NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets had a solid NBA season filled with many accomplishments and accolades. Now that their season is over we can look forward at some adjustments needed for a potential championship run next year.
Houston emerged as a legit threat in the NBA Western Conference. They have James Harden, who has been in the MVP conversation all year. They relentlessly punished opposing teams with their fast paced, long range offense.
Mike D’Antoni re-established himself as a the revered coach that he once was before he got caught up in the drama that the big markets of Los Angeles and New York offer to anyone willing to coach there. They finished the regular season with an impressive record and emerged a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs after barely squeaking in the year before.
They routed the Oklahoma City Thunder and Russell Westbrook, the likely MVP in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
Despite losing to San Antonio in the playoffs, most fans of the Rockets can look back and declare that the season was mostly a success. They played exciting basketball and gave the city of Houston a legit chance of bringing home another NBA championship.
Now that their season has come to a close, we can examine what went wrong and the things that the Rockets must do in order to continue contending next season. Here are five offseason needs for the Houston Rockets.
5. Get more diverse offensively
It’s never a good idea to become set in your ways. The most successful people in life adapt and continue to find ways to be successful. The same holds true for teams in the NBA.
The Rockets have lived and died by the 3-pointer all year but it may be time to start looking at other alternatives. The Rockets offense was pretty simple when you look at it, give the ball to James Harden and take a bunch of shots from beyond the arch.
On average, the Rockets accumulated just over 40 points per game from downtown making them first in the league in that area. However, they struggled at times, shooting only 35 percent which isn’t horrible but it isn’t great either.
When not taking a 3-pointer, they shot 54 percent, the second-best in the league. Many would argue that Houston needs to continue to play long range ball but playing one-dimensional doesn’t really work out in the long haul.
Getting more physical on the inside would most certainly open up more shots. Clint Capela needs to keep pounding on the inside and getting someone other than Ryan Anderson wouldn’t hurt either as he doesn’t add much besides shooting.
Teams know going in that the Rockets are going to play fast, shoot a lot of three pointers and give the ball to Harden. It’s time to start getting more diverse and develop ways to increase offensive production.