These Rockets Could Be Houston's Best Shooting Team In Years

The Houston Rockets added several shooters this offseason to upgrade their shooting ability going into next season. While some of their returning players must simply improve as shooters to increase the team's potential, they should be ready to improve their shooting as soon as next year.

The Rockets finished in the bottom 10 for shooting from deep range this past season. Some of Houston's best shooters, like Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green, were not consistently in the lineup.

Houston depended on a few players to hit 3-pointers who were shooting just barely below league average for 3-point percentage. Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. made around 35 percent of their deep-range shots, which is lower than the league average of just over 36 percent. Smith Jr. must become an improved shooter to prove his worth as a stretch big in the starting lineup.

The departure of Green led to the addition of Kevin Durant, one of the most efficient shooters in NBA history, from anywhere on the court. This offseason, they also picked up Dorian Finney-Smith, who shot over 40 percent from three last season.

Durant immediately increases Houston's shooting ability, and he'll also be getting a high volume of shots with his minutes. By giving a significant number of 3-pointers to Durant, the Rockets are likely to increase their shooting percentages. Fred VanVleet may be able to take fewer moving 3-pointers and trust his teammates to hit more shots when he doesn't have the ball in his hands.

While the Rockets will still be playing with Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun as non-shooters, they may be able to get enough shooting from the team's shooters to improve their 3-point percentage.

If they can reach their 3-point potential, it will be the team's best shooting squad since the decade started in 2020-21.

The Rockets shot their best percentage from deep last season, and there's a chance they could shoot an even higher percentage next season. With the best collection of shooters the team has had in years, they have every opportunity to improve their performance and at least reach the upper half of NBA shooting teams.