Why is the offense so mediocre?
Posted: Sun Jan 9, 2022 4:20 am
Nets ranked 13th in offensive rating this season, compared to #1 last year. That's a bit of a dropoff.
Sure, basically no Kyrie thus far. Harden got off to a slow start. And Joe Harris is injured. But other teams have also had many players out for a while and this season has had its share of absences all around. Either way, I feel like given the Nets roster, they should have better than basically a league average offense.
I'm definitely not an expert, but I have watched probably 1,000+ games of the James Harden led Rockets. His ruthless pursuit of running efficient offense synergized prefectly with Moreyball and the D'antoni system. The Rockets focused exclusively on 3's, layups, and FT's...and basically had a #1 offense 3 straight seasons. Yes, in a league that featured the most talented team of all-time with the Prime KD + Warriors. Now I feel like that concept has been largely thrown out the window this year.
I frequently see the first option down the court being Durant shooting a mid-ranger. Is this a horrible option? No, of course not. But 17 foot jumper, whether open or not, is almost never a better option than an open 3-pointer. And he's averaging an efficient 30PPG, but his efficiency definitely not quite what it was. And in my view, it's his shot selection that is diminishing his efficiency slightly.
Harden hasn't been hitting his 3's quite like before yet, and has had trouble finishing around the rim. But he's still being disciplined in terms of shot selection and isn't forcing mid-rangers like I see so often on this team. He draws a bunch of trouble teams and traps, and we seemingly have no great answer to counter them. I get that adding Kyrie will help, but if we have to rely on 3 superstars being in the lineup at the same time, I feel like we are missing something.
As I am now a Nets fan who has seen almost every game since the Harden trade, I feel like the system on offense leaves a lot to be desired.
Sure, basically no Kyrie thus far. Harden got off to a slow start. And Joe Harris is injured. But other teams have also had many players out for a while and this season has had its share of absences all around. Either way, I feel like given the Nets roster, they should have better than basically a league average offense.
I'm definitely not an expert, but I have watched probably 1,000+ games of the James Harden led Rockets. His ruthless pursuit of running efficient offense synergized prefectly with Moreyball and the D'antoni system. The Rockets focused exclusively on 3's, layups, and FT's...and basically had a #1 offense 3 straight seasons. Yes, in a league that featured the most talented team of all-time with the Prime KD + Warriors. Now I feel like that concept has been largely thrown out the window this year.
I frequently see the first option down the court being Durant shooting a mid-ranger. Is this a horrible option? No, of course not. But 17 foot jumper, whether open or not, is almost never a better option than an open 3-pointer. And he's averaging an efficient 30PPG, but his efficiency definitely not quite what it was. And in my view, it's his shot selection that is diminishing his efficiency slightly.
Harden hasn't been hitting his 3's quite like before yet, and has had trouble finishing around the rim. But he's still being disciplined in terms of shot selection and isn't forcing mid-rangers like I see so often on this team. He draws a bunch of trouble teams and traps, and we seemingly have no great answer to counter them. I get that adding Kyrie will help, but if we have to rely on 3 superstars being in the lineup at the same time, I feel like we are missing something.
As I am now a Nets fan who has seen almost every game since the Harden trade, I feel like the system on offense leaves a lot to be desired.