Since the arrival of Mike D’Antoni, the Houston Rockets have managed to take more 3-pointers than any team over the past two seasons. The head coach who changed the game with the Phoenix Suns appears to be doing it yet again in Clutch City.
Over the last three and a half seasons, the Houston Rockets have proven to be one of the game’s most relentless squads when it comes to taking shots from downtown.
The franchise that hoisted up a league-high 40.3 shots per game from beyond the arc last season is currently on pace to become the first team in NBA history to shoot more 3s than 2s in 2018 — a mind-blowing fact that has many around the league scratching their heads.
The Rockets are the current forefathers of a trend that could revolutionize the game of basketball and change the way it’s played in an era where pace-and-space is more valuable than ever before.
"“We can definitely average more than we did last year,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said in an interview with Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal, prior to the start of the regular season. “I don’t think we averaged 50. We could average 50 this year.”“Maybe we get so great at driving that we can only average 40 threes. I’m fine with that.”"
Yet despite all of the attention that Houston draws for taking a high volume of 3-point shots, very few have paid close surveillance from where the Rockets seek to shoot it from. The shots that players such as Eric Gordon and others take have had a tremendous impact on Clutch City’s offense — even on nights when they fail to fall.
Prior to taking on the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, the Rockets were pulling up to attempt more jump shots from long range than any other team in the league — taking 178 treys from 28-35 feet, according to James Jackson of ESPN Stats & Information.
While Houston has only connected on nearly 37 percent of its attempts from the perimeter, D’Antoni’s philosophy has helped the Rockets to establish spacing on the floor for Chris Paul and James Harden. Two of the game’s elite playmakers have sought to take advantage of countless defenders, leaving veterans such as Joe Johnson in their tracks.
In the following play involving a pick-and-roll set against the Utah Jazz, Paul pushes the ball up the floor and discovers Clint Capela inside for the two-hand flush. Although it was Johnson’s jostling out to Ryan Anderson that helped to open up the floodgates inside, the stretch-4’s presence proved to be enough to draw the former All-Star away from the rim to serve as a help defender, and leave the fourth-year center behind.
In the midst of his best season as a pro, Capela is one of the main beneficiaries of the Rockets’ spacing on offense, as Harden and Paul have continuously sought to find Capela whenever he rolls to the paint to finish easy jams and lobs.
"“Having all that extra space definitely enhances Clint’s game,” D’Antoni said to FiveThirtyEight senior writer Chris Herring, who has willingly given players such as Anderson, Harden and Eric Gordon the green light to take shots all across the perimeter over the last two seasons."
This in turn has made Capela one of the most valuable players in the starting lineup, as his ability to run the floor and set screens has allowed him to be involved more within the offense alongside the star-studded duo.
It’s also led to Houston posting a 19-1 record in games where all three are in action, as opposing defenders who look to protect the weak side and help their teammates are leaving a teammate alone to try and contain either Paul or Harden.
These two point guards are more than excited to take any challenger that lies in their way within isolation sets, toying with opponents just as well as they do within the pick-and-roll.
If teams seek to place multiple bodies onto either Paul or Harden, then it is likely that the Rockets will seek to beat them with Capela.
Next: 2017-18 Week 15 NBA Power Rankings
If you pay too much attention to cutters coming through the paint, then there is a strong chance that Houston will seek to let it fly from way back, as the two primary ball-handlers both have the shooters to punish you either inside or outside.