These 3 Houston Rockets need to start mixing in more mid-range shots

On those nights where threes aren’t falling, the Houston Rockets need these guys to be able to put the ball on the floor and create better looks.

Throughout Coach Mike D’Antoni‘s tenure as the head coach of the Houston Rockets, they have always been at or near the top of the league in 3-pointers attempted and made. It’s the way he’s usually run his teams, and that has led to some of the most dominant regular-season runs in NBA history. With that strategy though comes a big problem: predictability.

I’ve addressed this issue several times this season, yet it still remains a major problem. Teams know what to expect when they’re heading into a matchup with the Rockets: there will be a lot of outside shooting mixed in with some drives by Russell Westbrook and James Harden, followed by more outside shooting.

When everyone’s hitting their threes, everything goes well for the Rockets, but then again, that’s the case for all 30 teams in the league. Conversely, it’s hard for many teams to still pull off victories on poor shooting nights, yet the elite ones still manage to do so often. The Rockets are not one of those teams.

With a middle-of-the-road defense, Houston has a tough time winning a game in which their outside shots aren’t falling, and that has burned them way too often in the past and has already happened many times this season.

Teams are starting to collapse inside to prevent drives by Harden and Westbrook, which is smart since they are both excellent finishers at the basket. Russ has still been able to have success at driving but has had an increase in turnovers as of late due to teams focusing more on him after his hot February.

With teams crowding the middle, the Rockets are being dared to shoot from the outside, and during their recent losing streak, those weren’t falling. It’s time for Houston to start incorporating more variety into their offense, starting with the elusive mid-range jump shot.

Houston is currently dead last in shot attempts from mid range, shooting just 5.6 per game, which is all part of D’Antoni’s plan. Some guys in the rotation are definitely more than capable of mixing in more shots from just inside the arc, though, and they should start using that to their advantage.

Next: No. 3

3. Jeff Green

Jeff Green has only been with the Houston the Rockets for 10 games but is already making an offensive impact. His 46.4 percent shooting from downtown has been a pleasant surprise so far, as he’s generally hit about one-third of his threes (33.5 percent) throughout his career. What the veteran forward is also doing well is choosing his spots wisely when it comes to if he should shoot the open jumper or drive to the hoop.

Against the Orlando Magic, he showed how effective he can be when attacking the basket, only shooting one three and finishing 8-of-8 on the night. While just about everyone on the team has the ability to catch and shoot, sometimes that’s exactly what opposing defenses want.

Jeff Green is already a great slasher to the basket and has shown he can nail the 3-pointer with regularity. To keep defenses on their heels, he should also throw in some jumpers from just inside the arc. Doing so with some success could make him even tougher to guard when he puts the ball on the floor.

Green has had some success in years past with nailing middies. In 2017-18 for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he made 35 of his 96 attempts for 36.5 percent. The following season for the Washington Wizards, he converted on 42.9 percent of his mid-range shots, making 45 of his 105 attempts.

Through 10 games, Green has only attempted one mid-range jumper. Given his overall abilities, he would be a good option to start shooting a few more.

Next: No. 2

2. Eric Gordon

This season has been pretty rough for Eric Gordon. After looking fine in the preseason, he started off the regular season by struggling in just about every aspect of the game. Once it was announced he needed surgery on his knee, his struggles started to make more sense.

Since the procedure, however, Gordon hasn’t quite looked like himself. Save for his 50-point outburst against the Utah Jazz, he’s struggled shooting the ball all season long, averaging season lows in both field goal percentage (37.1) and 3-point percentage (32.3).

Still, someone with such a pure shot doesn’t just forget how to shoot (although it might seem like it sometimes). The former NBA 3-Point Contest champion is always a threat from the outside, and he’s one of a handful of players in the league that can hit the even-deeper three with ease.

The threat Gordon poses outside often leaves him with an opportunity to blow by his man and take the ball to the rack or kick out to an open guy, but with how some defenses are collapsing the middle against Houston lately, one good option for him would be to pull up from mid range.

Admittedly, his 1-of-8 figure from mid-range this season doesn’t look great, but nine shots isn’t exactly a decent sample size. E-Money has been the definition of streaky all season long, but the hope is his nagging injury has been playing a big part in that.

When it comes down to it, sometimes the best option for a shooter like Gordon is to fake the three and step inside for an easier and more-open shot. Forcing something inside can be dangerous with the quickness of guards in the West, as well as the height of some of its’ interior defenders.

Next: No. 1

1. James Harden

It’s been an interesting year for the bearded one. He’s still leading the NBA in scoring, averaging four more points per game then number two on the list, Bradley Beal. He’s also number one on the team in assists and steals, all while being one of the best interior defenders on the team.

Despite all of that, though, even the most diehard of Rockets’ fans have been expressing frustration with Harden’s play lately. While he’s done a decent job of limiting his excessive dribbling followed by stepback jumpers or contested threes during some stretches, he’s been reverting back to that more in the last few games.

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The results have been poor shooting nights and wasted possessions that the Houston Rockets can’t afford as they continue to try to keep up with the rest of the West.

As it stands, Harden is shooting almost exclusively threes and shots at the rim. He’s taken only 16 shots from mid-range this season, which essentially amounts to about one attempt every three games.

James has had success in his limited attempts, connecting on nine of those for 56.3 percent. He’s shooting the mid-range shot at a better rate than everyone else on the team that has taken at least two from that area.

Harden is certainly capable of knocking down the toughest of 3-pointers at any given time, but it’s no secret that he goes for the knockout punch longball too often when he could easily slip past his man and get an easier look from a few feet closer.

James has just about every offensive weapon in his arsenal, including a deadly floater from the paint. If he’s able to start mixing in some mid-range shots with regularity, he can make things easier for himself and the Rockets as a whole. Sometimes his bad misses from far outside can totally kill the team’s momentum and cause droughts on the offensive end.

Good players evolve with the game, and great players never stop evolving. It’s time for James Harden to vary his offensive game even more so that he can really keep opponents guessing all game long.