Seriously, what is wrong with the Rockets?

[badgerfan]

I hope DD doesn't mind me ripping off the title of his thread but it seemed appropriate.

First off, the Rockets didn't deserve to win last night. They got killed on the boards. They scored a lousy 99 points in OT against a horrible defensive team playing a horribly stagnant offense. I watched the game last night with a friend of mine who usually watches football and he was yawning the whole time. The game last night was boring until the OT rolled around because the offense is as dead as Julius Caesar.

Look at the minutes:

Yao: 41:24
Artest: 45:29
McGrady: 44:17

The big three had to play big minutes against a team that was 1 and 3, a young team filled with young players who the Rockets should have been able to step all over. Not only did they have to play big minutes just to keep it close in the end they couldn't even pull off a win. The Rockets should have put their foot on Portland's throat early in the first quarter and never taken it off--that's how you beat young and inexperienced teams.

Finally, there is a huge problem right now with chemistry and teamwork on this team. Artest and Yao are in the middle of bad slumps (combined 14 of 52 in the last two games) and T-Mac is having to pick up the slack. The problem is that what you'd like to see is two of the big three having monster nights (Dallas and a win) instead of one of the big three having a monster night (Boston and Portland, both losses). And while T-Mac is racking up points the team as a whole is struggling to break 90.

The offense is broken. What's the point of even having Adelman in Houston if the Rockets are too stupid or retarded to understand his offense? It looks like the guys out there zero chemistry compared to last year. Is history going to repeat itself with a mediocre/lousy first half of the season, a comeback in the second half to make the playoffs, and finally an early exit?

[redao]

TMAC needs a minor injury to let Artest and Yao and others play.

[Rox_fan_here]

There are 2 things we must do to fix this team.

1. Hit the glass, our rebounding has been atrocious

2. Implement the motion offense that Adelman has been trying to instill in this team. The offense has been too stagnant and we have been attempting to many iso and 1 on 1 plays.

Truth be told I have no clue how we are going to do these things, but in a nutshell, that is what is wrong with our team.

[ambrose86]

I have no problem with seeing our offense suk. I think we rockets fan are so used to that anyways that we accept that as a fact and move on with our lives.

But I really cannot tolerate our defense and defensive rebounding. We got out muscled badly two nights in a row. We also allowed our opponents to penetrate too easily and getting lots of inside shots as suppose to perimeter jump shots.

[Rockets Jones]

I hope DD doesn't mind me ripping off the title of his thread but it seemed appropriate.

First off, the Rockets didn't deserve to win last night. They got killed on the boards. They scored a lousy 99 points in OT against a horrible defensive team playing a horribly stagnant offense. I watched the game last night with a friend of mine who usually watches football and he was yawning the whole time. The game last night was boring until the OT rolled around because the offense is as dead as Julius Caesar.

Look at the minutes:

Yao: 41:24
Artest: 45:29
McGrady: 44:17

The big three had to play big minutes against a team that was 1 and 3, a young team filled with young players who the Rockets should have been able to step all over. Not only did they have to play big minutes just to keep it close in the end they couldn't even pull off a win. The Rockets should have put their foot on Portland's throat early in the first quarter and never taken it off--that's how you beat young and inexperienced teams.

Finally, there is a huge problem right now with chemistry and teamwork on this team. Artest and Yao are in the middle of bad slumps (combined 14 of 52 in the last two games) and T-Mac is having to pick up the slack. The problem is that what you'd like to see is two of the big three having monster nights (Dallas and a win) instead of one of the big three having a monster night (Boston and Portland, both losses). And while T-Mac is racking up points the team as a whole is struggling to break 90.

The offense is broken. What's the point of even having Adelman in Houston if the Rockets are too stupid or retarded to understand his offense? It looks like the guys out there zero chemistry compared to last year. Is history going to repeat itself with a mediocre/lousy first half of the season, a comeback in the second half to make the playoffs, and finally an early exit?

You're absolutely right and that last part, I'm starting to wonder myself: what is the point of having Adelman here ? Not that he's a bad coach but almost everybody on this team cannot run the offense or do not want that kind of offense. Artest & T-mac both like to go 1-on-1 and it seems like we're never going to get motion offense like the Kings did. Part of this is personell, part of this is because Yao & T-mac like the JVG offense more, so it seems. I'm starting to doubt bringing Adelman in was a good idea, if we don't get the offense to work I suggest they hire another coach who fits the personell we have or we change the personell, even if that means trading Yao / T-mac or maybe both.

