Houston Rockets: Daryl Morey is to blame for the team’s playoff struggles

Many are quick to place the blame on James Harden, but we explore why the true culprit for the Houston Rockets’ playoff struggles lies with Daryl Morey

There is a growing sentiment around the league that James Harden is the primary person responsible for the Houston Rockets coming up short in the playoffs. ESPN’s Max Kellerman is one of the people who hold James Harden accountable for the team’s struggles.

Before the Western Conference semifinals, Max stated that the Houston Rockets would beat the Golden State Warriors if James focused on making shots instead of trying to draw fouls. However, one can argue that James Harden isn’t the person who should be blamed for the repeated playoff shortcomings of the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets currently have a general manager in Daryl Morey who believes that players should take most of their field goal attempts from behind the arc. He expressed this sentiment during a 2015 interview with Northwestern’s Kellogg Insight magazine:

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"The shot selection of a team has fairly steadily, fairly dramatically shifted over time into these zones: shooting near the basket, and shooting at the three-point line. [The benefit of this] is one thing that I think was known but maybe not recognized. People certainly didn’t make very major investment decisions against it. There is a big difference between “I believe something” and “I believe something; I’m willing to put a lot of money behind it, and a lot of investment behind it, and my future career behind it.”"

Daryl has such an unwavering belief in his philosophy that he either surrounds himself with people who think alike. For example, Morey hired Mike D’Antoni to be the head coach of the Rockets before the 2016-17 season.

Mike D’Antoni was known as the first NBA coach to put a real emphasis on shooting 3-point field goals. Mike was the first coach to have his team take over 20 three’s per game in four consecutive seasons. The Phoenix Suns averaged 23.95 3’s per game [(24.7 + 25.6 + 24 + 21.5 )/4] from 2004-05 to 2007-08.

Not only that but they also the first organization to make double-digit 3’s per game for an entire season as Phoenix made 10.2 3’s per game during the 2005-06 season. Consequently, Daryl Morey knew that Mike D’Antoni wouldn’t hesitate to bring his vision to life.

The Rockets have led the league in 3-point field goals made and attempted in three seasons with Mike D’Antoni as head coach. According to NBA.com, the team has averaged 15.26 made 3’s per game [(14.4 + 15.3 +16.1)/3] in 42.6 attempts per game [(40.3 + 42.3 +45.4)/3] during D’Antoni’s tenure as head coach.

This means that Houston generated 45.78 points per game from 3-point field goals which have accounted for 40.2 percent of their offense as they’ve averaged 113.86 points per game [(115.3 + 112.4 +113.9)/3] under Mike D’Antoni.

Unfortunately, the Rockets don’t get the same production out of the 3-point shot in the playoffs because an opposing team has the opportunity to study their offense for a minimum of four straight games. Given ample time to study, opposing teams realize that Houston loses a significant amount of their offensive firepower if they can constantly close the gap between the offensive player and the defender.

A prime example of this was during Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinal series against the Golden State Warriors. Early in the first quarter, Eric Gordon briefly set a screen on the left wing to force Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson to switch defensive assignments.

The switch meant that Thompson was no longer supposed to guard Eric Gordon, his new defensive assignment was James Harden. Once this happened, James began to shoot a stepback 3, but as he was in the middle of the shooting motion, his timing was disrupted by Klay taking a few steps towards him. Thompson’s decision to close the gap between him and James caused Harden to miss the 3-pointer.

The defensive game plan has affected how the Rockets shoot their 3-pointers. Houston has made 13 open 3’s ( more than a 4-foot gap between them and the defensive player) per game [(1 2.6 + 1 3.1+ 1 3.3)/3] in 35 attempts per game [(3 3.8 + 3 4.9 +3 6.4)/3] over the last three regular seasons with Mike D’Antoni as a coach. This accounts for 85.2 percent of their made 3’s per game as they average 15.26 a game.

However, the Rockets have a decrease in the amount of open 3’s made and attempted once the playoffs start. Houston only made 11.2 open 3’s per game [(10.3 + 11.1+ 12.4)/3] in 30.4 attempts. This is a decrease of 8.66 and 8.57 percent in those respective categories.

Although the team hasn’t been able to get as many open 3’s in the playoffs, they haven’t given up on the 3-point shot. Houston has chosen to take more contested 3’s ( less than or equal to a 4-foot gap between them and the defensive player) in the playoffs as they make 2.6 contested 3’s per game in 9.5 attempts per game. This is an increase of 8.46 and 7.61 percent in those respective categories as they averaged 2.2 contested 3’s per game in 7.23 attempts.

The combination of these factors has decreased the production of the 3-point shot as they average 13.86 made 3’s per game [(12.8 + 13.4 +15.4)/3] in the postseason. The made 3’s account for 41.6 points per game which is 4.18 points per game less than the regular season.

This has played a significant role in the decrease in offensive production for Houston as they average 106.3 points [(107.7 + 104.9 +106.3)/3] in the playoffs which are 7.5 fewer points than the regular season. In conclusion, Daryl Morey’s philosophy has made the Houston Rockets an easy opponent to develop a plan for.