Team Strategy: New England Patriots?

[rocketman24]

Longtime reader. Decided to start posting threads every once in a while on player analysis and how players fit into the context of the team, because that's what I'm most interested in. For all we know, these players may be shipped out of here tomorrow, so I might as well invision what they're gonna look like together while they're still here. Apologies for length, and thanks for reading.

Talking about an individual's "celiing" or "NBA comparison" is always fun, but I think we too often forget that talent isn't everything. Finding the right role and having the right things asked of you can make all the difference in a player's career. A lot of players with less "talent" have made great NBA careers (Chuck Hayes and Ben Wallace come to mind), simply because they're strengths matched a team's need.

As I talked about in a previous post, I could not be happier with great our rookies are individually, but more importnatly, how well they fit together. The minute they were drafted, we immediately added a few more packages to our arsenal.

During Summer League, I couldn't help but think of what the New England Patriots did this past year, in terms of style not wins (obviously, we don't have a Tom Brady on this team). In football (as in soccer and basketball), one of a coach's main priorities is to use as much of the field as possible and to spread the defense out as far as possible. The defense only has 11 guys on the field, and they can't really switch out once the play clock gets to 20 or so seconds (obvious, but a very important factor). Teams used to spread out defenses based on their play-calling. . They added speed elements to power plays, and power elements to speed plays. For example, the best way to pass deep, is to fake a run up the middle. Pretty simple.

The Patriots took it a step further last year. Instead of using play-calling to create mismatches, they used personnel. Instead of adding speed elements to power plays and power elements to speed plays, they found powerful players with a lot of speed and quick players with a lot of power. Aaron Hernandez, for example, played receiver, tight end, and running back in one series. Simply put, when the Patriots got into their huddle on offense with multiple tight ends, it was unclear whether they were coming out in a 5-wide spread formation or a Power-I formation. They had the personnel to do both. The defense didn't know if they should put more cornerbacks on the field or linebackers. If the defense went big, the Patriots could counter it by spreading the field. If the defense went small, the Patriots could counter it by playing power football using he same exact lineup as before. Very few teams had the athletes to matchup with them.

Undersized PFs are the Tight Ends of the NBA.

What I saw in Summer league the past week is a lineup with D-Mo (7'0"), Royce White (6'8" but strong as an ox), Terrence Jones (6'9"), and Jeremy Lamb (6'6" with long arms). Insert Jeremy Lin (6'3") at PG, and all of the sudden that lineup is HUGE. Put in Chandler Parsons (6'10"), Marcus Morris (6'8"), or Gary Forbes (6'6") in the wing, and the fact remains that that is one big powerful lineup, especially on the wing.

But, unlike most teams, when we go big, we won't be looking to slow it down, and pound it inside. In fact, we'll be doing just the opposite. This lineup CAN RUN. Every rookies biggest strength is there ability to play in transition. They also targeted Tyler Zeller, a player who's biggest strength is running the floor.

It'll be interesting how opposing teams match up with us.
If they go small? Look for tons of mismatches on the boards (especially TJones at the SF position) and tons of offensive rebounds.

If they go big? D-Mo, White, and Jones wil be flying up and down the court, especially when White pushes the ball in transition. Not to mention, that most bigs won't be used to playing against their ball-handling and quickness.

Won't we get beat defensively? Probably, especially until D-Mo learns how to protect the rim better because we wont' be able to stop penetration. But with so much size and athletism on the court, we should be able to switch a lot of screens and force teams to beat us one-on-one. Some teams excel in that. A lot don't.

We're going to be a mixture of power and speed, not because of play-calling, but because of personnel.

Overall, we are going to be lacking in both talent and experience this year, and we're definitely going to lose a lot of games. Defense and 3-point shooting are going to be too much of an issue. But once our rookies come off the bench, I could really see our uniqueness causing a lot of teams problems. Maybe not now, but definitely in a few years. A few teams are equipped to handle our uniqueness, but the majority just don't have the correct personnel.

On any other team, our rookies obvious weaknesses (and they each have quite a few) would really limit their playing time. But the Rockets have put an emphasis on versatility, transition, and size on the wings, and our rookies strengths seem to fit that need.

Most importantly, if you watched the NBA finals, you saw that the two best teams are falling the same blueprint. Just with a few more superstars.