[nolimitnp]

I think we're starting to realize just how much Shane Battier means to this team.

[edkk323]

What is wrong with Rockets??!?!?!?
I will tell you why


1. No one boxed out whatsoever, other team always , always get the short rebounding!

RA sucks, I do not understand him at all.

He knew we sucked at rebounding so the way he dealt with was put Hays in. That hurt the offense.

Let us pray when Battier comes back, everything will be better. But that is only one guy boxing out.

2. RA made very questionable calls. Louis was on fire and then RA sat him for most of the second half. WTF?!??!

In the beginning, Yao missed some shots and RA sat him for most of the first quarter.
Later, Yao was too tired to do any good and RA still played him

We have enough good players, But RARARARRARARARA WTF are you doing?

3. NO movement at All.

When Yao was on the court, no body moved. We do not have any play at all, just post up and one on one.


I remembered that RA said in the beginning of season," yeah, we do not run drills, we just let players play."

Dude, no screens, no cuts? only post up?? Is that your offense?


4. We should not panic. But we are too good to not be the top 3 seed.

[DonkeyMagic]

TMAC needs a minor injury to let Artest and Yao and others play.


you need a hand injury to prevent you from typing things like this.


BUt i expected a slow start...we all should have. It's going to take time for this team for find it's groove, especially with people recovering from injuries.

[edkk323]

I think we're starting to realize just how much Shane Battier means to this team.

The real engine of this team.

[badgerfan]

You're absolutely right and that last part, I'm starting to wonder myself: what is the point of having Adelman here ? Not that he's a bad coach but almost everybody on this team cannot run the offense or do not want that kind of offense. Artest & T-mac both like to go 1-on-1 and it seems like we're never going to get motion offense like the Kings did. Part of this is personell, part of this is because Yao & T-mac like the JVG offense more, so it seems. I'm starting to doubt bringing Adelman in was a good idea, if we don't get the offense to work I suggest they hire another coach who fits the personell we have or we change the personell, even if that means trading Yao / T-mac or maybe both.

What really, really bothers me is that I question the commitment some of the players have to following the coach and playing his offense.

[Angkor Wat]

It's only November.

[Houston09]

One question I understand the thought of coach lastnight with keeping chuck hayes in the game because he stoped aldridge in the 4th. untill he elbowed him in the shoulder. But why not come in sooner with scola or landry for offense late in the 4th. i mean t mac was on fire and he couldnt do anything. but o well portland should of never been that close to begin with.

[edkk323]

It's only November.


True, But did you see a offense system from RA?
" We will make Yao and Tmac easier on offense ?" By RA for the job interview
Did he keep his FKing promise? What did he do to make this team better offensively? Putting Hays in trying to cover the fact that he sucks at coaching defense??

[jae713]

I don't understand why they're not running the offense. They are doing the same thing as last year, one person handles the ball and the others wait around for a pass. Also I thought the team came out with no energy, IDK if they were tired because they need get accustomed to being on the road or what but everybody looked a half a step slow.

[daernoth]

Missing both Shane Battier and Deke is a big deal. Sign Deke already dammit!

[battousai]

I think the biggest problem is we still haven't figure out an offensive style for our big 3. How should our big 3 be playing? Is RA thinking putting Artest as the leader for our second unit, so he doesn't have to worry about our big 3 offense because battier will resolve that issue? We need to figure out to play play the big 3 with each other on the court as the playoffs will exposed our weakness if we keep on using them separately.

The problem with our offense is other players don't know what's going on when Tmac trying to beat his guy off the dribble. is he going to shot or pass? if he is going to pass when will it go? therefore other guys are standing there and watch. They want to make sure they are there when tmac pass it out. It shows that we are not keen on our offense. same thing can be said about Yao when he start posting his opponent in a lesser degree.

With the injuries and guys are not 100%, they can't run and often time settle to stand in order to save more energy. I think Ra should consider playing them less minutes and playing other guys more.

we need to understand that we are not here to win all 82 games. we are here to make it into the playoffs and win the championship. being number 8 seed or number 1 seed would mean the same in the western conference. Home court or no home court, you will need to play big.

