Obviously the lack of Yao is big, and the recent games missed by Lowry, and then Ariza and, tonight, Battier are also contributing factors. But I can't help but wonder what level of D someone like Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau would have this same team playing. Say what you want, but even 05/06 team played top 10 D in terms of points per possession. (To be fair, the team did have Yao for half of that season, and then Dikembe started for the other half-- but somehow I just can't imagine a Van Gundy team being this bad on that end consistently.)
I'll chalk this one up to Utah hitting an ungodly amount of 3s, and the lack of Ariza/Battier, even though the defense has been noticeably worse this season. Especially since teams figured out you can just drive at will and as long as you avoid the charge you'll be fine.
If we get Yao back, and add a 4/5 stud (whether Bosh, Amare etc by trade, or a high draft pick) That will help us a lot. It will allow the defenders to channel guys into the lane. Chuck will be a defensive specialist and backup which he should be. I thought our D was alright last year. But I imagine the Rox know they are handicapped.
It's hard to play defense when you don't have the personnel. As hard as it was for JVG to fabricate motion offense with Bowen/Alston. When the Lakers traded away Shaq they were miserable defensively. It takes time. Even if we're not able to regain that top-notch defense when Yao comes back we still have a chance with a newly-assembled team that plays efficient O which I think is the way this team is headed in Rick and Daryl's eyes. Lakers did it with above-average defense and so can we. With players in and out you need more time to get that chemistry going.
no watching your hometown team win is fun to watch over the same team 5 years later play novelty offense
obviously under RA, we knew that our defense would not be as good, but our offense would improve. voila!
maybe Most recently the Jazz are a Top 3 team, or they are playing like one. We are just not up to their level yet.
Yet our team got farther with Adelman than they did with JVG. I love how people on this board act as if we were a championship team with JVG but ignore the facts. Our offense was not bad, it was horrific. The main reason our defense is bad is the lack of Yao. I doubt JVG could build a strong defense with 6'6" Chuck Hayes at CENTER. If JVG was coaching this team, the defense would be a little bit better and the offense would be ALOT worse. It would be handing TWac the ball and watching him try to score or pass with 1 second on the shotclock.
No kidding. Adelman coached the Rockets during their 22 game winning streak in his first year, despite injuries to key players. He coached the Rockets to a first round series victory over a good Portland team, despite an injured McGrady. He coached them in the conference semi-finals against the eventual world champions, the Lakers, and took them to 7 games, the only team to do that during the playoffs. In all his 19 years as a head coach, he's only missed the playoffs twice, his 2 seasons with Golden State. Adelman's Portland teams were known for their defense. He coached the Kings to the playoffs every season of his 8 year tenure. The Kings under Adelman had 5 straight 50+ win seasons. The Kings had the most success under Adelman in their entire history, going back to when they were the Rochester Royals. They haven't been to the playoffs since he was let go. You don't have that kind of success unless you value defense and get results.
