Houston Rockets: Three things to improve on after week one
By T.A. Mock
Shot selection and subsequent efficiency are hindering the offense
The Houston Rockets just quite haven’t looked like they were expected to this season. However, outside of a couple great single-game performances by a couple players, the Rockets have been wildly inefficient. Tucker shot 57% from three against the Pelicans and Harden shot 50% from three and from the field against the Lakers.
The Rockets have still managed to put up a good number of points in all three of their games so far however, it’s taken a lot of shots to get there, even from some of the team’s best shooters. Those numbers from Tucker and Harden have inflated some overall stats for the Rockets if a deeper dive is taken into the numbers.
A big chunk of the Rockets roster has not been shooting the rock particularly well from three or from inside in the arc. Eric Gordon has been one player in particular that has fallen victim to this. Gordon is currently heaving up the second most shot attempts per game, 15, but is only connecting on 40% of them. He also has only made 33% of his three-point attempts.
Also. Roster upgrades make the Rockets better than ever. light
Melo is another guy that has struggled mightily this season. He’s currently on shooting 32% from the field. He has been far worse from behind the arc only connecting on one of his five attempts. Melo was supposed to come in and create offense and his inefficiency is doing just the opposite.
Other guys have been struggling as well, not just these two, which has led the Rockets, as a team, to shoot in the bottom half of the league in terms of overall field goals. That is unsustainable for a team that is seeking to dethrone the Warriors. The team needs to take better shots in order to become more efficient and take over games offensively like they’re designed to.