[inspiRED]

offense wasn't the problem last night. once again, yao missed VERY EASY SHOTS. he missed like 3 point blank layups last night. he just needs to get it together.

artest is taking some very bad shots. he refuses to get in the post at times, even with roy on him.

tracy had to take up the slack b/c nobody else stepped up outside of scola and brooks. the only bright spot in the entire season so far is the play of aaron brooks. dude is a bona fide player who has star potential.

but the main reasons we lost the last 2 games are: rebounding and defense. you cannot afford to give a great team (boston) or a home team (portland) multiple shots at the rim. this is the NBA, not high school. these guys are too good and will capitalize. we really need deke back and play him 10 minutes and reduce yao's minutes.

our defense is also terrible. the perimeter guys are pathetic. tracy is just beyond god awful. he cannot stay in front of anybody. adelman has to do something to hide tracy on defense until his knee gets better. getting shane helps too. but it's not just tracy. alston, aaron, scola... can't guard anybody either. and i can't say how bad yao is playing in terms of defense too. the chuckwagon is the only one who showed up defensively last night. he basically shut down aldrige with ZERO help.

these are things you can correct. will they? we'll see. but offense isn't the problem. even if it is, it's early in the season and we'll get better at it. rebounding and defense remain the same things that haunt us since that game 7 v. the jazz. i still heart JVG screaming right now regarding those 2 things.

[edkk323]

I don't understand why they're not running the offense. They are doing the same thing as last year, one person handles the ball and the others wait around for a pass. Also I thought the team came out with no energy, IDK if they were tired because they need get accustomed to being on the road or what but everybody looked a half a step slow.


Blame the coach, he is doing sh t for this team. That pisses me off a lot.

How can we be good if no one runs without a ball nor sets screens for other player besides on the top of the key.

[Simon Honeybone]

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/sky-is-falling.jpg

[inspiRED]

I don't understand why they're not running the offense. They are doing the same thing as last year, one person handles the ball and the others wait around for a pass. Also I thought the team came out with no energy, IDK if they were tired because they need get accustomed to being on the road or what but everybody looked a half a step slow.

and it's jut not the starters. with aaron in there, aaron seems like the primary ballhandler and he plays like iverson out there.

we have to get over the belief that we can be like the kings. we CANNOT. we don't have a peja on this team who can run around screens; who don't have a great shooter at PG like bibby; we don't have guys who can create at EVERY position; more importantly, our big man can't play the high post to open up the paint.

obviously we can use more ball movement and we should. but this team is built like the lakers/boston -> use your big 3 and kill them. right now, yao and artest are just plain struggling offensively. they'll get better.

[shortfuse3]

First off the offense actually looks smoother than it did last year. We basically played JVG offense last year. Pass to T-Mac in the high post and give him a pick.

At least we're not relying on that play every single time. But the real reason is our players don't fit the coach. Our all-stars are post players who like to iso. T-Mac isn't going to run around screens like Rudy Fernandez. Yao can only score after he takes 10 seconds to make a move, and Artest is the same as T-Mac. Basically our all-stars are ineffective without the ball. You won't have motion with players who don't move.

[edkk323]

and it's jut not the starters. with aaron in there, aaron seems like the primary ballhandler and he plays like iverson out there.

we have to get over the belief that we can be like the kings. we CANNOT. we don't have a peja on this team who can run around screens; who don't have a great shooter at PG like bibby; we don't have guys who can create at EVERY position; more importantly, our big man can't play the high post to open up the paint.

obviously we can use more ball movement and we should. but this team is built like the lakers/boston -> use your big 3 and kill them. right now, yao and artest are just plain struggling offensively. they'll get better.

I disagree, Boston has Ray Allen who can run without the ball and Lakers has good point guard and Kobe and Gasol run without the ball.

No one here would run without the ball.

[badgerfan]

I disagree, Boston has Ray Allen who can run without the ball and Lakers has good point guard and Kobe and Gasol run without the ball.

No one here would run without the ball.

Barry and Head do. Barry especially looks great in this offense.

[saleem]

Defense was the identity during the 22 game winning streak.This does not exist right now.We don't have an offense that executes,and our tradtional weaknesses like poor outside shooting,inadequate rebounding which was glaringly evident since the first game against the Grizzlies,lack of length, height at the 4 and 1,lateral quickness,speed and inability to stop penetration are evident in every game. Having Battier back will not be enough.
The team will have to overachieve like we did during the streak in order to win.

