Anderson finding stroke at right time
NEW YORK — With 21 points against the Cavaliers on Saturday, his second most in a game this season, forward Ryan Anderson has scored in double figures in four consecutive games, his longest streak since a fivegame run in November.
But his improved production could be about more than shooting better. Over his past seven games he has averaged 2.4 3-pointers on 47.2 percent shooting. In the previous 11 games, he had averaged 1.3 3s per game on 26.4 percent shooting. With his 5-of-9 3-point shooting Saturday, the Rockets moved to 14-1 when Anderson makes at least three 3-pointers. But coach Mike D’Antoni said Anderson’s effectiveness has also come from being more aggressive.
“He’s just being active,” D’Antoni said. “I want him to shoot even more. I thought he passed up a couple. He needs to go ahead and load them up. But he’ll get there.”
Anderson said the improvement comes from shooting with confidence and from his teammates setting him up with open looks.
“I don’t feel any different than I did before,” Anderson said. “Just, some shots are falling. We’re hitting a really good rhythm right now. We’re getting each other really good shots. We’re playing at a high level. Obviously, that helps me when we’re getting stops and getting out in transition and getting open looks, rather than slowing the game down, getting in the half court and going one-onone when we might not distribute the ball as well.”
For good measure, he added a drive to a twohanded slam and said he needs to look for more.
“It was open,” he said. “There’s no low man there. That’s something I want to be more aggressive.
“In the past few years, I went into that step-back a lot, rather than go to the basket. I think that’s something I can really contribute, rather than shooting a tough fadeaway.”
Green eases load due to injuries
Although the Rockets handled their recent injuries better than they had in December, coach Mike D’Antoni said he would rather they no longer come in bunches.
Still, he said the addition of Gerald Green helped overcome the losses of Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon (who is expected to return Tuesday) better than when the Rockets were short-handed early in the season.
“I just told them, we have to time our injuries a little bit better to where we just have one going out at a time,” D’Antoni said. “It would make it easier on everybody. When you get three out, three is tough to overcome, no matter what.
“Two is tough, but we added Gerald so it’s like only one out, so we’re good. Adding Gerald is a major piece to what we’re doing.
“He’ll get you 10 points in a rush. That’s good. He’s playing with a lot of energy. He’s feeling more comfortable all the time. I love him. His team defense is good.
“Individually, sometimes they bump him off. I told him, ‘Man, as long as you play with energy and try to do things we’re doing, I can point to a lot of guys who can struggle.’ He’s been doing a good job.”