Rigth after he mentioned Landry as a possible ROY winner Hollinger talks about the Houston defense that is so good. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...umnist=hollinger_john&page=Storylines-080228b Houston's surprising D Remember when Rick Adelman took over for Jeff Van Gundy and we presumed it would make the Rockets a better offensive team and a worse defensive team? Turns out the Rockets haven't changed their stripes much, ranking second in the league in defensive efficiency. Houston is second in field goal percentage defense at 43.4 percent, second in 3-point attempts allowed at 14.6 per game, and fifth in defensive rebound rate at 75.2 percent. And I'll be watching them closely to see if they can improve those numbers. For all the negatives associated with losing Yao Ming and the undeniable impact it will have at the offensive end, Tuesday's win over Washington showed one other effect: It brings back Mt. Mutombo. ust as he did a year ago when Yao went out, Dikembe Mutombo appears to be saving his best for when he's needed most. Last season the Rockets went 20-12 with Yao sidelined because Mutombo found the fountain of youth. This season he had been all but useless until the finger-wagging special against Washington, in which he blocked four shots in 23 minutes ... which was more than he'd played in the previous two months combined. In a related story, Washington scored only 23 points in the first half as the Rockets rolled to their 13th straight win. Obviously, losing Yao leaves a major hole at the offensive end. But if Mutombo's presence takes the defense to an even higher level, and the spark from the aforementioned Landry can make up some of the offense, the damage to the Rockets might be far less than initially feared. It's stunning to see the Rockets defending so well while incorporating three rookies (Landry, Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola) to the rotation and making heavy use of players like Tracy McGrady and Luther Head who aren't exactly renowned for their defensive chops. Also, they've picked it up in the past two months now that everyone is on the same page and a regular rotation has been established. Give Adelman a ton of credit for realizing that he couldn't win in Houston the way he won in Sacramento, and give players like Rafer Alston and Shane Battier credit for holding the fort together while the kids figured things out. The Rockets may not be pretty to watch, but their suffocating defense might just lead them to a successful season in spite of Yao's absence. Makes sense to me. The key to our season is essentially in Landry and Scola's hands.
If the don't get out of the first round than there will be no successful season Yao or No Yao. If they can make it out of the first round then they will have set themselves up for their championship run for 08-09!
misleading thread title, though i agree Mt. Mutombo will at least match yao's impact on the defensive end.
Keeping Mutombo from wearing out is going to be important to this team's success in the regular and (hopefully) post season. It'd be good to pick up another backup big with some size.
How is it misleading. Reading the whole thing is obvious Hollinger thinks Mutumbo is a better defender than Yao.
I'll take that as a compliment knowing that Yao is out of the line up and all we rely on is what the team's got! Go Rockets!
In some ways it's good that Mutombo hasn't played at all this season. Only hope he doesn't fall and break a hip...
Its not exactly breaking news to say deke is a better rebounder and shot blocker than yao. That's a given. Watch next time when the rox play al jefferson and carlos boozer. U will see more contested shot from deke and u will see deke contest shots at the rim. He doesn't try to take charges, he will time and jump for the blk. Everyone know deke is a great defender.
I looked before I posted didn't see it anywhere. What probably happened is in the Landry ROY thread which is related it was posted after I posted this. I didn't post this there because it is an entirely new subject.
I've been saying this since the end of last year's season. Our defense and our defensive rebounding is stronger with Yao Ming off the court.
Dikembe Mutombo's defense is legendary. The best big men on defense I know include Hakeem, Deke, and Rodman. Ben Wallace is a big joke compared to them. At his prime, Mutombo was a way better defender and rebounder than Yao. IMO, right now, he is still a more efficient defender in limited minutes.
so its possible that we are a better team without yao ming on the court? against certain teams, quite possible.
I agree, and one of those "certain" teams is Utah. I believe we win that 7th game if Deke is in at the end instead of Yao.
I really don't see why so many people hold Hollinger in such high regard. His invented stat merely skews data towards players who play less minutes. I mean, coaches generally give better players more minutes...and efficiency naturally drops with more minutes. I mean, if I took Kevin Garnett or Allen Iverson and strapped them to the bench, making them growl, hiss and drool at the opportunity to play, then released those hounds at a mere 20mpg against the 2nd string of the other team, their PERs would be off the charts..like in the 40s...I guarantee it. His team ranking stats are silly, too. You want a good simple measurement of how to rank teams. Just use the "Pat Riley" stat. Rank everyone by their record of Away Wins to Home Losses. I'm willing to bet that's a better stat. Also, rank teams by pt differential. That is eerily accurate to actually standings throughout the year. And so simply. But one thing is for sure, Hollinger is not worth listening to regarding defenses. You can't measure defenses as well as offenses by using stats. I like stats as much as the next person, but they are a tool, not an answer or proof. The best stats only teams can generate. The success of their plays. Not even 82games can do that, because only the teams know what they're trying to do each possession.
I think they play the mighty Wizards last without Agent 0 and Butler. They should have beat them down like that. I will reserve judgement on the D till the Denver game.
Well said. As I mentioned in another thread, Deke is a better defender, but will he play 35 minutes of defense? I doubt it. Meaning Scola/Landry/Hayes will have to cover up that gap left by Yao's minutes - Deke's minutes = 15 minutes? Almost a third of the game? Now imagine when we face up against teams w/ serious front lines...the Wizards are not the most threatening at those positions.