[inspiRED]

Barry and Head do. Barry especially looks great in this offense.

what are you smoking? he's scoring 4 pts on 37% shooting with just 1 assist in 21 minutes of play. i haven't seen do any playmaking or shotmaking that shows his value.

AB is the only reason that 2nd unit is legit right now, along with landry.

[nickthejerk]

RA sucks


:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[badgerfan]

what are you smoking? he's scoring 4 pts on 37% shooting with just 1 assist in 21 minutes of play. i haven't seen do any playmaking or shotmaking that shows his value.

AB is the only reason that 2nd unit is legit right now, along with landry.

Try and watch the games sometime. Barry gets out on the court and he starts running and he doesn't stop. He cuts hard without the ball.

His numbers may be sucking right now but the Rockets' offense as a whole doesn't look that great.

[inspiRED]

Try and watch the games sometime. Barry gets out on the court and he starts running and he doesn't stop. He cuts hard without the ball.

His numbers may be sucking right now but the Rockets' offense as a whole doesn't look that great.

i am, he looks invisible.

[badgerfan]

i am, he looks invisible.

The offense is misfiring badly right now. But if you watch the guys who don't have the ball you'll see that Barry is always in motion. He cuts hard without the ball. I was amazed a guy that old could run that much.

[ericmark]

Seriously, Rox has a problem of DEFENSE.
Rick is an offense coach. When our offense is in struggle, we are determined to lose.

[MayoRocket]

What really, really bothers me is that I question the commitment some of the players have to following the coach and playing his offense.

Or is it that his players are just not suited to running this type of offense? We have 3 players that excel in one-on-one situations. We don't have 2 great passing big men (a la Divac, Webber) or a great distributor (Bibby). Maybe Adelman needs to adjust rather than the other way around.

[inspiRED]

The offense is misfiring badly right now. But if you watch the guys who don't have the ball you'll see that Barry is always in motion. He cuts hard without the ball. I was amazed a guy that old could run that much.

why do you think there is another thread on, "what's wrong with barry?" i'm not sure what games you've been watching. he looks god awful out there.

the reason our 2nd unit looks terrific is b/c of aaron brooks and landry, primarily brooks.

[Jeff Who]

How quickly people forget what Portland did year ago. I mean yes, they had a shaky start before metting us (1-3) but the beggining of the season never matters. We shouldn't look at that.

Portland is young, athletic but very talented. They have a star in Ron, maybe a future all star in aldridge. They are a really good team. So we didn't really lose against a bad team.

What happend to Rockets? No chemistry, we are not playing as a team out there. It is all about McGrady, Yao and Ron one on one. No offense at all. It all comes down to isolations. McGrady is making his shots, he is scoring well, but Yao and Ron are pathetic.

Also as a team we play no defense. We just can't call ourselves a TEAM yet.

[desertfire]

It's only November.


It is nice to see someone on this board capable of rationale thought. Yes, it is only November and early November at that. A loss to the Celtics and on the road to Portland is not the end of the world. I thought many Portland players played beyond themselves last night.

As for us, it is clear we miss Battier. What did you expect? It is clear that Artest, Yao, and McGrady haven't gelled yet. Again, what did you expect? Did you think that we would like an unstoppable machine after five games? You guys have no sense of reality in how long it takes to get everyone on the same page. Still we are only 3-2 and playing a tough part of the schedule now.

I am not worried about Yao finding his game or Artest finding his role. I am not ultimately worried about our defense. I am thrilled with how T-Mac has looked, despite playing hurt, and I am thrilled with our FT shooting. I am disappointed with the loss last night, but it is premature for one of these panic threads!

[Shaud]

Barry especially looks great in this offense.
Is that sarcasm? Barry doesn't even look like he deserves to be in the rotation right now.

[DVauthrin]

What is wrong with Rockets??!?!?!?


2. RA made very questionable calls. Louis was on fire and then RA sat him for most of the second half. WTF?!??!


You missed the other end of the court where LaMarcus Aldridge took Scola to school. Luis gave up more points than he created in the 1st 24 minutes. That's why he was benched for the 2nd half and OT and you saw hayes get the majority of the minutes at the 4. Now you can argue there was a better way to handle it than benching a good offensive weapon, but that's why he sat on the bench the 2nd half/OT.

[RocketsHero]

Houston, we got a problem.

The question is: what do we do?

[durvasa]

Defense has slipped some. But I guarantee that the Rockets are more concerned about the offense. With the addition of Ron Artest, improvement of Brooks, and Barry, it was assumed that the offense would be significantly better. It really hasn't been any better than last year when we've had both Yao and Tracy on the floor.

