They shouldn't rely on it... never rely on something that can be taken away. They should continue to use it as one of their strongest weapons. They need an inside scoring presence to go with their slashing guards and three point shooters. Then they will be nigh unto unstoppable.
Wow... a Bleacher Report article that isn't complete trash. What a pleasant surprise... thanks for sharing OP.
In today's NBA, the style of play needs to fit the players, not vice versa. If you have 3 point shooters, then by all means shoot the three, if not, then you don't. Morey, like Ainge, like Kupchak, like a few others understand the formula to win a title. Assemble 2-3 HOF in their prime talent. That's really it. Then get a coach who can handle the personalities and run an offense based on their strengths. I hate to have said that, but unfortunately, that is what the NBA has come. Not saying there can't be a team like the 04(?) Pistons that won it all having no superstars, but a bunch of above average-all star caliber players (and this Rockets team could fit that mold), but DM for all the analytics he does, understands the superstar formula.
The Rockets look for inside buckets first, either off of fast breaks or penetration. If those don't work, then they go to the three-pointer. So what the Rockets rely on is easy-buckets and ball-movement. And yes, you can win a title relying on those things. But no, we have no chance to win anything with this current team.
We can rely on the 3 to win.... if we develop a half-decent defensive set. It's been said over and over again, but our defense sucks. Work on that and we'll be aight.
Exactly, as long as we can get back defensively off of missed 3-pointers, I don't have a problem with it. The Spurs are very good at getting back defensively off their missed 3's.
Was under the impression that we're only playing this style because of personnel, and that we would have more a more conventional offensse once we had more versatile players on the roster.
Our championship aspirations are NOT based on shooting and making 3's. You only win the championship by getting stops during the last 5 minutes of the game. As I've said before we can stop a catepillar from turning into a butterfly with shotgun!!! Denver drops 134 on us. HARDEN, Dmo, Delfino, Garcia, Lin, struggle to stay infront of their man on D.
The Rockets take an average number of long jump shot. It's just that instead of taking 18 long 2's and 20 3's, they take 10 long 2's and 28 3's. They're really not relying on the three. They just make sure that when they do take jump shots, they take the best ones possible. The Knicks rely on the long jump shot. They take 7 more long 2's and 3's than average.
If the 3s can help us to score more points than our opponents, we will win a title. Otherwise, we won't.
To answer the question -- I think they can rely on the three and compete for a championship. They will need people who can get into the paint (which they have), and will need to shoot a predominant amount of corner 3's (which they do), but if they can create a tough defense into what they are already doing, they could compete for a title. All that said, I hate three pointers. I mean, sure, I love when the Rockets make one, but I think the 3 point line has hurt the game and how fun it is to watch. I still love the NBA, but if you go back and watch games before the three point line, man, I just think it is better basketball.
Of course you can win shooting threes. If Lin's shot is falling, Harden plays efficient offensively, and Parsons can get free for some easy looks I think we can beat anyone. Lin is the key. If he's ineffective we suck. If he's on fire and playing with energy we are tough to handle.
It's not slowed down dramatically. A team usually has on average about 2 less possessions a game in the playoffs compared to the regular season. So only around a 2% decrease in pace.
I think that shooting the 3 the way the Rockets do this season gives them a great chance at a first round upset. If they are on, they are a very hard team to beat and the 3 tends to neutralize great team defense. If they miss, they were probably going to lose anyway. We just have to hope for 3 or 4 hot shooting games and perhaps one Harden 40+ or Linsanity resurrection game.
Whenever you score more point than your opponent in a game, you win. That's the 100% reliable strategy. It doesn't matter how you score. Rudy T and the Rockets revolutionized the kick out 3pt shot. They didn't invent it. But they used it to the extreme and everybody else subsequently copied them. If you have a dominant low post player, you surround him with three or four 3pt shooters on the floor. Force them to double team the low post game and then kick out. Rudy always emphasized that to his players. "Just one more pass." Dump the ball down to Hakeem. If they guard him 1-on-1, he scores. If they double down, kick it out to force the defense to rotate. Then one more pass around the perimeter will find a wide open 3pt shot. Nowadays, there aren't many dominant low post players. So what they do is reverse the role. Get good penetrating guards to attack the rim, draw the defense and then kick out. There comes the so-called "stretch 4." You need at least 3 spot up 3pt shooters. So if one of the perimeter guy penetrates, you want your PF to be able to spot up for the long ball.
