James Harden take a bow

[jjgold]

Have to respect Westbrook for making adjustments to his game. Takes less than 4 3's... Rockets had no business going to OT.

Its Westbrooks team now

He is carrying them nightly

[stevenash]

So far tonight Harden is 4 for 14 and 0 for 6 from three point land at the half.
Oh, three turnovers to boot.

[ThaTopMoron]

So far tonight Harden is 4 for 14 and 0 for 6 from three point land at the half.
Oh, three turnovers to boot.

missed some free throws as well and 2 tantrums after no calls on flops

[stevenash]

And now Beverly fouls him hard and he acts like he just got mugged.

At least LBJ plays defense.

[jjgold]

He’s getting worse and worse

[blankoblanco]

If someone could just teach Harden's dumb ass math and explain why his constant contested 3s and outside shots are bad, maybe he could win a championship. Won't ever happen. Guy's one of the best ever at drawing fouls, not a great shooter, proceeds to take tons of long range shots where he's very unlikely to be fouled. Just an egotistical moron who's wasting his skill set for box scores that look good (and only if you ignore certain parts)

[ThaTopMoron]

If someone could just teach Harden's dumb ass math and explain why his constant contested 3s and outside shots are bad, maybe he could win a championship. Won't ever happen. Guy's one of the best ever at drawing fouls, not a great shooter, proceeds to take tons of long range shots where he's very unlikely to be fouled. Just an egotistical moron who's wasting his skill set for box scores that look good (and only if you ignore certain parts)

salivating at the thought of waiting and fading these chumps vs the right opponent in the playoffs just like years past... playing with no height

[Wrongside]

2 for 29 on three's as a team?!

[ThaTopMoron]

2 for 29 on three's as a team?!

hope they go 2 for 41 under 5%

[Wrongside]

salivating at the thought of waiting and fading these chumps vs the right opponent in the playoffs just like years past... playing with no height

Tucker not really the same guy this year either. In a year, where you very much need him to be that guy!

[Wrongside]

hope they go 2 for 41 under 5%

haha, for as much effort as Westbrook will give, he's capable of ruining things for his own team at least a dozen times a year, too.

[JaimeMiro]

At least Westbrook showing some growth. If was in OKC he would've kept shooting 3's -- today just two, Harden -- 0 of 8

[JaimeMiro]

What I think Mike D'Antoni says when they're down 'Ok, so we're down by only 10 3's keep shooting!'...

[stevenash]

What I think Mike D'Antoni says when they're down 'Ok, so we're down by only 10 3's keep shooting!'...

What's funny is D'Antoni is only a puppet.
Just like Tyronn Lue was in Cleveland.

[JaimeMiro]

What's funny is D'Antoni is only a puppet.
Just like Tyronn Lue was in Cleveland.

Lue was a puppet that made the NBA finals two years in a row & won a ring.. D'Antoni on the other hand...

[jjgold]

They should unload harden you can’t win with him

[shadymcgrady]

Nash regretted not shooting more 3s himself and as a team when phx had legit title shots and when it actually would have worked. Basketball at the time was just starting to use analytics, dantoni is obviously still traumatized by it today

[stevenash]

Nash regretted not shooting more 3s himself and as a team when phx had legit title shots and when it actually would have worked. Basketball at the time was just starting to use analytics, dantoni is obviously still traumatized by it today

But I won back to back MVP awards.

[stevenash]

Lue was a puppet that made the NBA finals two years in a row & won a ring.. D'Antoni on the other hand...

Which proves what both of us knew all along.

Lue and James > D'Antoni and Harden.

[shadymcgrady]

But I won back to back MVP awards.

The real Steve Nash would never say or mention that

[stevenash]

The real Steve Nash would never say or mention that

That’s one of many reasons why I loved the player.

My favorite was that dribble circle move under the basket right before he dished it off.

My God Steve Nash was a treat to watch run the point.

Three of the greatest from that era ran the point.
Stockton, Kidd, and Nash.
And that’s not including the Dennis Johnson’s etc. that was just a tad earlier.

[shadymcgrady]

That’s one of many reasons why I loved the player.

My favorite was that dribble circle move under the basket right before he dished it off.

My God Steve Nash was a treat to watch run the point.

Three of the greatest from that era ran the point.
Stockton, Kidd, and Nash.
And that’s not including the Dennis Johnson’s etc. that was just a tad earlier.

Yeah it was equivalent to the the wrap around in hockey. Kidd got robbed of mvp honors when he went finals b2b with the nets

[Wrongside]

This team is unreal. 0-20 to start the game

[stevenash]

Harden 3 for 9 from the field.
1 for 4 from three point land at the half.

[stevenash]

OK, I did a brief analytical breakdown on the Rockets.
I'll cut to the chase and keep this brief as not to bore any of you to tears with advanced math.