Some drastic measures might be needed to get the team to run Adelman's offense the way its supposed to be run. Maybe he should just stop calling for set plays. The Rockets will lose more games in the short term, but over time maybe it will be for the best.

[badgerfan]

Is that sarcasm? Barry doesn't even look like he deserves to be in the rotation right now.

He runs hard without the ball. His numbers aren't there yet, but the offense is still a work in progress.

In terms of the motion offense, Barry is clearly a natural fit by way of inclination and temperament.

[dadesokan]

I really think the coaching is the main Issue right now and I am really beginning to see why Alderman never won a championship even with all the talent he has had over the years. Last nights shot by roy draws a parallel when Horry Hit that winner for the lakers and ended Portlands opportunity to Win the championship that year. Alderman is just not a good defensive coach.

Sadly enough, His player coach mentality is turning out to be more of an issue as well, because he is not calling out his Stars when he needs to. The great ones did it. Pop would sit Ginobli, Parker and Timmy back in the early years when they were fumbling around on the court or not concentrating on the defensive end, Jackson had a way of pulling out Kobe and MJ when he feel they were loosing focus on the court. He would sit them for a few minutes and get them to refocus and then they would take off. Alderman just watches until the final quarter, when it may to too late. This is just bad strategy.

Lets face it, even with the bad game Yao had last night, He is still the best center in the league. Yao, up to 10 - 12 feet around the basket is money, and still shoots the highest percentage of center in a tough league, notice I said shoots not dunks. Yao will never be a dunking agressive type center like Wilt or Shaq, but he might go down in History as the best pure shooter to play that position. His stroke is smooth and you can see it when he shoots his free throws. He is still the best at making them on this team, even with Barry and Brooks who shoot it very well too. YAO can shoot for a big man. That is hard to find or teach. He can use his left and right hand, has an array of post moves, hook shots, Baseline spin moves, and can consistently hit from 10 - 12 feet. But here in lies the problem with his recent struggles. Why Yao Posts up, he is not patient enough. There was a time whenever Yao put the ball of the fall he turned it over because the help defenders where just waiting for that, he started catching, reading the defense and shooting. JVG made sure he addressed this issue, now Yao has reverted to that bad habit, hence he is turning into a turnover machine like his rookie years. He also needs to see where his players are on the floor, if he is doubled, SOMEONE should get a wide open layup or three. Dream mastered this as a player and made his team mates better. Yao seems to be unable to pass out of the double teams, and tries so hard to force the issue, leading to more turnovers. Also, when Yao is fronted, the PG always tries to force the ball and it just never works as the weak side defense always comes over to help, leading to yet another turnover. Thats why someone needs to drive to basket to create spacing, but the PG tends to force the issue, leading to more turnovers. I dont know why the coach has not addressed these issue yet.

Yao loss of concentration on the defensive end is due to the stagnation of the Rockets play of late, both offensively and defensively.Defensively, JVG used to make Yao flash upfront when picks are being set by the player he was guarding to create disruption for the opposing offense, now every stands around and just watches. We are fast loosing our defensive Identity as team and Yao is suffering the most in this area. When he is not actively moving on defense, he seems to have his mind wander completely out of the game. JVG would call him out in his era, not Alderman. We cannot win a first round series let alone win a championship if we dont gain our defensive identity back, and it really starts with the Big Man.

The Princeton offense that brought us the 22 straight wins seems to have vanished as well. We are not seeing the hard cuts, ball movement and motion offensive that we all came to appreciate so much last year. All we are seeing now is a lot of ISOs, players standing around and forcing bad shots. It was ok in the JVG era, because we played defense. No way Portland shoot 50+% like it did last night in the JVG era. This team is becoming lazy mentally and Alderman is not saying anything.

Yao has problems right now, I agree, but the coach really needs to get in the face of his team, starting with his stars. Word to TMAC: Offensive is good TMAC, but take a look at the nuggets, had 2 of the top 5 scorers in the league last season, but again a superior defensive laker team, they got SWEPT, because they dont play defense. Ask the Suns as well. Defensive wins games, Offensive will come eventually. This team has to return to that mentality for every 48 mins they step on the court, not for 12 of 24 mins. The great teams play D for the whole game, that why they win championships. With the exception of Artest, every one has to play better D, but the coach has got the preach it this the record breaks!!!!!!

