Caveats: 1. I hate over-reaction threads, but this one has been building up and I really want to get it off my chest. 2. I understand that we just lost to a really good team on their home floor and kept it close for most of the game. That, and offense wasn't the reason we lost. Still, where's the motion that we were promised with Adelman? So far, I'm seeing only two differences in the offense. For one, the Rockets are looking to take more risky breaks. They're taking 2-on-3 and 3-on-3 break opportunities, and converting them. Second, they try to invert the offense and have a stationary Yao shoot or pass the ball to a stationary Bonzi. Yao in the high post still attracts the double team, and unless he catches and shoots, bad things happen. All the motion, the off-ball screens, the cutters? Where are they? Do the Rockets not have the personnel to play with motion? Is Adelman's offense so hard to learn that they don't get it yet? They're doing well with isolation, pick-and-roll, and with Yao in the low post. Did Adelman give up on the motion already? I'm actually mostly happy with the offense that I'm seeing, but it's not what I felt like we were getting.
I think most teams are doing a good job defending against the back door passes. I think it was inevitable that we wouldn't have a pure, motion Princeton-style offense. I don't even think Adelman really ran that type of offense in Sacramento too much. But when you have a great post up option in Yao, and a superb iso and pick-and-roll player in T-Mac, a lot of your plays should feature that. T-Mac is getting some good looks (not so much against Dallas) by getting free off screens from our bigs. I thought Shane would be more active in getting scores off movement, but like last year he's mostly been a spot up 3-point shooter. He does seem to go after offensive rebounds more, though.
not sure where all the cutting is, but this offense spaces the floor much better. TMac has already driven to the lane and dunked/made a layup more times this season than the last two years combined.
I thought I read a few days ago that Adlemen is essentially still using most of the plays from JVG. The major thing he has changed so far is moving the 4 and 5 to the top of the elbow to start the plays. This opens up more driving lanes for Tmac. Other than than, he said he is still working on installing his system.
Can you try to find that? That would make a lot of sense and would be a wise approach. Start with a 52-win team (with more talent), and tweak until you find the best combination.
Below are quotes I picked out where they talk talk about moving the big men to different spots on the floor to give the cutters more room to operate. I'll try to find the quote I read that said he's essentially still using JVG's sets until he the players pick up on the new plays. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5270330.html "Driving lanes have been open, as opposed to filled with two big men on the low blocks and ducking in, along with their defenders, and along with McGrady and his defenders, all squeezing six bodies into a small space." "McGrady also will find times when he handles the ball on the elbow and turns toward the basket, opposing defenders will be left on a relative island against him or needing help from teammates who would have to choose between coming over or risking leaving cutters to the basket. The Rockets have not used that option much, but it is coming." "We have to keep working at it," Adelman said. "We have to find more spots where he can attack. We have to bring him from one side to the other, and not always the same spot all the time. We're just a work in progress. I'm trying to figure out what we can do and where we can do it. But we will clear out that elbow sometimes so he'll have more room to operate." But there is a sense he will find more room to move as the offense evolves. As the Rockets use the weak side of the offense more, opposing defenses will be further removed from position to help. As the Rockets become more effective with two posts at the elbows, they will use that more often and McGrady will find more possessions with a lane nearly as open as a run- way. "The court has more spacing for me out there," McGrady said. "I seem to be getting more easy buckets, playing off the ball. There's just a lot more movement. I can adapt to any system, but this is fun. I think we have the right talent for the system, and I'm having fun playing it."
It takes a while for a team to learn a new offense. Especially when there are so many new players. Everyone needs to chill the **** out and give the team some time.
I think krosfyah should start a thread with those quotes in it because that would clear up a lot on this board (maybe not, though). Why are people expecting the princeton offense? We can't have that with our personnel, as a matter of fact, we don't need it. It's good that he's just building on what we had last season.
Man.... The team is 3-1 NOT 1-3 won 2 on the road... Playing good... looking good and yet people still find crap to B _ _ CH about... T_Man
You can sense (and see for that matter) that our guys are lost sometimes as to who should go around the screen/ or cut. Yao also seems lost away from the post sometimes although he did get some open shots as a result of that
Rockets is becoming a perimeter players team. All inside players (including Yao) are blue collar now.
I couldnt agree more, for me is obvious that this team would do wonders against a coach like Larry Brown or Greg Popovixh, Adelman is failing on make all the players involved offensively, besides some plays for T-Mac, what we´ve got??
I can't find the exact quote but I remember reading where Adlemen said he's still using JVG's plays. But I did find this quote after the Memphis game where he alludes it: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5263382.html So in short, Rick is still trying to install the new offense and we shouldn't panic or start any FIRE ADELMAN threads ...yet. Besides the two untimely consecutive turnovers by James with 5 minutes left in the game, we hung right with the Mavs. I'm not worried yet. Obviously they still look awkward as they learn new plays.
First people complain that Yao isn't in the low post enough. Now people complain that theres not enough motion. NEWS FLASH: It's hard to have motion when you have a big man thats a post player. The reason the 02 Kings had such great motion was because Webber and Divac played the high post and were amazing passers. Yao will only be in the high post 30% of the time and he's only an average passer. We aren't going to have much motion when we go to Yao in the low post.
Team learned the basics of the motion offense, but aren't fully comfortable with it yet. Until they are, we'll stick with what we are comfortable with and just keeping adding more and more of the new system in. It'll take time. Evan
