Bro I linked you the stats if all teams have the exact same pace how come Rox have 9 more posessions than Orlando Magic? If you compare Rox 2019 to 2018 they got 8 more possessions on average. Do you think those possessions increased just by chance or did increased pace have anything to do with it? Logically speaking teams wont do 7 secs or less just cuz the MDA teams are doing it, that means those teams end up having lower pace. Their pace might increase due to Rox having just 7 secs per posession, but it wont reach 7 secs per posession hence Rox will still have higher pace. Yeah ok thats not how that works. Except it does. Edit: I just looked at the Pace formula technically you are right, but that's because the Pace formula is wrong it adds the posessions of both teams then divides it by 2 obv it will be the same for both since thats how it is calculated (which is nonsensical imo). But as for the actual definition of Pace that they give which is the no of posessions in a game thats not how you should be calculating that lol. IRL it is impossible two teams in a game will actually have the same pace or no of possessions in a game because of what I had explained already. San Antonio Spurs didnt go 7 secs or less just because Nash Suns did, SAS plays a half court offense centered around Tim Duncan obv they would have lower pace than the Suns cuz they take more time to set up their offense hence they use more clock time hence they have less possessions per game than SSOL. Why do they both have the same "pace" according to NBA? Thats cuz the stat formula they use is wrong to begin with.
If you can’t see how much better Russ is then Paul as of right now then good for you. Russ is a better player right now
Obviously possessions don't increase by chance, playing with a fast pace will increase the overall number of possessions in your game. That's why Rockets games average 104 possessions and Magic games average 98 possessions. Playing fast will increase your average possessions per game, and playing slow will decrease it, hence the stats. But in any individual game, both teams get the same number of possessions. Playing fast does not give you any more possessions than the other team, it gives both teams more possessions, because possession always alternates in basketball. It's not wrong, that's just how basketball works. Possessions are alternating, it doesn't matter if I shoot the ball 5 seconds into the shot clock and you take all 24 seconds every time, we will always have the same number of possessions. It always goes back and forth. Every time one possession ends, the other team gets possession, those are just the rules. The only way to get more possessions is if you had the first and last possession of any given quarter. So at MOST, it is only possible to get two more possessions than your opponent. This is where you're getting confused. It does not matter how fast one team plays. Think about it, the possessions are alternating - Suns take 7 seconds, Spurs take 24, Suns take 7, Spurs take 24, Suns take 7, Spurs take 24...at what point do the suns get "extra" possessions for playing fast? It continues to alternate. The only way to get more possessions than your opponent is to somehow get two possessions in a row. How is playing fast ever going to give you multiple possessions in a row?
How come not much noise on clutch fans on how great Russ has been playing g last 3 games. Attacking, efficient, smart basketball.
Based on these past 3 games? Yes. Definitely. If he plays like this, then I’m all for it. Smart basketball is the way. The whole season though? Gotta disagree. He’ll need much more than a few games to establish that. He was actively harmful for a good while.
I'm starting to see flashes of what Westbrook can be with us. But I'm definitely not sure it was worth painting ourselves into a corner in terms of assets and cap space to get him.
Why would anyone complain and b**** when he has played relatively smart and shot efficiently? And come on man. It’s waaaaaay too early and the ratio of bad games to good games is still waaaay too skewed to bad for Westbrook fans to be making victory lap posts.... These 3 games have been great. My only concern is during this 3 game stretch he’s been hitting his mid range jumper at a very high rate. Banking on that to continue with any regularity is foolish. But other than that it’s overall been great over these last few.
Westbrook needs to play like a rich man's Draymond Green on offense for the Rockets. Take the occasional 3 and play make for others. Hell, he's got the rebound and go mentality already. We see flashes of this whenever Harden gets doubled at half court and throws to Westbrook who has a 4v3 opportunity in the middle of the court.
I feel like he's been more aggressive driving to the rim overall. I've noticed frequently on close outs he is running to the hoop before he's even caught the ball to get a head start. He's been doing decent from mid range, but nothing unsustainable imo. Last game he was 2-6 for example. I just get the impression he is doing whatever he can to get to the hoop lately and it's showing in his FG% and efficiency.
I thought about it some more and you are right, if teams just alternate then the most you can ever get is just 2 possessions I was indeed wrong about pace. However I think playing fast still results in more net possessions cuz the defense doesn't have time to adjust and there is more "chaos" on the court which allows athletic players like WB to make plays whether those plays are rebounding missed shots, steals or slashes into in the paint for the jam. With more possessions there is less need to "hog" the ball and more players are engaged on the court because more people can get more shots up which as we have seen results in better FG%. Coaches always love fast breaks and isn't that the epitome of playing fast? A lot of teams who have a slow pace are old and unathletic so playing fast tires those teams out Cp3 for example would probably get gassed really quickly if we played this year's pace last year. I think playing fast results in mistakes in both teams' executions, and those are mistakes a fast and athletic team like the Rockets can capitalize on cuz they are young and/or extremely athletic even Tucker is pretty quick on his feet. For the Rox it is even more important they play fast because WB is not a half court player, MDA is not a great tactical coach, the Rox aren't a disciplined team and Harden has the tendency to hero ball for a step back 3 every other possession. Psychologically they are better off playing fast than slow. Maybe you can't quantify those numbers via pace on paper, but I'm sure the offense now is a lot better than this time last year and that's with WB shooting worse than Cp3.
I mean there is no reason to compare him to the most electric PG in the history of the game, even if Chris were 4 years younger. Good thing the game is not just about pace, athleticism and dunks.
Imagine if we had kept Melo to play with Westbrook and Harden - Chris Paul's bad attitude, jealousy and constant severe injuries nearly forced Anthony out of the league. Many important insiders are saying CP had Melo black balled for a season as a warning.
Well yeah. Remember the old van gunny days where the Rox played a grind out boring and unbearable to watch style? Fast breaks were non existent and every play it seems was a slow half court set dump it down to Yao 2 man game with McGrady. So faster pace means more shots, getting defense to reel and forcing tempo but this means more TO. I disagree though. Rockets are disciplined for the most part and well coached as we’ve seen discipline on defensive assignments and offensive effort. Problem is they lose focus when they’re up big or when opponents are weaker. It’s a psychological issue.
LOL both Westbrook and Paul are in. I guess they want to appease everyone on CF. BTW, Simmons will be the only guy who won't shoot a 3 in the ASG.