[northeastfan]

It is nice to see someone on this board capable of rationale thought. Yes, it is only November and early November at that. A loss to the Celtics and on the road to Portland is not the end of the world. I thought many Portland players played beyond themselves last night.

As for us, it is clear we miss Battier. What did you expect? It is clear that Artest, Yao, and McGrady haven't gelled yet. Again, what did you expect? Did you think that we would like an unstoppable machine after five games? You guys have no sense of reality in how long it takes to get everyone on the same page. Still we are only 3-2 and playing a tough part of the schedule now.

I am not worried about Yao finding his game or Artest finding his role. I am not ultimately worried about our defense. I am thrilled with how T-Mac has looked, despite playing hurt, and I am thrilled with our FT shooting. I am disappointed with the loss last night, but it is premature for one of these panic threads!

It's clear Allen, KG, and Pierce took a long time to gel last year too.

[desertfire]

It's clear Allen, KG, and Pierce took a long time to gel last year too.


Okay, well you are right. Since we didn't gel in the first five games of the season and Boston did we should just send up white flag, blow up the team, and start planning for next year! Sheesh, people, we lost a game to the DEFENDING champs minus one of our starters, and barely at that, and we lost a game on a once in a career swish, buzzer beater from 30 foot out. PANIC!

[rterry]

Two Problems:
Offense sucks.
Defense sucks.

Now for the good news:

The offense sucks because Adelman is struggling with his rotations. It seems fairly obvious that we have too many slow iso players when T-Mac, Artest, and Yao are in the game at the same time. Battier will help that immensely. T-Mac and Artest both need the ball in their hands in the half-court offense. When they are on the court together, too many times Artest is left standing around the 3-point line watching McGrady. RA will figure his rotations out and the offense will flow much better.

Yao can't possibly play this bad all year. He will get better.
Rafer will either play better or get benched.

The defensive rebounding is more troubling to me. True, we need a backup center, but that won't fix the problem completely. Rebounding is part height which we don't have at PF and part desire which we don't have at C. It's time to give Dorsey a shot or find a PF with height and desire (Mcdyess, would be the prototype, but he's going back to Detroit). Scola was great on offense last night, but was getting abused on defense, so we had to bring in Hayes, who is illiterate on offense and too short on the boards. Maybe Landry will step up and be the answer.

For those who are screaming don't panic it's only 5 games, you are right. Butttttttt, the problem as I see it is that the weaknesses we are showing are in areas that become much more important come playoff time. We have to become much tougher around the basket or it's one and out no matter how deep or talented we are. Who wins championships? Boston, San Antonio, Miami, this year probably LA or Boston again. Brutality is king in the NBA.

[badgerfan]

Okay, well you are right. Since we didn't gel in the first five games of the season and Boston did we should just send up white flag, blow up the team, and start planning for next year! Sheesh, people, we lost a game to the DEFENDING champs minus one of our starters, and barely at that, and we lost a game on a once in a career swish, buzzer beater from 30 foot out. PANIC!

If the Rockets didn't play like crap Portland wouldn't have been close enough to win on a last second shot.

I don't care if the Rockets lose 22 in a row. I don't care if they're throwing the ball into the stands 20 times a game on bad passes. All those things would be worth it if that's what it took for them to learn the offense. But right now it doesn't even look like they're trying . All they do is stand around and watch each other. When they don't even move without the ball it looks like they've tuned the coach out and they're doing whatever they feel like.

[northeastfan]

Okay, well you are right. Since we didn't gel in the first five games of the season and Boston did we should just send up white flag, blow up the team, and start planning for next year! Sheesh, people, we lost a game to the DEFENDING champs minus one of our starters, and barely at that, and we lost a game on a once in a career swish, buzzer beater from 30 foot out. PANIC!

I wouldn't characterize my feeling as panic; I would characterize it as accepting reality. The Rockets are nowhere near a championship team ... gelled or not.

[kwng]

At times like this where our team seems to losing, I just hope we can have someone like "2004" Francis back. I believed we desperately need a PG that can rebound, attack and control the game. Is there any news on Francis?

[desertfire]

I wouldn't characterize my feeling as panic; I would characterize it as accepting reality. The Rockets are nowhere near a championship team ... gelled or not.


The problem isn't reality; it is expectations. The Rockets never asked you to believe they were a championship team after five games. They said over and over again that their goal is to be at their best come playoff time.

