The Houston Rockets have been ahead of the curve in some ways when it comes to trends in the NBA. While the Warriors and Stephen Curry are credited with revolutionizing the game with the three-point shot, the Rockets took it a step further and shot threes at a clip never seen before. They still occupy the top 2 spots for attempts as well as makes in a single season, with the peak being the 2018-19 campaign, when they attempted 3,721 threes and made 1,323 of them.
They now look to take things a step further, as the team has added a 4-point line to their practice court, as pointed out by a reporter on Twitter. NBA fans were intrigued by this move and had a lot to say about it.
#Rockets have added a 4-point line to their practice court. pic.twitter.com/9OrQsvD7Cc
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) June 24, 2022
“Steph did really change the game.”
“That should really be the new 3pt line. It would make the 3 much more valuable and easy to defend. Basketball would get so much more entertaining with less blowouts and more fundamental play.”
“Teams should be able to choose where the 3 point line is on their home court like baseball stadiums decide how deep the walls are for a home run.”
“Bad idea. Only encourages taking more bad shots. Players out here jacking up shots from the concession stand but missing layups & FT’s ♀️ ♀️ ♀️”
“Rockets tryna have warriors offense with heat defensively culture I like it”
“By the time they’re ready to compete, the NBA will have added a 4-point line. Stone playin 8D chess”
“Have they tried making a shot from the 3 pt line first? Or maybe the paint?”
“They are preparing for Jabari’s jumpshot “
“Everyone just gonna be bricking 4s now lmao”
“Looks like a team whose planning on picking in the top 5 for many years to come”
“How about they work on 2 pointers and defense and win some damn games before they try to create new games.”
“This is not a serious basketball team.”
“They need a 20-point line coz they trail by that much on a nightly basis.”
“Looks like they had the space to add the 5-point line too, May as well add it while your at it.”
“Every day we stray farther from the Grace of God “
“Imagine this was real curry would average 40+ points a game smh”
“The game is great right now. The 4 point line will doom the NBA”
“Actually that is a great idea!”
“We need Bigs !!! Damn near everyone shooting 3s on the team damn”
“This is your fault @StephenCurry30”
A lot of them just wanted the Rockets to focus on the fundamentals as a means of returning to relevance, which is quite understandable. They aren’t the first ones to do this, however, with the Sixers having done this many years ago, while the Mavericks had also added a 4-point line. We are not sure if the NBA ever goes this route as many would be against it, but Phil Jackson once did say that he would like the idea of a 4-point line 35 feet from the rim.
Jabari Smith Jr., who the Rockets picked with the third overall pick in this draft, is a pretty good shooter but he’s going to have a rough time trying to convert from this far behind the three-point line. It will be interesting to see if this does benefit the Rockets and if they improve significantly next season.
