Another 3-peat?
Coach Mike D’Antoni is OK with the highquality 3s.
PORTLAND, Ore. — When the topic of the Rockets’ becoming the first NBA team to launch 50 3-pointers came up two weeks ago, they wondered why they would be asked to predict whether something as inevitable as wearing socks to the game would happen.
“I did laugh,” forward Ryan Anderson, the embodiment of the Rockets’ see it, 3-it offense, said Friday in Sacramento after the Rockets launched 50 3s against the Kings.
A better question might have been which record would fall first, the mark for 3s taken or made, or if the Rockets might be poetic and establish both records on the same shot.
With Friday’s 3-for-all, the Rockets hold both records. Their 50 3-pointers attempted, a fitting number amid their 50th-anniversary celebration, broke the record of 49 set by the Mavericks in 1996 against the Nets and the franchise record of 47 established Nov. 12 against the Spurs. 2 shy of made record
The 21 they made are two shy of the NBA record they have shared with the 2008-09 Orlando Magic since they made 23 against the Warriors in 2012-13.
The Rockets cooled just enough Friday — from going 14-of-28 in the first half to 7-of-22 the rest of the way — to fall short of breaking both records. But as with the potential to take 50 3-pointers in one game, they consider surpassing 23 made 3s just a matter of time.
“We have the ability,” Anderson said. “I think we definitely could with this system. Especially in that first half, we got a lot of wide-open looks and made a lot of them. We’re just going to keep taking them. That’s the style of play we built around James (Harden), obviously, his ability to distribute. And we have shooters. We’re going to keep putting them up. I’m sure we might have more than that this season.”
Coach Mike D’Antoni has often said he does not concern himself with the quantity of shots taken inside or out but the quality. If they are good shots, as they were Friday, he’s fine with the Rockets averaging more than one 3-point attempt per minute.
“We play the game,” he said. “If that’s what they’re giving us, that’s what we’ll take. I thought we had good looks at it. If a guy has a good look, he’s free to shoot it. We don’t count the number. I was surprised it was that many. You play your rhythm, and you play your game, and if you’re open, you shoot it.”
The Rockets were unusually open, especially early, against the Kings. With the Rockets sixth in the NBA in scoring in the paint, Sacramento packed the interior defensively, inviting the Rockets to fire away. They did not need much convincing.
The Rockets have been built to shoot 3s around Harden’s ball-handling. With Clint Capela’s rapid growth as a pick-and-roll target and finisher, opponents have more reason to send an extra defender to the paint, even at the risk of leaving a shooter open.
“It might happen again,” guard Eric Gordon said. “That’s what a lot of teams are trying to do. They’re trying to pack the paint, make sure James doesn’t get too much penetration. We might cast up some more of those 3s.”
That seems certain. It might be as likely they eventually make more than the record of 23.
“I think we’ll do it before the season is over,” Gordon said. “That’s a lot of 3s, but we definitely have a chance to do something.” No end in sight
With 221 3-pointers, the Rockets have made more than any previous NBA team through 16 games. They are second to the Cavaliers in 3-pointers per game, with Cleveland making an average of 13.9 through 14 games and the Rockets averaging 13.8. After putting up 50 on Friday, the Rockets have no intention of slowing down.
“We’re going to keep taking them,” Anderson said. “If we have open looks again, we’ll shoot 50 again. And I won’t laugh … next time.”