You have probably noticed that the Rockets have been kind of slow starters in recent years. It just take them a while to put into full gear. It is part of their personality. It could cost them the top seed, but I still think the division itself will be there for the taking down the stretch.

I am a little surprised at anyone who questions the Rockets' desire (not you but others). This is a team that inspired the nation last year during their win streak. It isn't a matter of desire, but of figuring things out, and of course, getting healthy.

[BrooksBall]

I can think of a few problems:

1. As a team, we are relatively slow, short and unathletic.

Despite our great talent, this is a fact, especially in the case of our starting five. To overcome this, you need to execute well offensively like the Spurs and Jazz do year in and year out. You need to execute well defensively like... umm... the Rockets used to do year in and year out. You need to impose your advantages upon the other team and compensate for your weaknesses by playing smart basketball.

2. Battier is out

I guess you have to learn to really appreciate something when it's taken away from you. I don't know how much of the defensive leaks he will be able to shore up when he returns, but those leaks are definitely present w/out him in the lineup. I don't know how much he will help with rebounding. Maybe his communication, experience and familiarity will help get everybody in sync and in position which is often not the case right now.

3. McGrady is running a motionless offense, same thing on defense

He is absolutely making it easier for the opponents to defend us as at times by just standing on the perimeter on not keeping his feet moving to create space. If this wasn't something that existed for years, I would attribute it to the knee injury. He still manages to put up big points because he is long and a gifted scorer. He needs to get moving though. If he does, he'll score more easily and so will others. I'd rather have him moving more on both ends while he's on the court even if it means he can only play 25 mpg for now.

4. Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding

This should probably be number one but may be the result of a number of factors, including the previous three problems. We have been among the defensive rebounding leaders, as a team, for a number of years now. This is the same group of players minus Battier and plus Artest. There is no good excuse for the poor rebounding in a few of the recent games. It's likely that both the coaches and the players are to blame. We've had an undersized team for years and our less undersized now than we used to be. We need to get the team defense straightened out and players need to work on their positioning, boxing out defenders after shots. There is also an element of hustle. Rebounding requires effort as much as anything else. We also need more length in our frontcourt. It seems like several teams around the league are developing bigger, longer and more athletic frontcourts. Yao is big but slow. Our PFs are all undersized. Scola probably has legit size but he's unathletic. I don't want to end up in another Game 7 and have a rebound get away from Yao because he is too slow to react or go over the heads of our forwards because they are too small. As good of a rebounding team as we've been for years now, we would only get better by adding more length.

5. Running a motion offense with Tracy and Yao as your cornerstones is difficult

This is tied to the first and third problems. Tracy is not the same player he was 5 years ago. He isn't as quick and is unwilling to move constantly a la Richard Hamiltion or even a noob like Rudy Fernandez. He's still an elite scorer but not because he moves well w/out the ball and creates space. He scores using his length and talent in one-on-one situations. Yao is the same player he was 5 years ago. I'm not sure he will ever be able to execute Adelman's style of play well. He is not a great passer (some claim him to be) and he can't move well. I still think there is a chance he can become effective in the high post, setting picks and hitting mid-range shots if his man leaves him but he is clearly best-suited to play on the blocks. Phoenix is adjusting to Shaq and similarly Adelman and the Rockets have to adjust to Yao if you are going to play him. Phoenix can't run like they did when Marion was there and the Rockets will never look like the Kings w/ Yao out there. Our offense is still a work in progress. It will be interesting to see what Adelman does with this group after 2 or 3 seasons.

[MayoRocket]

I wouldn't characterize my feeling as panic; I would characterize it as accepting reality. The Rockets are nowhere near a championship team ... gelled or not.

Man, the Rockets could be up 10 with 1 second to go in game 7 of the Finals and you'd still find something to bitch about.

[shakegod]

you are right,what Shane brings is not only his good personal defence,but his help for the entire team.missing him much
I think we're starting to realize just how much Shane Battier means to this team.

[rockets_fanatic]

Every single problem with the team at the moment will be cured with one thing. TIME!

[bcopeland]

First of all, the Rockets' offense is not broken. Brent Barry said it best "if you don't execute, you become the executed". The Rockets have not executed their offense since game 2. There is much too much one-on-one and slow ball movement where T-Mac is looking to create rather than execute.

