Also, put Dmo in and have him ISO against Ibaka. If I were Mchale, I would take DMO/Harden ISO and jam it straight down Ibaka's throat.
Well adjustments are important. However, it is execution that is holding the Rocket's back from making this a serious series. But since I am the coach, let's see if this starting lineup can excute better: Bev Harden Parsons TJones Asik
Sac tried turning TRob into a 3. Needless to say that experiment failed. Putting Bev in the starting lineup isn't going to work. OKC would just focus on Harden cause he'd be the only one who can create a shot. But if Lin continues to gift wrap the ball to the other team, yank him early.
Apparently our big plan is to make no adjustments and play harder: "You can't really make that many adjustments at this time right now because we know their game plan and they know ours,'' Rockets power forward Greg Smith said on a conference call Monday. ''We've just got to go out there, just play harder, be more focused and play more hungry.'' Oh God, everyone duck, another 30 point loss is incoming.
I'd start Bev, Harden, Parsons, DMo and Asik. IMO, the biggest improvement DMo made over the year was on the defensive end. He was making good rotations, but still struggled in the low post. If Smith isn't cutting it, see if DMo's speed and shot can do anything for you. Subs: Lin, Delfino, Garcia, TJones, and Smith. Let Lin go "Linsane". Lobs to Smith and TJones....kickouts to Delfino and Garcia.
1. Faster help rotations on Defense. 2. Tell Harden/Lin to not expect the foul call on drives, and to only drive when it's high precentage - its the playoffs, you have to expect not to get to the charity stripe. 3. Come up with 2-3 simple plays to get open shots - even if they miss shots, its better than iso hero ball. 4. If going ISO, initiate the PNR's, with atleast 10 seconds on the shot clock.
I think the biggest problem we had offensively and defensively was Ibaka. He blocked shots on defense and contested every rebound when on offense and knocked down jumpers. Here is how I would correct the problem. Starting 5 J LIn Pat Bev Beard Chandler Asik Yes I know its small, but here is my points. Chandler at the 4 will stretch Ibaka out of the paint leaving Asik for the offensive boards, and Bev is also great at going after the offensive boards. This will also tire Ibaka out, and I believe Chandler can take him to the hole and have him in foul trouble. While on Defense, well it couldn't get any worse than what Smith did. Dmo is too soft to handle Ibaka, so Parsons is our best defender, and we can send help if needed. We can even play zone if it doesn't work early. Only guy that can really penetrate is Russ, Durant is just lengthy and will shoot over you, but a zone will assure we get the board except if its a long bounce. Those are the adjustments i would make, and of course on offense we need to just put the ball in the hole. I thought there was a lot of jitters, but things will change. Ball movement needs to happen, the ball needs to be pushed on every posession, we are not a great halfcourt team because we iso too much, that has to stop.
