Should we abandon Morey ball in crunch time and get points however possible? I'm just worried that against really good team the offense is gonna become iso Harden stepback 3 or pnr Harden drive and kick against a set defense. He has added the floater which was crucial last year but I really wouldn't mind a pull up 2 if the defense is allowing that. I think versatility is really important when trying to beat elite smart coached teams. BTW this applies to everyone on the team...I just used James as an example since he will have the ball in his hands majority of the time.
There are plenty of situations where the 3s and layups model breaks, but all of those are in crunch time with just a few seconds left to play. If you only need 2 points to win a game, shooting the three is pretty stupid unless it's the only shot open. BUT.. for the rest of the game.. nah. You only abandon the 3/layup thing if you're bricking everything. The model still works 90% of the time and 100% of the time if you happen to be hitting threes that game.
Offensive rating rank in “Clutch” time since we got Harden 19/20: 6th 18/19 : 11th 17/18 : 1st 16/17 : 16th 15/16 : 14th 14/15 : 15th 13/14 : 5th 12/13 : 7th Looks to me like the offense has generally worked pretty well in the clutch.
It’s hard to give a rule because there are so many variables. Who is shooting hot that night and from where? Who is defending the 3? Who is defending the paint? Are they switching on defense? Playing man or zone? Are your guards who can drive fresh/healthy or banged up/ out of gas? Who is in foul trouble. Are you in the bonus? How are the refs calling the game? Who has the momentum? Is Doris watching Hardens arm the whole game? Did Capela wash his hands 2 days ago? Is EG having fun? Are there good strip clubs in the city? Stats don’t account for all of that. It’s the coach who has to decide the best way to attack given all the variables. He has to come up with the game plan to close out the game and sub in the right available players to implement the plan. Morey can’t provide a decision model for small sample sizes like that. His model is for what works best for the overall season and all of that stuff washes out. It’s critical in a game 7 final minutes though. So the bottom line is the final minutes of a playoff game is on the coach and star players to make the right decisions and execute, given all the variables in play at that time. Maybe a 3 is better in some situations than a 2. Maybe the opposite is true. It all depends.
The oilers needed a tight end some times during the Run and Shoot era Rocket River Stubbornness helps no one
I just think that sometimes the role players get scared if the three isn't there and then take really bad contested shots. For example Rivers just need to play to his strength and drive (he's really good at that). Side note: man JH used to make this look so effortless
He's actually still shooting them at a good% but he's virtually eliminated the shot between 10-16 ft from his game and taking more shots at 3-10 feet
The 3 point shot is the hardest shot to make, but I guess the numbers say we should just keep chunkin them in crunch time even if we’ve been cold the last few minutes and we’ve lost the momentum? That sounds like someone who just looks at numbers and doesn’t actually watch the games...
We choke when the pace of the game slow when the Rockets trying to eat the clock thats when our offense look awful (horrible) we are predictable in those situation Harden takes the ball yoyoyo TO or Miss we need to fix this ASAP
Should have milked the clock more on the last two minutes I think DanAndToni might need to call timeouts there to give the players a blow Rocket River
Ok, enough is enough. This team is a joke, a very bad one. Year after year the same mistakes. The era of MDA has come to an end, this team is not going anywhere. It is the worst team in the entire NBA in terms of handling advantages, the worst by far. And it's something that gets worse game by game. No defense, no heart, no pride. Harden only cares about his numbers, Westbrook is pathetic and MDA doesn't learn from his mistakes. There is no future with this team, as simple as that.
Overtime situations really expose the shortcomings of this offense. There’s no plan b when James is gassed and watching him pound the ball for 15 seconds before shooting a 3 is so much more painful when every possession matters. There’s no movement and no dynamism to this offense which is shocking for the coach who invented 7 Seconds or Less.
I see so does the coaching staff set the sliders at a lower level and then boost them at certain times?
I honestly believe this - it has nothing to do with defense. An offense based on the 3 ball is destined to fail in crunch time. When you're playing a percentage game you're playing for the averages, so through the course of a game - launch them 3s. In that sense I don't have an issue with Moreyball. But the final play of the game is not a repeatable scenario. It's a one-and-done. If it's a tie game, final minute, you need the highest percentage shot, not the highest average value shot.
