NBA Playoffs 2017: 5 keys to Rockets vs. Thunder matchup
By Luke Norris
4. The 3ball
It’s no secret that the Houston Rockets like to shoot 3-pointers. I mean, they REALLY like to shoot 3s…A LOT of them. During the 2016-17 campaign, Mike D’Antoni’s club attempted 7,152 shots. 3,306 of those were 3-pointers, which means that just over 46 percent of the team’s shots come from beyond the arc, obviously the highest in the league. Of those 3,306, the Rockets made 1,181 of them, good for 15th in the league at 35.7 percent, which doesn’t stand out as anything great but when you’re attempting 40 per night (there was a game back in December against the Pelicans where they shot 61 of them), your point totals are going to be pretty high even if you’re only making 14 of them. James Harden led the way with 756 attempts, Eric Gordon took 661 and Trevor Ariza and Ryan Anderson both shot more than 500 long balls. In fact, the Rockets had seven players attempt more than 100 this season. If they’re falling, the Thunder could be going home early.
On the flip side, the Oklahoma City Thunder were the worst team in the league from deep at 32.7 percent, going 692-for-2,116 on the year. But they actually had eight players on the roster attempt more than 100 3s with Russell Westbrook leading the way with 583. As mentioned earlier, they led the league in scoring in the paint with Westbrook constantly slashing to the rim and Adams, Kanter and Taj Gibson in there as well. The outside shooting of Victor Oladipo and Doug McDermott is going to be crucial in this series, especially if Houston is on. The Thunder will need to find a way to keep up and at least coming close to matching the Rockets from beyond the arc is a big key in this first-round matchup.