When you're tired as hell, you are bad at shooting all shots. It wouldn't matter whether you shoot 3s or mid range or in the paint. Teams at the tail end of a 4-in-5 tend to suck at shooting because they have no strength. The Rockets may or may not need more mid-range shots. Personally, I see Harden and Lin shoot quite a few of them this year. But this game means nothing in the grand scheme of things. Schedule loss.
they don't need a midrange... they just need better post and three point shooters. for a team that builds their offense around those two shots, we are a mediocre three ball shooting team and limited in our post offense because we can't hit dwight at the right time.
Every team lives and dies by the jumper. If we don't shoot 3s, then we live and die by the 20 footer. How is that any better? It's still the same concept, except rather than being able to shoot 35% on 3s, we need to shoot 50% on long 2s. And teams don't hit long 2s at the end of a 4-in-5 either.
anyone that disagrees with this thread doesn't know basketball. go watch Jordan, his 3 pt percentage is lower than many expect. it's his mid range shot (or even hakeem's) that wins games. the game of basketball is about high percentage shots. jack'n 3's is going to kill you in the end.
it's also the play calling. Karl Malone made a feast on a midrange game. when LeBron developed a mid range shot, he elevated his game. people dared him to shoot and he'd miss. he worked on his mid range shot (and low post) and he's become the best in the league.
The difference is is that it really isnt difficult to defend the 3. Unless you have somebody with unlimited range that will knock them down well behind the arc, it's easy to shut you down. Midrange games can be anywhere within the arc. You make them, defender has to respect you more and you have a closer path to the basket or for the pass or cut. It's harder to do that from 3. The thunder pretty much did what I'm talking about all night today. I get what your saying in theory, but there are too many variables to quantify the relationship.
Many teams are taking less mid-range shots. That seem to be a trend. If you check the stats,many teams shot mid-range jumper worse than three ball. I am fine with the play style we have right now. However, we do need to improve perimeter defense to prevent opponents from scoring on mid-range shots.
Rockets need to incorporate the "No more 8 games in 11 nights" offense. Every NBA champion has used this offense. FACT.
If our 3's aren't falling, it might be nice if we could dig in and play that much harder defensively. I also loved what Harden did the other night when he just started attacking the basket relentlessly and drew 25 foul shots. IMO, he and Lin need to do that when the 3's aren't working.
actually if you check the stats, 3pt % is lower than non-3pt shots. I don't mind taking key 3's. but jack'n a ton of 3's to get back in the game isn't going to win it. old rockets didn't just jack 3's, the Jordan bulls didn't just 3's, and Miami doesn't just 3's.
Rather make mid-range shots than miss 3s and have lay-ups blocked or altered by shot-blockers that they turn into misses. You need mid-range jumpers to stay honest or against teams that protect the paint and when your 3s aren't falling.
Are you really implying that it's harder to defend, say, Juwan Howard's FT jumper than a Casspi 3? Why? It's still one guy guarding another guy. If anything, there's more space to roam around the 3pt arc than inside. Common sense would say it's much harder to defend a 3 than a mid-range shot.
AMEN!!!!! Layups and three point shots are only more efficient in the flow of a normal offense. If you shoot these particular shots exclusively, the defense keys on stopping them. The efficiency of both types of shots goes way down as a result. The lack of a midrange game is why we have a hard time executing pick-and-roll and lob plays.... The defenders can focus on erasing shots at the rim and double teaming at the arc. And if we don't set enough screens, the offense becomes ghastly sticky. This is why we too often lose to mediocre teams.... If the opp team has players who defend the arc and/or rim well, we have a hard time, regardless of the opp team's W/L record. Since we always have to finish drives with layups, our backcourt players are all getting clobbered at the rim. Wearing themselves out in the process. And end up committing a lot of turnovers. You wonder why both Harden and Lin always seem listless in the 4th game in 5 nights. (Eight man rotations don't help either.) This offense almost guarantees us wins against tired or depleted teams..... But it also gives us little hope during busy stretches of our own.... In order to get to the next level, teams have to perform in a variety of ways. It's much easier to defend layups and three point shots when we're shooting only layups and three point shots. And teams like OKC that can really defend the rim and arc, it seems like we'll never have a chance, unless KD has a really off night.
