And you can't say that it shows it can't either. So what specific point were you trying to make? "Whether or not you like it, it is a fair.....and very real....concern" for ANY TEAM, which is why this is such a dumb point. You can replace the Rockets with literally any contender team and it will be the exact same point, making it moot.
It’s not so much about having great post moves . It’s about getting the ball to a big guy near the basket . Lopez has a nice touch and shot , but he’s not the most explosive guy around the basket . And he was bodying people . Our guys have to be locked in and in position . You’re right , I don’t fear a post up from 15 feet out . I fear a tight pick and roll near the hoop . I do fear getting caught out of position and getting sealed in the restricted area
Why the Rockets play the best bad defense in NBA history So here we have a defense that looks bad on paper and seems like it should be bad based on our anecdotal understanding that big men drive great defense, yet when they've encountered teams designed to exploit their own lack of size, their defense actually contributes to winning. The explanation is as counter-intuitive as the result. The Rockets have mastered the art of bad defense. It's the fundamental idea that shapes their entire identity as a franchise: Three is a bigger number than two. It's obvious offensively, where they lead the league in 3-point attempts every year. It's taking shape now defensively as well. The numbers don't fully reflect it yet. When switching goes wrong, it goes about as wrong as any defense can go. A miscommunication on who is supposed to guard who leads to someone being unguarded. Too many of those, and you wind up allowing 149 points to the Mavericks. But get it right, and you get a performance that somewhat resembles what the Rockets did against the Bucks: a night in which Milwaukee struggled to find open looks from behind the arc because the Rockets switched so effectively. Having the pieces to do so unlocks the other tenet of Houston's defense. What is lost in rim protection when size is sacrificed for speed is made up for in turnovers. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/why-the-rockets-play-the-best-bad-defense-in-nba-history/
Tyson is still a good rebounder but not good on the perimeter. In our switch-centric defense he is a liability overall. He doesn't provide the vertical spacing that Clint did, either. He shouldn't be part of the rotation every game, even if his minutes were staggered with Russ'. I think he's a situation-specific player only, like grabbing a defensive rebound on a free throw.
Exactly what I posted in post #33. To summarize, while I see the logic behind the decision to play micro ball I don't think it will be an effective strategy in the long run (effective meaning NBA Title......it's title or bust for us) because you are relying on players to hit long shots while playing heavy, physically overmatched minutes. I'd love for the Rockets to make me eat crow.....but I don't think they'll be able to serve any.
Agreed. I think that's how the Rockets see him as well. Basically, Chandler is in a glass box that says "Break in case of emergency".
If we put a big man out there, the first thing the opponent will do is draw him into a pick and force him to switch onto the ball handler. That leaves us with four smaller Rockets available to fight for the rebound. Once you commit to switching, there's a strong argument that you're better off with five guys of similar versatility than with playing a big man and praying he'll be allowed to stay under the basket to help on the boards. I'm for playing as many Covington types as we can get. But against most lineups, anyone who can't defend guards should be on the bench.
That's the more likely scenario. IIRC on the Lopez tip dunk he basically walked to the front of the rim and dunked the ball because nobody boxed him out. I think that was a combination of physical and mental fatigue. How often would that happen over a long, physical playoff series? Idk but it's a legitimate concern.
Ideally, we'd find a big who could do both but given our current financial realities that might not be possible.
All it took was 2 games after 4 months off and tired posts are beginning on cf’s lol stop it. That’s not what is happening
Yup. Media accounts of the Covington trade indicated that Morey would have traded for a big, but no big men were available. Of course that can't be true as stated. So I assume it means that of the big men available, Morey didn't think any of them could adequately defend guards. Capela was pretty decent at it. But something happened to him. He seemed to have lost the will to fight inside. That, plus his inability to space the floor, was lethal.
Some of that can be managed with timeout usage. I think we all know that's not something MDA likes to do but it may be necessary moving forward. I thought around the 2:00 mark last game the guys really could have used a blow. IIRC we ended the game with a timeout remaining.
