The Rockets are turning it over much less with more ISO-ball, and I do agree with others that its allowed them to lock in more on the defensive end.
It didn’t work last season against the spurs in the playoffs. They took away the 3 and the layup. Rockets never adjusted. That’s what some people like Sam Fisher don’t understand. Hero ball doesn’t work in the playoffs. Teams make adjustments.
They took away the three because our bench and depth sucked. Maybe it'll happen this year if were hoping for Anderson to save our season or Chris starts shooting like pbev. Yes it could happen. And the rockets couldve won 60 last year too.
CP3 is smart and tough enough to take control when things are not working. Harden will be willing to make adjustments, he is maturing day by day.
It definitely slows the game way down, and makes it more boring to watch. I got tired of seeing Ariza just standing there waving his arms to no avail while wide open far too many times. Miss the faster pace, more passing around the perimeter, and less ISO also, but I'll take this win.
Question: Am I getting tired of having the greatest offense of all time and breaking all kinds of team win records. Answer: No, no I am not.
ISO ball has been amazing for us down the stretch. Pelicans were hitting some very tough shots down the stretch, our defense did its job. Offensively, the goal isn't to score, but to burn off as much time as possible to make use of the lead that we built up. The ISO slows down the pace and makes a 7 point lead seem like a 15 point lead. To better illustrate my point. Take for example the below scenario, where the Rockets fail to score on every possession. 3:00 - Rockets ISO for 24 seconds, fail to score. Lead is still 7. 2:36 - Pelicans spend 12 seconds setting up half-court set, fail to score. Lead is still 7. 2:24 - Rockets ISO for another 24 seconds, fail to score. Lead is still at 7. 2:00 - Pelicans use up another 12 seconds, but get two points. Lead is now at 5. 1:48 - Rockets ISO again for another 24 seconds, fail to score. Lead is at 5. 1:24 - Pelicans get 2 points, burning up 10 seconds. Lead is at 3. 1:12 - Rockets ISO for 24 seconds, fail to score. Lead still at 3. 0:48 - Pelicans now only have 48 seconds left. Total Rockets possession: 4. Rockets FG - 0/4 Total Pelicans possession: 3. Pelicans FG - 2/3 The Rockets did not score once, whereas the Pelicans scored in 2/3 of their possessions. As long as the Rockets do not allow b2b 3 pointers (worse case scenario), even if they do not score, the Rockets can still maintain a 3 point lead with just 48 seconds left in the game. Now imagine if the Rockets scored once in those 4 possessions, suddenly the Pelicans would be facing a 5-6 point deficit with 48 seconds left in the game. ISO isn't about scoring, it's about clock management and ensuring a good defensive set up. A 7 point lead would be more than enough to secure a win with 3 minutes left.
When you are bludgeoning teams to death with the same 3 plays, there is no need to change your bread and butter. Also, if you haven't noticed, too much passing leads to giving up open shots like tonight with Paul leaving money on the table. Ariza, Tucker, Ryno, Moute are all guilty of this on different nights. Besides Harden, Gordon and Green are the only ones without conscience when it come to jacking up shots given the slightest open look.
21-1 in the last 22 games. 25-2 in their last 27 and lost those games by 2-3 points. That is 1/3 of the NBA season and the Rockets have lost two games that they were in position to win. I will “manage” dealing with the Rockets and their ISO heavy offense.
No, there isn’t really arguable. Harden is clearly and by a large margin, the best ISO player in at least 20 years.
now that I read this thread and realized the Rockets offense is terrible.... .....looks like I picked the wrong day to stop doing crystal, and the wrong day to begin making meth in a trailer to supplement my income as a teacher/part time carwash employee and parent of two, not realizing I was laying the seeds of becoming a nightmarish murderous druglord and mastermind of an international conspiracy at great cost to my own family and to the extirpation of my soul.
do you guys not understand that the playoffs are different ? what happened to harden last year against the spurs ? being too ISO heavy plays right into their hands. we need to take advantage of the talent level we have. you dont do that when you dribble for 20 seconds then force up a shot.
i'm lowkey hoping that d'antoni is saving the motion sets for the playoffs...and they're secretly practicing them, but just not executing during the game..that would be some next level ****.. teams think and prep for our iso ball, but we've got some **** ready for april-june
