The Rockets rode 3-pointers from the highest of highs to the depths of Hell | Dorktown

The Houston Rockets have created an offensive system and identity based nearly exclusively on taking shots from either right at the rim or from super far out. Led by James Harden (and a whole bunch of other dudes who could hit threes), they essentially eschewed everything in between -- and it worked! Until it didn't.

[cryptidian]

Live by the 3, die by the 3. That's the Rockets motto.

[mwnd_]

This is kinda complicated. It's like Rockets science.

[mikeyful]

As a rockets fan, I still remember 27 straight bricks 💀

[JonxNgo]

I'm a visual learner, the graphs really put it into perspective just how insane their 3 ball play was... And that stat line of Harden at the end?? Hot damn, glad he got MVP. Well deserved.

[nickcalderaro]

They are not letting Jon bois be Jon bois. Giving him lines and crap. Jon bois is a slave we must free him

[KeepingItReal]

How the hell does a team miss 27 consecutive 3 pointers.

[theshawshankinception]

It’s been 9 months since the last Pretty Good.

[ryanking]

3:29 jon was not thrilled about having to give this line 😂😂😂

[mattdeemer]

This was good but it wasn’t pretty good.

[markjones]

Basketball is my favorite sport. I like the way they dribble up and down the court.

[kaminsod]

Praise be to our lord and savior Jon Bois

[mazdakmina]

I went back and took a look at the video and tried to figure out how those 27 straight 3's were missed. The major theories everyone kept saying was, "their knees/legs gave out due to fatigue" or "they panicked and began rushing" or (related) "they started forcing up bad shots." I checked for others as well, but for simplicity's sake, I'll keep it to those three and give a few *very basic* stats on each.

Defining "their knees gave out due to fatigue" is tough, but generally, I watched each and every shot, and in *no* instance did I see a player fail to get at least half a foot off the ground. I believe it's safe to say that, even if they were tired, it definitely was *not* causing them to not get enough elevation. In addition, the shots weren't coming up short, nor were they consistently long either. It was pretty back and forth between "too short, " "too long, " "off to the left, " and "off to the right." In fact, *several* hit the *inside* rim and/or went in-and-out (and, it should be noted, several also were *way* off, so yes, there was a *range* to how close/far they were to scoring on each one throughout the *entire* streak. Although, I should also note that Harden's shots were far more likely to come up short than long, so it's possible *he* was tired and *his* legs finally gave out - but I can't say the same for the rest of the team)!

As for "they panicked and began rushing, " I decided to simply define this as "they shot before they were set." So I looked through all 27 again, and this time, I counted how often they put up a shot in which could be defined as "their feet weren't set." Out of all 27, I only counted *two* that I would define being in that category! So, simply put, I definitely do not believe *that* was the reason either.

And finally, I looked at "they forced bad shots, " which I took to mean, "they shot too many contested threes and not enough open ones." Without going too much into detail, I can say that I would only count *five* of those 27 shots to be "forced/contested" (with only two hitting a defender's hand) - and for the three that were not blocked/deflected, it was simply a case of trying to draw a foul (or in one case out of the three, were *not* trying to, but *did* receive a big bump while in midair - you can debate whether it was a foul or not, but it certainly affected the shot) instead of actually shooting with the intention of scoring (and also, all three were by Harden, and all three of those were the ones he shot that were "way off" without being blocked). In addition, I counted *eight* shots that were *wide* open (i.e., there was not a defender within *five feet* of the shooter)! In other words, they were *all* very much *the exact* kind of shots the Rockets were known for making! They were *not* (by most peoples' account of "forcing") forcing their shots on *more than 20* of the ones they took during that streak!

So if they weren't forcing, the fatigue wasn't affecting their elevation, and they weren't rushing (and they weren't doing any of the other theories, i.e., they weren't passing up open shots to drive to the hoop - hence why they had so many threes to miss in the first place), what happened?

The best I can come up with is simply this: players have hot and cold streaks. Four of the six players on this team who shot during that Game 7 cold streak had cold streaks of missing 4, 5, or 6 threes in a row earlier in *this series alone* (and Harden had one in which he missed 9 in a row earlier in the series). So I counted how many each person shot during that steak, and the count was the following: Harden 10, Gordon 7, Ariza 6, Tucker 2, Green 1, and Johnson 1! Basically, Harden, Gordon, *and* Ariza *all* hit one of their cold streaks *at the same time* (and Tucker, Green, and Johnson missed a few threes in between)! And yes, *maybe* you can say that *Harden's* legs gave out, *plus* that he "tried to draw a foul" too often (though, again, that *still* does not account for *the other 17* threes his teammates missed during that streak; i.e., an additional *51* possible points missed out on even *without* Harden's contribution). But yes, that's basically the best I can deduce for what happened!

Again, I totally agree, it's beyond sad and unfortunate that it happened at the cruelest possible moment (during arguably the biggest game the franchise had played in 23 years)! Either way, such a sad way to end what was one of the most historic seasons of all time!

[sabotower]

It's not 5:30. I saw the clock behind you. It was 4:25

[TheMCEnthusiastPlays]

I just finished your series on the Mariners and I've just been going through old chart parties and dorktown videos. I was telling my sister that even though she knows nothing about the team, Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson, or Ichiro Suzuki she will love them all by the end. Great video as always! however ive taken an issue with the grid texture behind some of these charts because it doesn't align with anything at all, so the arbitrary divisions make it a little distracting. otherwise, big love keep doing these ♥️

[evanthiaxanthakichauliac]

I was staring at the clock the whole video. Such a precise instrument, Nice choice of equipment.

[greghmn]

7:40: “It’s only five-thirty”
*clock directly behind him reads **4:24*

[ashykutcher]

This video is literally Rockets science.

[TimTeboner]

I like James Harden. He's good at basketball and seems like a nice dude.

[outlaw]

When Jon and Alex teach me things that makes for a good day.

Thank you

[Prince_Luci]

As a lifetime fan of the rockets and outside scoring it was awesome to see them pick up this style, until it wasn’t. Harden is easily top 3 SG’s of all time. You know who the other two are.