It's the little things: Offensive rebounds, turnovers, free throws, and hitting open 3's

These are the Rockets' 4 main problems. Even though the offense isn't running smoothly...yet... they would still be doing a LOT better if they can fix these problems:

1. Giving up offensive rebounds
2. Turning the ball over
3. Missing free throws
4. Not hitting open 3's.


1. Rockets are LAST in the NBA in the number of offensive rebounds they give up, and by a pretty big margin. They give up 13.9 per game. The 2nd worst is Milwaukee, and they give up 13.2. The best are the Spurs, only giving up 8.4.

If the Rockets could get that down to the average of 11.5, then they would limit their opponent's possessions, and not give up as many points per game.

The reason they give up so many offensive rebounds is that Dwight is a shot blocker. When he goes up to block a shot, he is out of position to get the rebound. Other players on the Rockets have to realize they are playing with Dwight Howard, and they are going to have to anticipate him blocking shots and get in position to grab the rebound since he won't be there to do so.

2. The Rockets are the 2nd WORST team in the league in turning the ball over. They average 18.9 per game. Yuck. The basic rule of thumb is that each turnover costs the team about 1 point. So if the Rockets average about 19 turnovers per game, they are giving up about 19 free points per game to the other team.

If the Rockets can decrease their turnovers to about 16 per game... which isn't too much to ask as it's still below average, they will decrease their opponent's points per game by about 3.

3. Rockets lead the league in free throw attempts by a large margin. But they are dead LAST in the league in free throw percentage shooting only 67.7%. If they can get their average up to about 70%, they will be in comparable range to the Spurs and Heat. That would be HUGE for this team. That would give them about an extra 6-10 points in a game from free throws. All they have to do is hit 70% as a team. It's something small, yet it makes a big difference in close games.

4. The Rockets are 23rd in the NBA in 3 point percentage. 23rd! 31.2%. That's not good for a team who relies heavily on 3 pointers. Last year the Rockets shot 36.6%

If they can get their percentage back up to the percentage they shot last year, they will hit about 2-3 more 3's per game. That is an extra 6-9 points they are leaving off the scoreboard.


Conclusion:

The Rockets are leaving a lot of points off the scoreboard. Let's take last night's Toronto Raptors game, for instance.

1. Turnovers. Rockets turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 23 points. If the Rockets only turned the ball over 16 times, they would have directly prevented the Raptors from scoring 7 points.

2. Free throws. Rockets were 29-47 from the line for 62%. If they shot just 70%, they would have been 33-47, scoring an extra 4 points.

3. 3 pointers. Rockets were 7-26 from 3 for 27%. If the Rockets shot 35%, which is pretty standard, they would have made 2 extra and gone 9-26, giving their team an extra 6 points.

4. Offensive rebounds. Raptors had 20 offensive rebounds. 20! Holding them to 15, which is still a lot, would have saved 5 second chance opportunities. Assuming they score 3 of those 5 times, that's 6 points the Rockets would prevent them from getting.



So adding all of that up... either points prevented or points scored, that is a gap of 23 points that the Rockets are leaving off the scoreboard. Turnovers and offensive rebounds would have prevented them from scoring 13 points. And the free throws and 3 pointers would have added 10 points for the Rockets.

The score could have been: 120-91 if the Rockets just cleaned up those little mistakes. (And yes, I know the game went into overtime and that wouldn't have been the score. But the point is still the same).

 

It is a little thing because this team is capable of it.

They are just in a shooting slump right now.

It's fixable. It is very possible.