!"
Minny,Utah and Philly take less than 10 3's per game, yet all three outscore houston by at least 3 per game. If we replaced those 3's with quality 2pt shots in a motion type offense, we would score more and probably win more games.
