How will the play style be affected with Morey gone? Are we going to keep that culture of analytics and prioritizing 3 point shots alive? I hope not. That playing style got really unfun to watch. Nothing worse than seeing a team brick a 3 like 5 trips in a row and still keep going for it. Hopefully there's more midrange. Because, you know, like murray would say 3 is better than 2 but then again 2 is better than 0.
Houston was No. 1 in 3-point attempts per game last season. The No. 2 team? The Dallas Mavericks. Granted, Dallas shot a far better percentage (36.7% vs. 34.5%) from 3 than Houston, but I don't anticipate Silas is going to come in and say "All right guys, no more shooting 3s. Let's play some 90s basketball and work out of the low post on half of our possessions." I don't think shooting a lot of 3s is necessarily a bad thing, though. If you look at past champions in the 3-point era, most of them shot and made a lot of 3s. This Lakers team and the Spurs are more the exceptions to the rule. But Golden State, most of Lebron's other teams, Milwaukee, Toronto, Boston, etc.--most of the contending teams of the last 10-15 years have taken a lot of 3s. Floor spacing makes for better offense and 3 points is always going to be better than 2. For me, I just want to see more ball movement instituted as part of Silas' offense so that the 3s Houston are taking are better, less-contested looks. Harden's isolation is amazing, but it doesn't always lead to the best possible shot, and it's not nearly as effective in the playoffs when everyone is playing lockdown defense. I don't mind Harden still getting a number of those top of the key isolation possessions throughout the game, but if Houston's moving the ball more and moving without the ball a little more, they're going to get better looks a shoot a higher percentage.
Silas was the architect of the Mavs offense last year, which was known for shooting a ton of 3s (almost as many as us), shooting very little midrange, and he was criticized by local media for not giving Porzingis post up opportunities. I suspect we'll see a lot more ball and player movement, but the types of shots will probably be similar. We'll just change the way we get those shots.
Hopefully more PnR. I think the Dallas offense had a lot more ball screens compared to us. They also shot just as many 3's
I think it will be similar, but a little more controlled. The hires they have made basically reflect an interest in continuity, which is probably a good thing if they want to win right away. They will still play with pace and shoot a ton of threes in other words. There's no reason this team shouldn't be fundamentally similar to how they played a year ago, but, in my opinion, with a much more diversified roster in case they decide to go a little more traditional situationally.
One point I think that's worth making is that, while this roster has plenty of reasons to doubt it going into the season, it provides Harden more offensive help around him than he's ever had since he's been in Houston. Assuming they're healthy (which is a pretty big assumption), between Wall, Wood, Cousins and Gordon, that's four other guys who can generate offense themselves without his help and get them 15+ on a given night, including guys who can legitimately generate offense in the low post. Has he ever had that in Houston? Westbrook, Paul and Gordon obviously could get their points when needed, but who else could generate offense themselves with the ball in their hands? Lou Will for that half a season he was here. Lin and Parsons could early in Harden's time in Houston, but to a lesser extent. Dwight thought he was a low post threat when he wasn't. Josh Smith could when he had that one good game in 10. Nene and Terry were too old when they finally got here. Beverley, Ariza, Ryno, Tucker, Clint, etc. were all role players totally reliant on Harden for points. So (again, assuming those guys are healthy) this team will have more offensive flexibility than it's ever had in Harden's time in Houston. You don't need him to dribble the ball for 20 seconds anymore and pray he can make something happen on 80% of the possessions. You can rely on ball movement, play out of the post, run more pick and roll, etc. This offense should be a dream for a guy like Silas, who's pegged as a brilliant offensive mind. I look forward to see what he cooks up.
