Ethan Sherwood Strauss: But the Rockets are fourth in pace and first in 3-point attempts. They’re 23rd in assist rate. This is a team of chuckers, and calling them such isn’t even an insult. Their subversive strategy is working, even if it doesn’t look like basketball as we’ve loved it. How comfortable are you with this strategy? Should we stick to it, or will we have to adopt a more balanced offensive approach to contend for a championship? http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/64813/rockets-in-revolt [rquoter] ... Blessed with the vigor of youth and a good deal of talent, this team can go places far beyond what their 17-9 record would indicate. These guys also might be more inclined to set their own boundaries. “Only thing we’re shooting in practice are layups and 3s,” starting point guard Patrick Beverley explains. “We don’t like midrange,” Garcia and Beverley say in unison. The two of them have a firm grasp on Houston’s mission, but I want to know just how extreme their team’s approach is. “Did you know that LaMarcus Aldridge has shot ...” Beverley interrupts my question with the exact number of midrange shots Aldridge has hoisted relative to the entire Rockets team. As of Friday, the Portland power forward has attempted 98 more midrange shots than everyone on the Houston roster combined. That’s a startling statistic, but it’s not especially novel to Beverley, who “keeps up with everything,” as he puts it. Beverley responds with, “What would you rather shoot, a 3 or a 2?” Now that he’s won locker room "Jeopardy!," he turns the tables and quizzes me. All I can manage in return is, “I think you guys might be on the forefront of something.” ... [/rquoter]
Rockets have a load of talent. Lack of real game plan will likely hamper them in the playoffs against great coaches and teams.
they aren't Golden State level when it comes to chucking. The rockets have a post presence and Harden they can always go to.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we actually have a center who can score in the paint.
I consider this misleading because of the amount of layups the rockets get. Why did the writer leave out how many pts we score in the lane?
I don't know whether it's good or not until someone finds a way to defend it effectively. It probably won't happen in the regular season. In the playoffs, teams are more well-prepared defensively. Sacramento defended our 3pt shot and left the post single covered. It worked and they beat us. What I know is, last year's run and gun wouldn't work in the playoffs because they didn't have a half-court game. You have to have more than one dimension to win in the playoffs.
3's come and go. With more talent, we need to have a more balanced&stable system with more defense, especially in playoff.
I understand our current strategy but i will always constant ball movement for a good shot is the best strategy. The Spurs were good at this when years ago, well at least the games u watched.
I think you do whatever makes you more likely to win games. There really isn't a rational reason that I can figure out why it won't work in the playoffs. Something becomes a "championship" appraoch once it works. The Oakland A's haven't won a world series - largely due to random chance - but their methodology has been copied again and again has won the WS a number of times.
We also rank 3rd in points in the paint, and 1st FT's by a wide margin. We don't just stand around shooting jumpers.
I guess I feel like we can cut down on our turnover rate without giving away a whole lot of the run-and-gun, chuck lots of 3s style. The freedom of our offense is what makes it fun for players and fans, but it also enables guys like say Casspi to average over a turnover per game. Maybe dial back on allowing our role players to handle the ball in halfcourt situations.
was watching the bulls game last night. Their offense is not good as we all know, but they at least keep dunleavy moving without the ball which can makes the other teams adjust. Kinda similar to what spo does with ray/wade & doc does with reddick. Parsons moves the most I will say that, but it seems like garcia and casspi just sit at the 3 point line waiting and watching. I feel that this is our biggest problem with the 2nd unit, we don’t have anyone posting up like howard in there so its no reason to be standing around, good thing is its fixable.
IMO we are one starting piece away from having a complete roster. Obviously you can always improve the bench. After that I'd like for us to get a top-notch coach with a winning pedigree.
When I think of chuckers, I think of players hoisting up contested shots while giving up a more effective shot somewhere else on the floor. I don't get that impression watching this team, and using something like assist rate is not the best way to classify it. Everyone knows that turnovers are a major issue, and once that is addressed (hopefully), assist rate will climb. I do enjoy that the personnel buys into this style of play, and not just blindly. Whether it can be effective in the playoffs remains to be seen, but it's a good sign when everyone is on the same page.
We are contenders but far from winning a chip. We have enough talent, just not the smarts. Everybody tells me that the rockets have lost to crappy teams too much.
After years of watching Hakeem, Barkley, and Yao centered offenses where the ball was fed through the post, this offense is somewhat difficult to get comfortable with. It's always been said that in the playoffs the half court game takes over and high turnovers, poor assists, missed free throws, bad defense, and no strong post prescence are the exact problems that lead to early exits. If the Rockets can buck this trend and Moreys no mid range shot theory works it may change the game similar to baseball.
