{"id":1193,"date":"2015-11-05T23:16:27","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T03:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=1193"},"modified":"2019-06-26T16:51:52","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T20:51:52","slug":"little-rockets-what-to-make-of-houstons-slow-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=1193","title":{"rendered":"Little Rockets: What to Make of Houston’s Slow Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of the NBA teams widely predicted to succeed and make the playoff in the 2015-16 season was undoubtedly the Houston Rockets. \u00a0Of course, the best laid plans of mice, men, and should-have-been-MVPs often go awry, and the Rockets have started 2-3. \u00a0They lost their first three games, and, most importantly, all by at least 20 points.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Granted, the team has won its last two and still has James Harden and Dwight Howard, but is it time to panic in Clutch City?<\/p>\n

The short answer is yes. \u00a0The long answer, as is\u00a0always\u00a0<\/em>the case, is far more complicated.<\/p>\n

One of the good signs for Kevin McHale’s team is that it has not gone back on its style of play in the early going. \u00a0The team attempted 32.7 attempts from three-point range last season, and this season they’re not too far off that pace. \u00a0They’re all the way down to 31.4 attempts per night. \u00a0Still leading the league in beyond-the-arc attempts like they did last season, the Rockets aren’t about to go back on what has worked over the last three seasons.<\/p>\n

But, of course, taking three point shots is the second most important thing for the Rockets. \u00a0The absolute most important thing is to actually make them, which is something that the Rockets have not done with really any success this season. \u00a0I never really thought I’d actually find myself saying this, but the loss of Josh Smith has not done Houston any favors in the three-point department this season. \u00a0Smith only shot 33% from deep a year ago, but his presence helped James Harden and others get open looks. \u00a0It’s a kind of domino effect; when Smith left, the other players (Harden, Corey Brewer, Ty Lawson, others) weren’t able to get quite the same open looks that they were last season.<\/p>\n

Really, the inability to shoot from three is the main reason why the Rockets have struggled this season. \u00a0And as much as I appreciated and respected what James Harden accomplished last season (who remembers\u00a0this one<\/a>?), it’s difficult not to call him out for just how badly he’s struggled in the early going. \u00a0From beyond the three-point line this season, he’s a lackluster 9-55, and on all of his field goals, he’s gone 30-102.<\/p>\n

If you look at his numbers from beyond the arc compared with his other shooting numbers, something becomes very clear:\u00a0he’s taking more threes than twos.<\/em> \u00a0Last season, 37.8% of his field goal attempts were threes, but considering that he is asked to carry so much of the load for an otherwise mediocre Rockets team and that he is a career 37% three-point shooter, that number is…. healthy. \u00a0For his career, his three-point attempts have accounted for about 40% of his field goal tries, which is sort of high. \u00a0For context, the best three-point shooter in the game today, Stephen Curry, has used about 41% of his attempts on threes. \u00a0All things being equal, Harden just isn’t aggressive enough.<\/p>\n

To be completely fair to Harden, free throw attempts do comprise a large part of his game, and this year is no different (11.8 per game, 85%). \u00a0But he still needs to be aggressive, and it’s no different as far as the team is concerned. \u00a0The entire squad is shooting just 27.4% from deep this season, and Harden’s 16.4% figure is the biggest reason why. \u00a0If Harden isn\u2019t making baskets, it becomes infinitely more difficult for others to get open, kind of like the aforementioned domino effect with Josh Smith.<\/p>\n

Their inconsistency from the field, as well as in all areas of their overall game, is why they have come out so slowly this season. \u00a0As Calvin Watkins of ESPN\u00a0points out<\/a>, the team will be fine, but the thought of future inconsistency is a scary proposition for Houston:<\/p>\n

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Harden will undoubtedly be fine, and with Lawson finding more of a comfort level within the offense, things will improve.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just the inconsistency that leaves you shaking your head considering how talented the Rockets are and how they\u2019re not playing to their potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we\u2019re not in a great rhythm on either side of the ball, but we\u2019ll find it,\u201d McHale said. \u201cWe showed spurts of it, the 68 points in the first half was nice and then we kind of fell back to old habits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The inconsistency and the struggles from the field are two biggest reasons why the Rockets have struggled so far. \u00a0Another explanation for why they\u2019ve fallen short of expectations? \u00a0Defense.<\/p>\n

To date, the Houston defense has surrendered 109 points per game, the fifth most in the association. \u00a0That unit has floundered along with the offense. \u00a0If you put the two together, you\u2019ll get this result: a -10 point differential. \u00a0Granted, it\u2019s five games, and the team will make up the difference; not one team had a point differential as bad as -10 a year ago (not even the Knicks). \u00a0But this is the problem: it would be more likely that the difference is made up by the Rockets\u2019 offense coming around than the defense suddenly turning it around.<\/p>\n

One cannot simply expect the team to continue to fight its way through inconsistency and come up with lousy results. \u00a0This is too good of a team for that to happen, and with the reigning runner-up for MVP on the roster and the talent that exists, things will even out and the team will (sooner or later) escape from its short-lived swoon.<\/p>\n

But, with things being what they are (and the Western Conference still being insanely good), there is some reason to panic in Clutch City. Given how quickly things change in a conference where just about every night brings a challenging contest, the Rockets need to figure out their issues that much more quickly if they want to have a middle to even high seed in the playoffs and a realistic chance to win a championship. \u00a0They\u2019ll be fine eventually, but there should be some reason for urgency (but not necessarily concern) inside the organization.<\/p>\n

But, I think this would be a good time for all Rockets fans to just close their eyes. \u00a0It will all be over soon<\/a>.<\/p>\n