Shooting-The First and Greatest Fundamental of Basketball

The Rockets seem to have more of those players than any other team in the league. They could start their own "bricklayers" union. This year I think I have witnessed some of the worst shooting I have ever seen at any level including little dribblers.

 

I said the suns

 

Jopatmc, And the low percentages don't tell the whole story. If there was a stat for missed critical, timely, turn the game around shots, the Rockets would win in a landslide. When the Rockets would need a basket in the worst way it was usually "brick" city. Absolutely frustrating, nothing kills momentum like a series of "wide open" misses. Nothing drives fans away like offensive impotence. This is a major problem, and for some mysterious reason the Rockets management and coaching staff cannot seem to fix this problem. Utterly amazing. And this has been going on for years. Last year was something of an aberration with Barry, James, Sura, and Padgett nailing long range shots. They are all gone.

 

Good post, but I think you said everything in the thread title.

Last year we had 6 good three point shooters, including:
Sura
Wesley
Barry
McGrady
James - traded, hindsight tells us it was a bad trade, but I agreed
Padgett - released, this was a bad, bad, bad decision

CD intended for us to have 5 shooters this year:
Sura - never returned from injury
Wesley - active
McGrady - injured, nothing we could do
Barry - injured, nothing we could do
Anderson - just plain sucked, but I agreed with aquisition
Alston - can't shoot straight, I don't know if he was intended to be a shooter

Only 2 of the 5 shooters we wanted to have are currently active. 1 of those 2 can't shoot.

Of the players we will probably have next year, here is what I think:
Wesley - should still serve as a good shooter coming off bench
McGrady - need I say anything
Alston - his task should be refining his shot this summer

Aston's summer could be incredibly important to the success of the team next year. The Rockets and Van Gundy could do themselves a HUGE favor if they could improve his shot. I really like the way Alston plays the point and controls the team when he is surrounded by good players. He tends to fade away at times... it seems to happen at the bigger moments and games, but I can't say we have really seen enough to proclaim that. Alston could really blossom into a great all-around talent if his three point shooting were accurate. Without it, I'm afraid we will be kicking ourselves for years to come.

Will the Rockets and Van Gundy make that a priority? We haven't seen anything from them to think it will happen. Although I have supported Van Gundy almost completely (with a few anger-driven lapses this season) I am starting to really question his decision making/stubborness over the last few weeks. I don't really trust him at this time to do what is best for the team, which is a really bad thing to believe. If the Rockets don't hire an assistant coach who is dedicated to shooting, I question their competance.

Baseball teams have hitting coaches. Football teams have position coaches. Basketball teams should have shooting coaches.

 

I should clarify my assessment of Aston a little more. It is all based on the fact that his stock is low right now, and it would probably be worthless to use him in a trade. We could only lose by getting rid of him.

Therefore.... we have to make him work.

 

It's painfully obvious what our problem is, I say we go for either a pure shooter or a big athletic PF that can rebound and block shot. (ie. JJ Redick or Tyrus Thomas)

 

Funny you say that, because the Rockets tried to convince the fans that bricking every shot was the key...

 

While your statistics are all very convincing in showing how poor the rockets have done offensively they are not the REAL reason the ROCKETS are in the Lottery. Doc ROberts had it right. INJURIES is the real reason it all adds up to the lottery.

Heres the most important stat:

With Yao & Tmac 21 - 10

NO Yao & Tmac 13 - 38

Notice noone complained last year about the offense after the 6-11 start when yao and Tmac were BOTH PLAYING. When both play healthy and regularly you can expect the offense and the supporting cast to shoot significant better.

 

That old dog just won't hunt; injuries to TMac and Ming exposed the REAL REASON the Rockets are in the lotto, the rest of the players aren't very good. The Denver game was the ONLY GAME the role players won all season. Collectively, they are perhaps the worst supporting cast to ever wear Rocket red. What if the stars had remained healthy? Well TMac shot below 40% this year, a shadow of his former self. I don't know, but, probably, not much. Maybe another first round exit, maybe no playoffs at all. Last year's team was much more talented. Injuries or no injuries, the team as presently constructed is not playoff caliber.