That's as great point about Capela. He could switch on the perimeter in spurts. Idk for sure but I think his heel injury is more serious than is being reported publicly. Last I heard the Hawks are expecting him to miss the season.
I honestly think that we benefit from the bubble set up more than any other team. It's no secret how physically taxing our current style of play is expecially with the short rotations MDA likes to run. But with no travel the guys can basically just take a 10 minute trip to the hotel, ice up, get a massage and sleep the entire next day. Having everything in one place will supercharge their recuperation process and will make this more sustainable in the log run.
I think you can't make too much of one game. The Bucks win was impressive, but it's hard to say if the rockets cracked a code or if the Bucks had an off night. They were also missing key players and we were missing EG.
Anybody else think kristaps porzingis would have been an amazing get for us if we got him from the horribly run knicks. He has been super impressive in the bubble. Guy is like a super athletic shot blocking dirk. Isn’t that kid Bol Bol of the nuggets on a two way contract with Denver. I don’t know how two way contracts work, but I would love that guy on the rockets
Great point. Our play style is probably the least sustainable of any contender, so anything we need every single advantage we can get.
Offensively Porzingis would be great. Idk how effective he is with switching on to guards, especially after the knee injury (I'm not saying that he can't, I just haven't seen enough of him).
According to basketball-reference.com (box scores): Rockets/Covington have played 16 games together. 10-6 in those games. One loss was game # 2 without Russ vs Suns (B2B games).....4 of the other losses I say the Rockets were jocking for favorable seeding position. Date......Opp...................TRB (Us—Them)...........TRB% (Us—Them) Feb 6: Lakers: Win.............37 — 38..............................49.3 — 50.7 Feb 7: Suns: Loss...............29 — 51...(22 reb dif)........36.3 — 63.8 Feb 9: Jazz: Loss................36 — 48..............................42.9 — 57.1 Feb 11: Boston: Win.........45 — 48..............................48.4 — 51.6 Feb 20: GSW: Win.............36 — 40..............................47.4 — 52.6 Feb 22: Jazz: Win...............42 — 46...............................47.4 — 52.3 Feb 24: Knicks: Win...........38 — 54...............................41.3 — 58.7 Feb 26: Grizz: Win.............44 — 49...............................47.3 — 52.7 Feb 29: Boston: Win..........53 — 54...............................49.5 — 50.5 Mar 2: Knicks: Loss...........34 — 65....(31 reb dif).........34.3 — 65.7 Mar 5: Clippers: Loss..........51 — 57..............................47.2 — 52.8 Mar 7: Hornets: Loss..........42 — 30...............................58.3 — 41.7 (only team we out rebounded & TRB%....lost) Mar 8: Magic: Loss.............38 — 49...............................43.7 — 56.3 Mar 10: T-Wolves: Win.......33 — 41...............................44.6 — 55.4 July 31: Mavs: Win..............43 — 55.................................43.9 — 56.1 Aug 2: Bucks: Win..............36 — 65....(29 reb dif).........35.6 — 64.4 _________________________________________________________________________ Rockets have been out rebounded 637 to 790 by opponents in the 16 games. Total of 153 and yet 10-6. That’s on the average: 39.8 rebounds per game (Houston) vs 49.4 rebounds by opponents. The TRB% per game average is: 44.86 (Houston) vs 55.15 (opponents). No team was held under 50.5 except Hornets (41.7 TRB%) Rockets are making the art of rebounding less of a factor. Harden/Westbrook points are neutralizing the PIT paint. Teams are chugging-a-long going up hill with their “2’s” while we (Rockets) are coasting down hill with our “3’s.” If Harden and Tucker had shot their 3’s better last night......we would have beaten the best team (record-wise) by 12 points. The Bucks walked off the court asking, “What happened?” “How did they do that?” Covington and Jeff Green put us over the hump vs the Bucks, IMO. Even if Bledsoe comes back.
