HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- The Rockets have been a poor three-point shooting team all season, but in the 17 games Kevin Porter Jr. has missed with a left toe injury, that aspect of the team’s offense has gotten worse.
Houston has converted on just 30.9 attempts from long distance in this span, down from 33.2 percent before Porter’s injury last month in Sacramento, but their drop off in three-point attempts has been most alarming during the time Porter has been off the floor.
“We just got to shoot more,” Rockets guard Jae’Sean Tate said Wednesday. “That's basically what it comes down to, me included. We have to take the shots that we create for each other.”
Houston’s three-point tries have declined by 20 percent over the last 17 games. They were averaging 35.4 attempts before Porter’s injury, ninth most in the league, to a league-low 28.2 since. Some of the blame falls on what Tate said, passing up good looks, some it falls on a lack of three-point shooters, but not having Porter is also a reason they have attempted so few.
Porter is averaging 14.9 drives per game, per Second Spectrum, 15th most in the NBA, and among the 50 players that average 10 drives, Porter’s 10.6 percent assist rate is 19th highest. Those numbers aren’t huge, but the Rockets have no one else on the roster who can make up the difference. The drive and kick game has been a big part of the Rockets offense for years, but it’s lacking with Porter unavailable.
“We're getting to the free throw line a ton, we're getting in the pain a ton,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said. “Once (Porter) comes back there will be options where we draw the second defender and those shots are put on a platter for us, and we're gonna have to shoot them and make them.”
With Porter injured, the Rockets offense has run through Alperen Sengun. The second-year center has seen his front court touches balloon from 33.9 before Porter’s injury to 45.2, most on the team, since. Sengun’s 5.6 assists over the 17 games is also most on the team, but only 22 of his 89 assists have been on three-pointers. Silas says the Rockets have tweaked their post spacing to help him find open teammates behind the arc.
“Initially, he was looking for cutters more than shooters, and we need to get up more threes. He's another guy who can draw second defender. So yeah, we made an adjustment on that.”
The Rockets offensive rating has improved from 108.8 to 110.1 in the 17 games without Porter, but that is still just 27th best in the NBA, and of the 10 teams to attempt the fewest three-pointers over the last six weeks, nine are in the bottom 10 in offensive efficiency, so there is a ceiling to how good an offense can be when you aren’t shooting from long range.
“You gotta loosen up the defense,” Silas said. If you're not taking a bunch of (threes), the defense is going to collapse. They're going to play in the paint, they're going to play boxes and elbows, and it really makes it hard. We need to get some threes up, not just to make them, but to open up other options as far as driving lanes and next pass opportunities, hockey assist opportunities.”
With Porter hurt, Eric Gordon in Los Angeles, and Garrison Mathews with the Hawks, the Rockets are down three of their best three-point shooters, but it doesn’t mean they can just ignore that part of the offense.
“We just need as a team to just step up and shoot more,” Tate said. “We have guys that can shoot the ball, we just got to be confident and let it go.
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