Effort hasn't been the problem so far. The problem is that they do not understand the system well enough. Some players are switching while others are not. Once they are more comfortable in the system we will see how much of it is effort....... I am fairly confident some of this is that the pieces inside do not fit.
I'm guessing because I've only been able to watch one televised game against the Wizards. Need help finding these streams.
To be fair, any time you have a 159-158 game as one of the four-game sample, some things are bound to go through the roof.
Yep, Tucker was shooting 60%, WB over 40% and JH and Gordon about 20%.....now gradually this is getting reversed.
and another good news Despite the frantic pace they're playing with, they are only allowing 23 free throws attempted per game, which is the 9th best in the league.
I only saw 4t qtr of the game last night but saw first 3 games of the season and this is what I saw: -Westbrook plays great recovery D but often loses his player when they move around -Tucker seems to have lost a step in my opinion. He doesn’t play with the same ferocity as well. Players are beating him to the basket often. -Rotations are bad. Players seemed confused out there. Rotations don’t come when weak side help for strong side post or paint. -They just play loose overall now. CP3 anchored that D and Capella held down the paint. Switches were tighter and if you noticed the rockets hands were really active previous couple years. But there’s hope. Rockets played great D last half of last nights game. They looked like they were in playoff D mode which tells me they can turn it on if they want to. There’s still concern for the scheme and no CP3.
I agree on Russ getting lost on D. He always lets his players run around freely and tries to recover - sometimes too late. I’ve seen most of the games and EG is actually the only rocket playing great man to man D. Everyone else either gets beat or gets lost. Which tells me the scheme isn’t working. The intensity isn’t there which tells me it’s coaching mentality and lack of leadership. This is where they miss CP3.
Great observation. Something is just not right and I am baffled which tells me it’s scheme. The rotations are out of whack. They trap a lot more which leaves people open. The switches are not tight. Russ and house gets lost a lot. I think it’s s combo of no CO3, leadership, and coaching philosophy. Jeff B was fine. We fired a man who literally turned around our D last year from a slow start. Stupid Tilman.
Just baffles me why they fired Jeff. Really baffling and disconcerting. Taking a chance on an unproven coach. This may be one of those decisions that will prevent us from taking the next step and may be the end of the d antoni era.
Are we watching the same games? EG usually locks down players in the perimeter this year. People are not blowing by EG. Surprisingly people are blowing by Tucker. I believe Tuck has lost a step.
Interesting But if you saw the intensity they brought in the second half of the 4th quarter last night it reminded me of playoff mode rockets. Which tells me they can still do it when the situation calls for it e.g. playoffs or big games. Scheme is definitely a concern and leadership is lacking with no CP3. I liked Roy Rogers and Jeff and Rogers was actually coming into his own when Jeff took over again last year. Shame those guys are gone. If this is the last year if the MDA era and championship or bust year why not allow Jeff and Roy to go along for one last ride? If it doesn’t work then blow it up. Just baffling.
We need an above average to eraser level defender to start at SF or come off the bench for 20-28 mpg. We also need another rim protector who can also guard other bigs, be adequate on switches and decent rebounder with boxing out. Really, the teams that scare the most in that department are the Lakers, Blazers, Nuggets, 76ers, Celtics, Raps, Bucks, and Heat. Their front lines have 2-5+ players who are ranging from above average to damn near unstoppable on the boards. Then, you got teams, like the Suns, Clips, Mavs, and Pelicans who are not too far behind. The Lakers alone have Dwight, AD, LeBron, Kuzma, McGee, and Rondo. Half of these guys are elite on the boards. The 76ers have Embiid, Horford, Harris, and Simmons. Denver has Jokic, Milsap, and even their wing players aren't bad. The Bucks have Giannis, Lopez, Middleton, and Mirotic. The Heat and Celtics are scary in this area, too. The Suns have Ayton who is a rebounding magnet.
Transition defense is fixable, that’s pure effort and with Harden and Gordon hanging out way beyond the line and shooting from there, you’d think they could get back in time.
