While James Ennis' has serviceably replaced Trevor Ariza's defensive¹ contributions when healthy, Carmelo Anthony's substitution for Ryan Anderson has been a lot harder on the eyes (Anderson had -0.8 defensive plus-minus last year, Melo is currently at -3.8). Whether it be in the post or on the perimeter², teams have repeatedly targeted Anthony in switching situations and found great success.

虽然詹姆斯·恩尼斯在健康的时候可以很好的取代阿里扎的防守贡献，但代替莱恩·安德森的安东尼，看起来却要艰难的多(安德森去年的防守效率值是0.8，梅隆目前是-3.8)。无论其处于内外线，在火箭换防时，对手不断地以他为突破口，并取得良效。

As is natural, with new faces comes a learning curve. Unfortunately, that curve appears too steep for the new Rockets so far, as they have consistently forgotten rotations³ on defense⁴. Until they become better acquainted with the system, the only remedy is to have better communication as a team. P.J. Tucker and Chris Paul can't be the only ones calling out coverages.

自然地，新面孔带来了一条成长曲线。但不幸的是，目前看来，对于这支新火箭队来说，这条曲线看起来太陡峭了，因为他们一直忘记了防守上的轮换。在他们更好地熟悉这个体系之前，唯一的解决办法就是作为一个团队进行更好的沟通。而不是只有P.J.塔克或是克里斯·保罗独自喊着协防二字。

Houston's inability to hit the open shot has been the theme throughout its recent slide. The Rockets are shooting 41.2 percent from the field, which is the second-worst in the league. Last season, they ranked 15th at 46.0 percent.

无法把握住空位投篮的机会，这是贯穿休斯顿近期失利的主旋律。火箭队的投篮命中率是41.2%，这是联盟中第二糟糕的。 而上赛季，他们以46.0%的命中率排在第15位。

Additionally, last year they led the league in offensive efficiency at 114.7, but now they rank 26th at 103.8.

此外，去年他们以114.7的进攻效率领跑全联盟，现却以103.8的数值，排在第26。

But what's really telling is the Rockets' lackluster shooting from deep.

但真正的问题在于火箭惨淡的远距离投篮。

Morey-ball can't survive if no one can hit the long ball consistently.

如果无人能站出来持续命中长距离的投篮，"魔球理论"无从谈起。