In a league where the three-point shot is on an upward trajectory, the Houston Rockets are somehow ahead of the curve.
The Rockets attempt a league-leading 40 three-pointers per game and make 15 of them, ahead of the Cavaliers (12.6), Celtics (12.0), and Warriors (11.8). Houston’s made almost 160 more triples than Golden State and has attempted 500 more threes than the Los Angeles Clippers.
But there’s a new wrinkle in the Rockets’ three-point prowess: the distance from which they shoot them.
The NBA three-point line is 23 feet, nine inches from the basket, yet more than half of Houston’s three-point attempts come from between 25 and 29 feet. They don’t just shoot a lot of threes. They shoot a lot of deep threes.
The Rockets’ sharpshooters are happy to be in Houston, too. Gordon ranks second in the NBA in three-point makes (153), just three shy of Stephen Curry. He, Harden, Anderson, and Trevor Ariza each rank in the league’s top seven in threes made.
But the idea to spread the shooters further out wasn’t something Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni forced upon his players. It’s something that just happened within the flow of the game.
“You look at ‘em and you go, ‘Yeah, why not?’ It’s easy,” D’Antoni laughed. “You can see on their form and effort, it’s just an easy shot for them. So, there’s no difference from them standing on the line.”
Gordon leads the NBA with 114 three-pointers made between 25 and 29 feet, per NBA.com stats. The only players to make at least 55 of them and shoot a better percentage are Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Charlotte’s Kemba Walker.
I like how you described the advanced stats about the Rockets players making their threes. Its funny how the rockets coach says if you have the ball just shot.
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