Thanks for reading, and go rockets!

[IzakDavid13]

Cool story bro

[RocketsMAN!]

Great read! 3/4s are the NBA's linebackers, great insight.

[Naija Texan]

While I don't think McHale is bad like some people, I don't think he is capable of coaching on the level that would be comparable to what they have in New England.

All I expect is for our rookies to do what Rockets young players rarely got the chance to do over the last decade, develop skills for eventual winning so that when a legit star or superstar can be added they will be good enough to get us into position for a deep playoff if not title run.

[dachuda86]

Originally Posted by rocketman24 Longtime reader. Decided to start posting threads every once in a while on player analysis and how players fit into the context of the team, because that's what I'm most interested in. For all we know, these players may be shipped out of here tomorrow, so I might as well invision what they're gonna look like together while they're still here. Apologies for length, and thanks for reading. Talking about an individual's "celiing" or "NBA comparison" is always fun, but I think we too often forget that talent isn't everything. Finding the right role and having the right things asked of you can make all the difference in a player's career. A lot of players with less "talent" have made great NBA careers (Chuck Hayes and Ben Wallace come to mind), simply because they're strengths matched a team's need. As I talked about in a previous post, I could not be happier with great our rookies are individually, but more importnatly, how well they fit together. The minute they were drafted, we immediately added a few more packages to our arsenal. During Summer League, I couldn't help but think of what the New England Patriots did this past year, in terms of style not wins (obviously, we don't have a Tom Brady on this team). In football (as in soccer and basketball), one of a coach's main priorities is to use as much of the field as possible and to spread the defense out as far as possible. The defense only has 11 guys on the field, and they can't really switch out once the play clock gets to 20 or so seconds (obvious, but a very important factor). Teams used to spread out defenses based on their play-calling. . They added speed elements to power plays, and power elements to speed plays. For example, the best way to pass deep, is to fake a run up the middle. Pretty simple. The Patriots took it a step further last year. Instead of using play-calling to create mismatches, they used personnel. Instead of adding speed elements to power plays and power elements to speed plays, they found powerful players with a lot of speed and quick players with a lot of power. Aaron Hernandez, for example, played receiver, tight end, and running back in one series. Simply put, when the Patriots got into their huddle on offense with multiple tight ends, it was unclear whether they were coming out in a 5-wide spread formation or a Power-I formation. They had the personnel to do both. The defense didn't know if they should put more cornerbacks on the field or linebackers. If the defense went big, the Patriots could counter it by spreading the field. If the defense went small, the Patriots could counter it by playing power football using he same exact lineup as before. Very few teams had the athletes to matchup with them. Undersized PFs are the Tight Ends of the NBA. What I saw in Summer league the past week is a lineup with D-Mo (7'0"), Royce White (6'8" but strong as an ox), Terrence Jones (6'9"), and Jeremy Lamb (6'6" with long arms). Insert Jeremy Lin (6'3") at PG, and all of the sudden that lineup is HUGE. Put in Chandler Parsons (6'10"), Marcus Morris (6'8"), or Gary Forbes (6'6") in the wing, and the fact remains that that is one big powerful lineup, especially on the wing. But, unlike most teams, when we go big, we won't be looking to slow it down, and pound it inside. In fact, we'll be doing just the opposite. This lineup CAN RUN. Every rookies biggest strength is there ability to play in transition. They also targeted Tyler Zeller, a player who's biggest strength is running the floor. It'll be interesting how opposing teams match up with us. If they go small? Look for tons of mismatches on the boards (especially TJones at the SF position) and tons of offensive rebounds. If they go big? D-Mo, White, and Jones wil be flying up and down the court, especially when White pushes the ball in transition. Not to mention, that most bigs won't be used to playing against their ball-handling and quickness. Won't we get beat defensively? Probably, especially until D-Mo learns how to protect the rim better because we wont' be able to stop penetration. But with so much size and athletism on the court, we should be able to switch a lot of screens and force teams to beat us one-on-one. Some teams excel in that. A lot don't. We're going to be a mixture of power and speed, not because of play-calling, but because of personnel. Overall, we are going to be lacking in both talent and experience this year, and we're definitely going to lose a lot of games. Defense and 3-point shooting are going to be too much of an issue. But once our rookies come off the bench, I could really see our uniqueness causing a lot of teams problems. Maybe not now, but definitely in a few years. A few teams are equipped to handle our uniqueness, but the majority just don't have the correct personnel. On any other team, our rookies obvious weaknesses (and they each have quite a few) would really limit their playing time. But the Rockets have put an emphasis on versatility, transition, and size on the wings, and our rookies strengths seem to fit that need. Most importantly, if you watched the NBA finals, you saw that the two best teams are falling the same blueprint. Just with a few more superstars. Thanks for reading, and go rockets!

