Seeking a shooting touch
Harden and Co. have been launching ball with impunity, but they need to convert more
If the Rockets were not getting their shots, were forcing bad shots or were being bottled up by the Thunder defense, the solutions would be obvious. They would not be easy, but it would be clear what needed to be done.
The Rockets are, however, getting the shots they are built to take. In their playoff series against the Thunder, they launched 43 open or wide-open 3s in Game 1, 47 in Game 3, and 44 in Saturday’s Game 3 loss.
They are not making them. Now, fix that.
The Rockets can’t take a bunch of sky hooks and Dream Shakes. They don’t have other shooters. Even the return of Russell West
brook, who can make up for missed 3s with blasts to the rim, is out for Monday’s Game 4, as he has been throughout the series.
The challenge is to shoot better when there are no better shots to get.
“Please tell me how to do that,” coach Mike D’Antoni said of how to get the same shots to fall. “That’ll be great.
“We don’t want to overcomplicate it. Guys will start making shots. I have complete faith in them. We’re going to the rim enough — that’s good. Balance is good. Our pace is good. We like what we’re doing. We’re just not making a lot of shots.
“Just hang in there, and hopefully the defense can win it until our offense gets started again.”
The Rockets have executed well. While missing their secondleading scorer, they stood sixth in the playoffs’ first three games in points in the paint while taking far more open and wide-open 3s than any other team.
The Rockets shot well in Game 1, making 38.3 percent of their 3point attempts. But they slipped to 33.9 percent in Game 2 and 30 percent in Game 3.
For the Rockets in the regular season, 3-point shooting was a reliable indicator of success. They were 24-1 when making 37 percent or more of their 3-point attempts. They were 15-21 when making 33.3 percent or less.
“Keep shooting,” guard Ben McLemore said of the solution. “We’ve just got to continue to do what we do best on both ends of the floor. We’re going to make shots. We’ve got a lot of guys to make shots.”
That could require that guards James Harden and Eric Gordon find their 3-point touch. McLemore, P.J. Tucker, Danuel House Jr. and especially Jeff Green have shot well from deep in the series. But Harden is 11 of 37 (29.7 percent) on 3s, and Gordon has made just 4 of 26 (15.4 percent).
This is not entirely unexpected. Harden, even while leading the NBA in scoring for a third consecutive season and making 35.5 percent of his 3s, went through several extended shooting slumps during the regular season. Gordon had the second-worst shooting season of his 12-year career, making 31.7 percent of his 3s.
Gordon, however, never looked as fit and athletic during the season as he has since the restart. And against the Thunder, he has routinely gotten to the rim off the dribble.
“I’m sure there is a little bit of rhythm and stuff he’s working back, no doubt about it,” D’Antoni said. “His drives are good. I expect him to get better every game that goes by. His defense is always good. I expect him to explode here pretty soon.”
Gordon agreed. Though he said getting “a wide-open, clean look” from deep would help, he planned to keep driving.
“When your shot’s not falling, you have to be able to do something else,” Gordon said. “I’ve been able to get into the lane a lot. I’ve always been able to get to the paint. If I’m not knocking down shots, I’ve got to continue to drive and make the best available basket or a pass.
“I’m just going to keep attacking and (choose) the best available option that I can. This game is all about creating opportunities. I definitely need to keep driving.”
The Rockets will also try to get Harden cleaner looks in his matchup with the Thunder’s Lu Dort. But many of Harden’s shots have been the step-back 3s that can’t be taken away but are also difficult to make any easier.
“There are little wrinkles we’ll try to put in there to try to help him,” D’Antoni said. “They’re doing a great job, and he got 38 points. He’s not hitting his 3s like crazy. Of all the things we need to fix, he’s not one of them. We’ll try to make it easier. But just put it in perspective of how great James is.”
Besides, for the Rockets in a playoff series, finding ways to get shooters to shoot well is not a bad problem to have. It does make things clear.
“Defensively, we played well,” Gordon said. “Offensively, we’ve just got to continue to find our groove.”