[rockets.com] Rockets expected to pick up offensive pace under Adelman

hurray for Ricky Adelman! we get to see Yao take some JUMPERS!

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Rockets_expected_to_pick_up_of-227531-34.html

Tuesday June 5, 2007 4:13 PM

Change of Pace

Rockets expected to pick up offensive pace under Adelman

Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- During his days roaming the sideline in Portland and Sacramento, Rick Adelman gained a reputation for developing teams with an up-tempo style.

Can he do the same in Houston? The coach and the Rockets are about to find out.

After four seasons of relying mostly on a methodical, half-court game, the franchise has turned to Adelman in hopes that the 16-year coaching veteran can pick up the pace on the offensive end.

Under former coach Jeff Van Gundy, the Rockets finished the 2006-07 season with the fourth best record in the Western Conference and once again had one of the league's leading defensive clubs. But, as good as the Rockets were on the defensive end, the team struggled on offense. Houston finished 17th in the league in scoring at 97 points per game and finished 27th in field goal percentage at a 44.5 percent clip. More troubling, the team struggled to find consistent offense in the postseason, shooting a meager 41 percent in a first round exit to the Utah Jazz.

Enter Adelman. During the coach's previous coaching stint in Sacramento, the Kings led the NBA in scoring three times in eight seasons. Adelman mostly relied on a Princeton-style offense during his final seasons in Northern California, but his primary aspiration is to get his teams to push the ball up the floor before the opponent sets its defense.

The Rockets are hoping that the coach can bring those offensive credentials to a defensive-minded club and give the franchise a more balanced approach for postseason success.

"We were looking for a coach that can take us to the next level," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said during the coach's introductory press conference. "We were looking for a balanced approach and Coach Adelman provides that."

That's not to say it won't be without it's challenges.

Adelman is inheriting a team that was constructed for a half-court game. Since coming into the league, the 7-foot-6 Yao Ming has played a slower tempo and the team surrounding him is loaded with sharpshooters who can play off the center after a defense is drawn to the paint. The franchise also heads into the offseason seeking more speed.

Nonetheless, the new coach is confident that he can help the team push the tempo more next season. After all, he isn't necessarily interested in transforming the Rockets into the Phoenix Suns. His emphasis is simply getting his team to get into its offense quicker.

"Up-tempo can be somewhat exaggerated," Adelman said. "I call it more of a flow of the game. You get more of a chance to react to what the defense is doing."

Can he accomplish that with Yao on the floor? The coach thinks so.

"We had Vlade Divac in Sacramento and he's not a speedster," Adelman said. "Watching Yao, it's not how fast you are, it's their intent to get up and down the court. There's no reason that you can't. We're just trying to get into something quicker. We don't want to walk it down and call a play. We want to get into something quick and make the defense react. I don't see why we can't do that."

Adelman, in fact, believes the pace can make life easier on Yao and his All-Star partner, Tracy McGrady.

Unsurprisingly, the two stars carried the bulk of Houston's offense under Van Gundy. Besides scoring, the team's leading men were largely responsible for creating offense for everyone else by drawing defenses into the paint. McGrady even played the role of point guard in the waning moments of tight games.

Adelman wants to tweak that.

"He said (in the interview process) that 'I think I can make life easier for your two big stars, especially Yao. I can put them in position to have an easier time,'" Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said of his conversation with the new coach.

Where does Adelman begin? For starters, the coach doesn't want teams to be able to key on McGrady as easily as they did last season. That could mean taking the ball out of his hands and finding ways to get him the ball in different positions.

"I want to try to do some things that make it easier," Adelman said. "I don't want defenses just locked onto him all the time. You can elevate his game, you can find ways to get him the ball in spots that maybe he hasn't had before."

And Yao? The coach is looking to put him in new spots as well. While he still wants his center to back down overmatched opponents, Adelman suggested that he could find Yao different areas to score from -- such as the free throw line.

"If he can shoot 87 percent from the free-throw line, I have a feeling he can make a free-throw-line jumper," Adelman said. "You're not going to just see him at the low post."

The main thing, though, is that Adelman doesn't want his two stars to shoulder all of the offense on their own. Again.

With a quicker pace, the coaching veteran believes he can create more opportunities for others to get involved in his offense and can help the Rockets score more easily.

He's a few months away from showcasing his plan.

"We will be able to be up-tempo," Adelman said.