We need to post up Yao deep in the paint or at least give him an opportunity to repost and pass the ball insteda nof giving him the ball where he is committed to make a move or shot under duress. He becomes a different player when he has available options. He is an all-star.

We need to give Ron-Ron room to run the offense. I like Artest oving north-south-east-west rather than arounf the 3 point line.

We need a point guard. We have one - Aaron Brooks. Rafer is past his due on the mental scale. If mental age was like dog years - Rafer would be very long in the tooth. He does not have the get-er-done mentality. He would rather be flamboyant than effective.

Finally, we need to get Joey Dorsey out there and send Chuck Hayes packing. Dorsey is bigger, quicker, faster, stronger, can rebound and get to the basket better and overall is a better player than Hayes. heck, he went to the NCAA finals last year! And he can make a layup. CHuck hurts this team with his moissed payups, fouls turnovers and lack of abilty to cast himself as a legitamate NBA player. he is a joke and the joke is being played on us!

[Alvin Choo]

What is wrong with Rockets??!?!?!?
I will tell you why


1. No one boxed out whatsoever, other team always , always get the short rebounding!

RA sucks, I do not understand him at all.

He knew we sucked at rebounding so the way he dealt with was put Hays in. That hurt the offense.

Let us pray when Battier comes back, everything will be better. But that is only one guy boxing out.

2. RA made very questionable calls. Louis was on fire and then RA sat him for most of the second half. WTF?!??!

In the beginning, Yao missed some shots and RA sat him for most of the first quarter.
Later, Yao was too tired to do any good and RA still played him

We have enough good players, But RARARARRARARARA WTF are you doing?

3. NO movement at All.

When Yao was on the court, no body moved. We do not have any play at all, just post up and one on one.


I remembered that RA said in the beginning of season," yeah, we do not run drills, we just let players play."

Dude, no screens, no cuts? only post up?? Is that your offense?


4. We should not panic. But we are too good to not be the top 3 seed.

Agree on point 1 and 4.

Point 2- Taking out scola? Watch the game and you will know why. Aldridge is just killing the rox at the first quarter. Guess whos guarding him?
Yao was rested early as his expected to play heavy minutes in the second half, due to the size of the blazers.

Point 3- No movement is not due to coach RA, his offense is always been one of the most fluid in the league, but with the team 3 best players all thrive in iso on post play, you have to give it to them.

[AntiSonic]

I am disappointed with the loss last night, but it is premature for one of these panic threads!

Yeah, seems like a lot of people are forgetting that we looked a lot worse, a lot later into the season last year and halfway turned the ship around. The team should be ok.

[shaggylambda]

WOW. The Rockets season is over and they have only played 6 games. Yao sucks. WTF is wrong with him. Tracy sucks. We should trade him. Artest's D is overrated . I wonder if you guys overreact this much in you real life. :rolleyes: If they were to go 82-0 some of you debbie downers will still find something to gripe about.

[jacuzzi]

1. No one boxed out whatsoever, other team always , always get the short rebounding!

RA sucks, I do not understand him at all.

He knew we sucked at rebounding so the way he dealt with was put Hays in. That hurt the offense.

Let us pray when Battier comes back, everything will be better. But that is only one guy boxing out.

2. RA made very questionable calls. Louis was on fire and then RA sat him for most of the second half. WTF?!??!

In the beginning, Yao missed some shots and RA sat him for most of the first quarter.
Later, Yao was too tired to do any good and RA still played him

We have enough good players, But RARARARRARARARA WTF are you doing?

3. NO movement at All.

When Yao was on the court, no body moved. We do not have any play at all, just post up and one on one.


I remembered that RA said in the beginning of season," yeah, we do not run drills, we just let players play."

Dude, no screens, no cuts? only post up?? Is that your offense? .

I totally agree. Our big three never played well in the same game yet. I think it's not their fault. RA is to blame.

[DaDakota]

It is all CHEMISTRY....

When you add in 3 new players into the rotation....Artest, Brooks and Barry...and then you are missing your glue guy in Battier.....the team has got to find it's new identity.

They are not there yet...

DD

[pmac]

Does anybody else get the feeling that our stars are treating these games like shift work? Like it's okay to play like garbage because one of the other two guys will pick up the slack.

[jacuzzi]

Does anybody else get the feeling that our stars are treating these games like shift work? Like it's okay to play like garbage because one of the other two guys will pick up the slack.

I got that feeling too. But I think they won't do this. There's gotta be sth wrong with RA