If you look at the Dallas game as your most recent example, we did a good job in the first half of moving the ball inside out, Yao was 7/10 from the field for 70% shooting. But in the second half I don't even remember him touching the ball. Our guards tried to take over the game and subsequently shot 9/32 from the field for a whopping 28%. Once the Mavericks starting using the zone our guards decided it was a good time to stop passing the ball. I kept watching the game and lost track of how many times Yao was open in the paint the guards just dribbled around him and then passed the ball across the entire defense to the other side. They did not even use the picks that Yao was setting for them. How stupid do you have to be to NOT use a pick from a 7'-5" team mate? I am not sure what one thing is keeping the Rockets from being a better team; ego, maturatiy, selfishness, etc. Maybe its a little of all of this. But the reason they are not consistent is because they keep straying away from what works. If you keep doing the same thing time and again, the odds are that you will keep getting the same results. Certainly match ups are an issue and always will be, however, when your starting center is shooting 70% from the field in the first half wouldn't common sense dictate that you should continue to feed him in the second half? Especially when his shooting % is double that of our entire back court... I am not a Yao only fan or a Steve basher......just a person who can't stand to see his team struggle with something that seems so simple. does anyone have a quarter by quarter breakdown of the stats?
Tell that to the 24 teams that have lost to the Mavs at home this season, they are tied for the best home record in the NBA. I'm not making excuses, but I'm not going to crap my pants because we lost to a team who has the best home record in the NBA.
How many big 1ST QUARTER leads last in the NBA? Not many. No matter how much of a big lead you have after the 1st quarter, there is still 3 quarters to play, and plenty of time to make a run or take over a game. I'm not arguing that we played bad, its just that we match up horribly against the Mavs and that the Mavs are one of the best when playing at home.
It IS ridiculous how many times Yao is not used on a pick n roll. TOO MANY times I've seen Yao set a screen, then roll to the basket totally open, while the dimwitted guard dribbling the ball just totally ignores him. Add that to the fact that Yao was shooting 70% and our guards didn't take advantage of that.......our team is stupidstupidstupid. No fundamentals, no common sense.
and yet this team still is the same for 4 years counting. IF they dont make serious changes in the offseason, CD is an idiot, like he already isnt though.