Interesting idea... thanks for sharing.


Next time remember brevity is your friend.

[txppratt]

nice post. watching the rockets summer league games only further proves your point: 'Undersized PFs are the Tight Ends of the NBA'

[The Real Shady]

Originally Posted by rocketman24 During Summer League, I couldn't help but think of what the New England Patriots did this past year, in terms of style not wins (obviously, we don't have a Tom Brady on this team).

You can surround a elite star QB with a decent group of players and compete for the Super Bowl every year. Once Brady is gone New England & Bill Belichick will not seem as smart as they used to be.

Rockets are in the same position in need of a star player.

[Aydge]

rocketman24, you get it.

Most drones don't see the value of versatility. They see 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s and 5s. and say "Damn that's a lot of small 4s!" Disregarding their unique physical tools and skill sets that make them mismatches.

Basketball is all about mismatches and maximizing your advantage on one end while minimizing your disadvantage on the other end.

[BEARCLAW]

Originally Posted by The Real Shady You can surround a elite star QB with a decent group of players and compete for the Super Bowl every year. Once Brady is gone New England & Bill Belichick will not seem as smart as they used to be. Rockets are in the same position in need of a star player.

Belicheat stopped being such a "genius" once he was forced to quit doing his "Allen Funt" impersonation...

[Jontro]

To be honest, I don't understand football much. What do Linebackers and Tight Ends do?

[Leonardo Passos]

We gonna spy the rivals too?

[xiki]

Originally Posted by The Real Shady You can surround a elite star QB with a decent group of players and compete for the Super Bowl every year. Once Brady is gone New England & Bill Belichick will not seem as smart as they used to be. Rockets are in the same position in need of a star player.

Bum once said sumptin like (referring to Bear Bryant), 'he can take his and beat yours or he can yours and beat his'. Well, KMc ain't Bear and he ain't Bum but yes, this is the NBA and thus a star needs to be born. Bynum will be he. (At what cost? Their er they're er there's the question.)

[HR Dept]

My $.02

I don't expect much from Marcus Morris, whether he's a PF or SF. I hope I'm wrong though. I'm confident that PP will be solid. And I think that White and Jones are the real deal. I like that Donatas Motiejunas and Asik are young and 7ft tall.

All in all, you can't complain about Morey's offseason to this point.

[Joe Joe]

I like the idea of the post. I think the Rockets are still going to look a lot different come opening day. With Motiejunas at the 4, I can see the Rockets being a mismatch for a lot of teams. I can't see Jones, White, and Patterson all on team come opening day. Parsons could become more a mismatch at the three as well if his offense improves. Lin should be a good pick and roll PG that can take advantage of having the power guys being able to play in or out.

[<3myrockets]

interesting insight. i'd love to see the opponents keep guessing where these guys will go on the floor.

[Alvin Choo]

One thing that I do like about Morey is that he got pass his fetish for undersize players. I still remember at 1 point, the 2 tallest players in Rox is Yao and Tmac....

In basketball, size does matters.

[snc]

Originally Posted by dachuda86 Interesting idea... thanks for sharing. Next time remember brevity is your friend.

Next time remember not to quote the whole post.

[jevon3012]

Originally Posted by IzakDavid13 Cool story bro

Why post if you're just going to be a douche. I thought it was an interesting idea.

[Joe Joe]

Originally Posted by Alvin Choo One thing that I do like about Morey is that he got pass his fetish for undersize players. I still remember at 1 point, the 2 tallest players in Rox is Yao and Tmac.... In basketball, size does matters.

Size matters, but would rather have a good small player than a bad big player. With DMo, Parsons, Jones, and Asik, Morey is trying to add size. DMo, Parsons, and Jones are the type of players that are big for their position. Morris if he learns to play SF would have good size there.