The Rockets average a tad over 91 shots per game.
Out of those 91 shots Houston takes 44.5 of them are of the three point variety.
That's startling, 49 percent or for argument sake half of their field goal attempts are from long distance the most in the NBA and it's not even close.

Wait, it gets better.
Out of those 44.5 three point tries they make 15.5 and miss 29 of them for a .349 percentage.
That 35 made percentage is not rock bottom on the league but pretty damn near rock bottom.

Breaking it down further out of the 91 shots Houston takes 46.6 of them are regular two point shots you know the layups and mid range jumpers and such.
Out of those 46.6 two point shots Houston makes on the average of 26.3 of them missing 20 for a .552 percentage.

Long story short and there's a lot more to it than what I just posted (like offensive rebounds which Houston is terrible at etc. etc.) you have to get close to 40 percent of those three pointers made for that shot to be more valuable than the layup for instance.
35 percent will not usually get it done.

Same with baseball, the team that lives and dies by the home run but strikes out way too much more than likely is at a disadvantage that say a contact hitting team that puts the ball in play inside the ball park but that's another story for another day.

[blankoblanco]

Yes. Everyone already knows Harden is wastefully chucking. Oh man, Giannis is too, painfully so. Guy would be way more efficient if he stopped shooting threes at penetrating 30%

How are coaches not in charge of this shit? No, when you suck at shooting 3s you're not "keeping them honest." This is the analytical age. There is no excuse for poor outside shooters to be allowed to keep chucking them. Bench their stupid asses. Because it's actually just stupid. Bad basketball. Period

[JaimeMiro]

OK, I did a brief analytical breakdown on the Rockets.
I'll cut to the chase and keep this brief as not to bore any of you to tears with advanced math.

The Rockets average a tad over 91 shots per game.
Out of those 91 shots Houston takes 44.5 of them are of the three point variety.
That's startling, 49 percent or for argument sake half of their field goal attempts are from long distance the most in the NBA and it's not even close.

Wait, it gets better.
Out of those 44.5 three point tries they make 15.5 and miss 29 of them for a .349 percentage.
That 35 made percentage is not rock bottom on the league but pretty damn near rock bottom.

Breaking it down further out of the 91 shots Houston takes 46.6 of them are regular two point shots you know the layups and mid range jumpers and such.
Out of those 46.6 two point shots Houston makes on the average of 26.3 of them missing 20 for a .552 percentage.

Long story short and there's a lot more to it than what I just posted (like offensive rebounds which Houston is terrible at etc. etc.) you have to get close to 40 percent of those three pointers made for that shot to be more valuable than the layup for instance.
35 percent will not usually get it done.

Same with baseball, the team that lives and dies by the home run but strikes out way too much more than likely is at a disadvantage that say a contact hitting team that puts the ball in play inside the ball park but that's another story for another day.

To break it down even further the two point attempts are mostly by Russ... Whole team waiting for 3's

[thechaoz]

Can't wait to cash my "will never win a championship" future with my well to do gambling buddy.

Yes, I haver an escrow.

[stevenash]

It's only fair that I point out that Harden shot 11 for 19 from the field last night (58%) and 5 for 10 from the three point line (50%)|
His partner in crime Westbrook (who did not attempt a three pointer, shot 11 for 17 from the field (65%)

Even though it was against a weak Timberwolves team they are still professionals.

That's a very good job.

That kind of shooting is the correct analytical formula for teams that live and die by the three point shot.

Now having said that, even with tremendous field goal shooting last night the Rockets still only won by six points.
Not to mention Houston has two (or more) bad shooting night like that for every one.

They only had five (5) offensive rebounds last night which is a major reason why shooting threes will not win championships if you don't rebound the ball and clean up your mess.
Teams the rebound well and score often in transition eat them up.
It's proven.

The 2018 NBA champion Warriors are often confused as being a three point chucking team with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Fact of the matter is they were ranked just 16th in the NBA is three point attempts that year.
The Rockets in 2018 at the time attempted the most NBA shots that season, a record by a far margin at the time, and got beat in the playoffs by the aforementioned Warriors.

Golden State did not win it all by shooting threes, they won it all by pick and rolls with the combination of Curry/Durant, Curry/Draymond, and Durant/Draymond.
Klay Thompson was an ancillary offensive player.
.
The pick an rolls were not the only reason why Golden State won, Green's defense was a big part of it too.
Long story short three point shots have not ever won a NBA championship and never will.
Especially teams that miss a lot of them and just as important don't rebound.

One last point, take a look at the scoring in the NBA in the 1970's.
There was more scoring forty years ago then today.
(Look it up)

Stephen A Smith just said it best talking about last nights Laker loss Brooklyn.
"The Lakers are not going to win the title shooting the three ball"
And he's right.

Some may blame Curry for this three point craze.
I blame Chris Ford.
After all Chris Ford was the guy who made the first three point shot from beyond the arc in NBA history.