i really believe this years roster is > than the previous two years. so heres to a successful 06-07 campaign.
I agree that the re-post is important, but I don't think it's that important. That is just one phase of Rockets basketball. I think the most important thing is Chemistry. Chemistry, to me, means that the whole team knows the strengths of one another and they all ride the hot hand. There will be high percentage plays early in the shot clock and the best opportunity late. The team knowing what it's go-to options are will win games. Knowing the in-and-outs of the if-then system is also important. When you run a play over and over, teams will learn how to stop it. You can't just keep re-posting Yao all game. That doesn't work. Sixty percent of the time it may work everytime, but knowing what to do when the defense adjusts is what makes this team solid or not. A re-post is not an answer, it's one of them. I don't know how the Rockets plays work, but I'll try to give you an example of one thought process. 1) Team pushes the ball and looks for any easy transition basket. (Basically look for easy points when the defense gets you the ball) If easy points aren't available, then 2) Look to post up Yao If Yao can't get an open look at the basket, then 3) Look for someone who can get to the basket If the cutters are covered, then 4) Look for someone who has an open jump shot If no one has an open shot, then 5) Get the ball to someone who has a better passing angle If no everyone is covered, then 5.5) If you can get the ball to a passer, he swings the ball to the open man or re-posts Yao 6) if Yao is not being double teamed, then take a shot If Yao still cannot take a shot, then 7) Give the ball to Tracy (because he can beat anyone in the league one-on-one) If you can't find Tracy, then 8) etc... (This isn't a great example, but it's an example of how the team thinks as a unit) If the team knows every option on offense to perfection, it can quickly go through this process. The quicker the team can think thru the offensive options, the defense has a harder time adjusting. Defense being all about adjustments, quickness of your offense both physically and mentally wins. Chemistry is important, and Tracy needs to play smarter. His percentages last year were unacceptable. He's one of the best players in the league, maybe the best at certain times. If Tracy gets back to shooting 45%FG, 38%3pt and 79% FT, we'll be a terrific team. How does his percentage go up? He takes easy shots and he doesn't try to do the impossible unless the shot clock is going down. How does he get easier shots? He plays defense. Good defense leads to easy offense. If Tracy gets a breakaway off of a turn over, his percentage is probably more like 98%. Tracy keeps talking about being the best, etc. That's fine, he's cabable of being the best, but he's got to work for it. He's got to play defense every night. His offense is good, but it could become great again if he played defense.
The re-post perspective deals more with Yao-TMac-Tmac's Back than it does with BoWells. I have such a hard time seeing Bonzi refeeding Yao that it's apparent to me he will be coming off the bench, unless Yao is injured. Novak, Padgett, and Batty are perfect for Bonz, and it will give the opponent a completely different look when the subs come in. Padgett, particularly, doesn't get a sniff of training camp unless Wells was locked in. (Why do I envision Samwise Gamgee fighting with Gollum on the sidelines?)
Let me explain myself a bit more. I'm not saying the re-post is the end all. That all you have to do is run that play over and over again and win a championship. But I do feel that doing it right greatly influences the team's potential for success. Getting Yao going in the low post is the surest path to victory, and executing the re-post is the representation of the team buying into that concept. Like I said earlier, if Yao scores big down low, then everything else gets easier. The attention shifts away from everyone else and it becomes easier for everybody else to score. It's like a domino effect, and I really think that the re-post is the first domino.
I think we're agreeing here. I think you are saying that post and reposting of Yao should be our first option on offense, right? That's fine, I was just adding to that. We have to have that play down so well, that when it breaks down it still works because we know all the options by heart. And by we, I mean them, the players and coaches.
