Regarding the 3-pointers taken by Morris/Patterson

I know a lot of you, from reading the game threads of our first two games, are not as happy with Patterson and Morris taking those 3-point shots (even though Patterson made a big one against ATL). I've seen people say that it's not part of their game/not what they do best.

The thing is, in order for our offense to succeed, these two guys NEED to make it part of their game. If they can show that they are a 3-pt threat if left alone, then our offense (and Harden) can continue to explode.

Let's take a look at how this can help space the floor and create a multitude of options for Harden/Lin:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/ICqdd.jpg">

This play was the one where Lin passed to a cutting Harden for the dunk. Look where Josh Smith is- at the top of they key, he has no chance to affect the play in the paint. The only person down there is Asik.

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/nGRl5.jpg">

In this play, you can see how wide open the lane is. You can see Josh Smith watching the ball right now, and he's definitely in a position to make a play if Harden drives. If Patterson became a player that defenders needed to worry about on the perimeter, Smith might not sag off as much and that would make it much harder for him to make a play. Another thing is that defenders won't be able to sag off as much on the players they are guarding on the edge, so Parson definitely needs to start hitting those outside shots as well, so his defender can't sneak in on the pick and roll.

Lastly,

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/i8pTm.jpg">

This play demonstrates the point the best, in my opinion. Look at how WIDE open the middle of the lane is. The only person there is Josh Smith. If Patterson develops that shot, then when Harden drives in, if Smith decides to collapse on him, they will pay because Patterson is wide open to hit that shot.


Anyways, I think that McHale is probably telling these guys to take those shots because it's an integral part to the success of our offense.

So far, through 2 games, Morris and Patterson are 2-12 from the perimeter, and that will need to improve if we want room for Harden to do what he wants in the paint. I apologize if those post was a bit long or uninformative, but thanks for reading!

 

Thanks. Even the fact that they are taking so many of those shots tells me they have the green light for the attempts. Defenders will think twice about sagging off of them, which is crucial. I mean, if you can take Josh Smith out of plays like that, then it's worth it to suffer through some misses until they, hopefully, get the hang of it.

 

I can't really think of another PF that would fit our team better than Kevin Love. The problem is, he won't be unrestricted until 2015, and I'm not sure that it's feasible to get him from a trade. Man... that would be perfect. Our rebounding would be scary, as well.

 

Yep, you are exactly right. I think McHale has told them to shoot it so they can start stretching the floor and hopefully increase their 3pt %. He wants other teams to see that they can hit that shot, but you are correct, they have to get much better at it. Hopefully that will come in time.

 

Thanks for the advise! I apologize, this is the first thread I've created, so I didn't know about that. I knew the pictures might be too big, and was worried that might annoy y'all.

 

Morey and Hollinger were both praising him for his defense on Josh Smith tonight, and we'll see if he can keep it up against Aldridge, a bigger offensive threat.

And you are correct, we are really lacking a post scorer- someone who can play with their back to the rim. That's the missing piece I think we need to go after through a trade or FA.

 

*last night