We have plenty of evidence that neither Harden nor Gordon are elite midrange shooters. They both have multiple seasons taking 100+, Harden's first few seasons as a Rocket he took 200+, and their shooting percentages have been in the high 30s or very low 40s.
Strongly disagree with this premise. If the Rockets decided to go to the midrange when the 3s "aren't falling", I am very confident the result would be less wins.
I think we should jack more and more three point shots. When Capela comes back he should jack three-pointers. EVERYBODY JACK THREE POINTERS. And then when we flame out in the playoffs Daryl and Dan Tony can mumble at the press conference, "That's who we are, that's what we do, see you next year." Now that's a plan!
His fg% for that area for his career is ~42%. Pretty good, not close to elite. .42 x 2 = .84 points per attempt To equal .84 points per attempt on step back 3s he would have to shoot at least 28%. He’s shooting WAY over 28% on stepbacks. Not to mention for Harden it’s EASIER for him to get off a step back 3 than it would be to dribble in closer to more defenders and take a shorter shot. There really shouldn’t be a need for this lesson every single season when we have a bad 3 point shooting game. Our offense is better than the Spurs. They supposedly play the “smart way” with all their 2s. I absolutely agree that when 1 final shot is available that it’s smartest to get the highest % shot available 2 or 3. Aside from that the math has won. This argument was over 6-7 years ago when we started the trend. Our problem back then is the same problem we have today. We don’t have the defense to compliment our elite offense. Last year we saw the results it is capable of bringing with proper defense.
He’s only taken 88 attempts/season on average over the last 4 seasons from 10-14ft. Not nearly a large enough sample size, not to mention he’s improved his game every single year he’s been here. According to basketball reference he’s 20/37 on those attempts this year which would mark his highest percentage of his career. The math is the math but we don’t have anything other then a couple WCF visits to thank for it, so it’s time for a slight adjustment.
We can agree to disagree! I respect your opinion we are all entitled to one. I’ve watched every game Harden has been a Rocket from beginning to end, so it’s just my opinion based on my observation. The math adds up and I do like being the trendsetting team that the NBA is starting to follow suit on. But those playoff games were we always seem to go cold in the most inopportune moments has changed my pace a little bit.
We are one of the best offensive teams ever, and based on our roster this/last season, we have no business being there. Imagine what kind of irrational thinking it takes to sit here and say that adding the exact opposite of our core values and subtracting a bit of our core values will lead to better results than... an above average offensive roster putting forth a historic offensive season. These people have not even sat for a moment to think about how ridiculous it is that we are offensively this good. We are the equivalent of a Mustang keeping pace with a Ferrari. But you know, there's always that one guy. That one guy who is SURE that if we do things the old way, the Mustang will outpace the Ferrari. That guy can never admit someone else has a better idea, even if the idea is playing out in front of him.
You can thank the Warriors and Paul’s injury for only having 2 WCF appearances. Not our offensive strategy. We consistently put out one of the best offenses in the league. It does not need to be changed because we can’t take out a super team.
Am I that one guy lol? Have you considered Harden mastering his game being the major contribution to our offensive greatness? I’ll let you read through the thread to completely catch up, but my suggestion was never to change our philosophy that has proven effective. The suggestion is when we are having poor shooting performances adjust to a easier shot. Not to abandon the 3 pointer completely, but rather take the easiest shot that’s given to you. When Harden went 1/17 from 3 in Orlando did you want him to continue shooting to make his second 3 or drive to that paint to get a easy shot or draw a foul? I really don’t understand why more offensive options is being perceived as limiting our offense. Lol
I whole-heartedly believe we could have beat the Warriors game 7 without CP3 if we converted some of those 3pt attempts to easy shots/floaters, so I can’t get behind the whole unbeatable super team stance. Obviously this is just my opinion, but we had them down double digits in game 6 and 7 without Paul.
Sounds fair but I think our players were scared to drive because the refs swallowed the whistles and would prefer shooting 3s to being fouled without the foul being called
