I posted this in the game thread but I think it should have its own thread: We're playing that fake Chandler Parsons defense again now, as a team: Every perimeter player is immediately letting their man penetrate on basically their first attempt. They overly rely on Dwight/Capela behind them to deter further penetration. The problem: a) the perimeter defender is caught too far behind their penetrating man b) can't catch up in time and forces the Center to step up further than they should and undeniably sets up an unnecessary double team c) It causes our defensive center's man to get open and sets in motion a full rotation of defenders to try and cover this d) but the Rockets players are bad at rotating e) thus, open shots are available or open rebounds are available from bad positioning to box out. The fix Do not let your man penetrate at all. Don't rely on your defensive Center to step up and cover you. They will step up to cover you, but you shouldn't expect it. Defend your own man on the perimeter properly. Our Rockets perimeter players are betting on their position defense by looking to get steals from passes. It looks nice on the boxscore, but is the absolute wrong way to play defense when done by players that cannot execute it. Only Ariza should be allowed to play passing lanes because he's smart, long and athletic enough to get back in position behind his man for solid containment. Patrick can't do it. Brewer can't do it. Thornton, Ty and Harden definitely can't do it. Summary: 1) Don't play fake passing lane defense 2) Take responsibility for your man! Actually play one on one defense on your perimeter offensive player 3) Don't rely on the defensive center and funnel to him as a primary option 4) Funnel only after you've been beaten. I think it's that simple. This should be the expectation from every perimeter player on the defensive end. Showing this effort on defense to work with your big man rather than delegate to the big man is huge for team chemistry and will automatically show on offense as well. D-Mo was a huge luxury last year when he took that huge step to understanding what his most effective defensive positions were. He was mobile enough to compensate for early funneling imo.
If you have Harden & Lawson on at the same time, expect plenty of players blowing past the Rockets defense. Ariza cannot guard three people on the perimeter.
If you have Harden & Lawson on at the same time, expect plenty of players blowing past the Rockets defense. Ariza cannot guard three people on the perimeter. Lawson needs to get majority of his minutes when Harden is not on the floor. 1) To take the burden of off Harden when it comes to creating/running team offense and let him rest. 2) To avoid having two bad defenders one the court at the same time.
We weren't good last year. We were lucky. And some of the players took last year the wrong way, it made them think they're better than they are and that they don't need to try their best every night. They think they can win some games just with their talent.
That's currently true, but doesn't have to be. Get someone a pair of cojones to enforce defensive effort, and we're golden. It really is. That's the only difference I can see between our team and good teams. They play perimeter defense and we don't. We need to desperately enforce perimeter defense and just watch everything else sort itself out magically. All our guys are athletic enough to do it, including Ty and Harden. I think that's what McHale tries to articulate when he says 'play/work harder'. That's a core part of what people mean when they say 'defense fuels offense'. Putting in the defensive effort engages you in the game at all times. No-one rests on any play. Build those guts that came in so useful last postseason, and will again this postseason.
great thread! everybody needs to buy in for team defense to work, and right now it looks like exactly 2 out of 5 are actually trying.
The truth is Lawson and Harden even at their best are neutral defensive players. Going into the season I was hoping having Lawson would allow Harden to focus more on defense and maybe become a plus defensive player, but it seems not only is Lawson not doing that well, Harden isn't putting more effort into defense either. Which means we're left with 3 players right now who are minuses on defense Harden/Lawson/Thornton. You compare us to the Warriors (I like to compare us to them because well they are the clear team to beat.) and their starting lineup doesn't have one defensive minus in it. Everyone is good. This allows them to win games when maybe their studs don't do too well. I'm not sure what the solution is other than more effort/teaching or different players.
They look like that only because they are allowed to look like that. When they get strict, you'll see improved defense and subsequently a more flowing offense as well. Curry is not naturally a good defender. He is playing good defense because he is accountable for it. Similar idea should apply to the Rockets, but doesn't right now. They need all that defense talk to fire them up like it did last year. With the same roster, how can they just leave it by the wayside from year to year? Need accountability and a focus on proper defense again.
I agree, Curry or Thompson really aren't good defenders. The two elite guys in their lineup are Green and Bogut. Their other guys just really give max effort on almost every play. You always see them running around, fighting through screens, moving. It's an effort thing. Defense is like 75% effort anyway. Which is the most worrying thing about all of this. Why aren't our guys trying hard? It's not like we're the Heat from a few years ago who coast through the regular season and turn on Super Lebron+Wade after the All-Star break. Maybe they think they're that team.
I'm starting to believe they think they are that team. In their current state, the Rockets more closely resemble the Mavs/Blazers than a top WC team, which is pretty sobering.
I try really hard to avoid asking myself that question. If I'm honest with myself, getting to the WCF allowed me to forget the discomfort I had w/this team throughout most of regular season last year. I remember posting a LOT here about the fact that it was great to keep winning games -- but how uncomfortable it made me that we were winning them largely because Harden basically had the sliders all the way up every night. I don't know.
Yup. And last year we had Harden going berserk nightly, but shoot...we had a lot of other guys step up as well, whether it be Ariza, Brewer, Jones, etc. This year the whole damn team can't get it together. We have seven, SEVEN, SEVEN, rotation players shooting below 40%. I'm struggling to figure out whether this is all fluky that we can't get shots to drop or whether the approach and schemes are truly at fault. I don't know either. I'm giving it until around Christmas to make any firm stances, but the trends are troubling... And the defense...oh man, the defense...I guess that mentality from last year is long gone...
Opie, the core of our defensive issues starts at the point. Bev isn't starting anymore. We simply can't expect Lawson to turn the ball handler to the sidelines because Lawson just isn't very good defensively. However the real problem is our second unit with Beverley is severely underperforming defensively. And nowhere was that easier to see than tonight against the Nets. Bev, very simply, has lost a step. I don't know if it's his dings on his legs or whether he's just quit digging as hard defensively because he's got some jingle in his pockets. But I do know....he's simply not the same defender he was in the 13-14 season and early in the 14-15 season before he got hurt. He's not the same. He's a step slow. He's not nearly as effective defensively as he was a year ago and before that. Second to that....Josh Smith is gone so our second unit is lacking that big time defensive anchor. Capela has loads of talent and has improved and is improving. But he simply lacks the defensive punch that JSmoove brought to our bench unit. On top of these 2, Brewer looks like he's playing in the Pee Wee league out there, just running around like a headless chicken. And Terrence............has continued to digress from the 2014 playoffs up until now. Our defense at this point in time, does not have the personnel to be a top-notch defense. In my opinion, this team is going to face decision time at some point. They're either going to have to accept the fact that their defense is going to lack and they're going to have to commit all the way to 48 minutes of small ball and outrunning and out gunning our opponents OR they're going to have to make at least one (and probably more than one) significant player acquisition that makes this team a good defensive team. If we don't, we're in danger of being bottom 4 in the West, not having home court in the first round, and getting dumped out of the playoffs early, if we don't miss the playoffs entirely with any significant injury to Harden.
I don't think it's about individual players lacking. I think as a unit these guys just aren't working well together. It's like they don't practice. They haven't looked crisp this year. They look tentative far too often.
Our perimeters are Lawson, Harden and Thornton. Together. We don't know how to play without a stretch 4. So if we don't have a stretch 4, we play 2 stretch 3s.
