Shooters driven to cross up defenses
Ariza, Mbah a Moute head to rim to offset efforts to deny 3s
Trevor Ariza grabbed the rebound, brought it up the floor and, after delivering the ball to James Harden, headed directly to his customary spot in the corner as automatically as water flowing downhill. When Harden sent his pass there in a decision nearly as automatic as Ariza’s dash to the corner, the San Antonio Spurs knew just what to do Monday.
Brandon Paul dashed hard to Ariza to take away the sort of 3-pointer that helps define the Rockets forward as a 3-and-D player. But given a choice between forcing up a shot or giv-
ing up the ball, Ariza went with a third option. He drove past a charging Paul with a move to his left, slipped around center Joffrey Lauvergne and put in his lefthanded finger roll over Davis Bertans at the rim.
Ariza already had taken a pair of 3s, making one. Things have not changed that much. He still takes more than two-thirds of his shots from beyond the arc. But increasingly, as opposing teams seek to close out the Rockets’ shooters, Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute have mixed in drives to the basket to give the Rockets another way to attack the efforts to defend the shots the team takes most.
“I’ve always believed, and it’s Mike (D’Antoni’s) philosophy — a little bit less because he wants us to shoot more — to take what the defense gives you,” Mbah a Moute said. “For us, sometimes it’s just putting the ball on the floor and making plays.
“We have a lot of good shooters. Sometimes teams load up on James and Chris (Paul) and those guys, so the play is for you to drive. A lot of times … teams will try to take you away from that corner 3, which is a high-percentage shot, so it opens up driving lanes and opens up space for you to make plays. Just trying to take advantage of what the defense is doing.”
Coach OK with drives
There has not been a large increase in drives, about two per game between them. But in the 10 games since the All-Star break when Ariza returned from his strained hamstring, they have been remarkably effective off the dribble — Ariza making 57.1 percent of his shots on drives and Mbah a Moute 80 percent. And despite the reputation, they drive with D’Antoni’s blessing … with one caveat.
“I’m really thrilled when they step out of bounds on the drive,” D’Antoni said with heavy sarcasm. “I get on Luc for that mostly.
“It’s something Trevor has added to his game this year. He’s doing well. That’s great. I’m thrilled with whatever right decision they make. They know what we’re trying to do. If you’re open, you shoot it. If not, you can drive it. We’re good with that.”
Ariza did not love the suggestion that he “added” drives. He and Mbah a Moute said that has long been in their repertoire.
“I like to finish, too,” Ariza said. “I guess I opened up my game some, instead of just standing there to shoot.
“It’s not really an ‘add.’ It’s more picking it back up. When I was a lot younger, I used to be able to go to the can and dunk a little bit. The past few years, I’ve been standing out there shooting. That’s become my game. But it’s opened a lot for me to go to the basket and finish and just try to mix it up.”
Mbah a Moute especially added 3-point shooting to his game over the years. A 33.4 percent 3-point shooter in his 10-year career, he is making 36.3 percent this season while taking twice as many as he ever has, except in his one season in Philadelphia. Though D’Antoni offers a green light for him to drive the way other coaches endorse the idea of shooting 3s, the Rockets still would like to get Mbah a Moute to fire away more readily.
“I was always known as a driver more than a shooter,” Mbah a Moute said. “I always drove the ball. It’s kind of my natural instinct to drive. Sometimes, Mike gets mad at me because he wants me to shoot instead of driving. But I enjoy driving, making plays for myself or finding guys.”
It’s more than 3s
It has been an increasingly effective part of the Rockets’ offense. They still take far more 3s per game than any team ever, averaging 41.7 attempts from beyond the arc per game. Until the recent uptick in drives, the Rockets were on pace to be the first team to take more 3s than 2s. But rather than think of themselves as a team that shoots 3s or goes one-onone more than any team, they prefer to consider their offense about having a counter for anything a defense tries.
“That’s most teams’ game plan going into the game,” Chris Paul said. “’This team takes a lot of 3s. ‘Don’t let them shoot 3s.’ We don’t go into the games saying we’re going to drive, were going to do this. We just play to win. Whatever you try to do to us, we try to be us and we counter it.”