basically all i saw from that link was a lot of early offense and a team that was hot to start that game. bibby broke the offense down (albeit successfully) on multiple occasions, and there was maybe 3-4 possessions in that whole clip with more than 2 passes and what actually looked like "flowing offense."
I agree...why do people use Youtube to analyze things? If we watched Youtube to look for tendencies we would find: a. Yao nevers turns the ball over b. Yao always turns the ball over c. TMac only dunks d. TMac only shoots e. Brooks is the best shot-blocker since Dream etc.
It was a small sample, but I saw a lot of things we haven't accomplished yet. They were really pushing the break. They got open shots off before Divac even got down the floor. Christie open mid-range, Hedo open corner 3, Webber open mid-range. Those shots were taken with more than 16 seconds left on the shot clock. And they were open. We're supposed to be faster paced now, but a lot of our shots come with the clock coming down. When they did go into their offensive sets, they didn't overpass. Webber hit a cutting Divac (who got FT's), Divac set an offball screen to free up Bibby for a baseline jumper (and hit it), Bibby to Divac to a cutting Webber. Even when Divac scored on that post up, you could see Turkoglu cutting on the opposite side. There was movement. And on every possession they were in a position to score. Maybe you didn't see much, but what I saw was a considerable lack of iso play. Everyone moved the ball, everyone scored. Compare that to our offense, where it's been either Yao or Tmac all year. We're still an iso team, for the most part.
I'll also add that even with Chris Webber, the Kings were made up of a bunch of publicly mediocre stars at best - i.e. no such SUPERSTAR player. Chris Webber had been hailed as a superstar prior to joining the Kings but imho, that designation is moot. Moreover, Sacremento was deemed to be a better "quieter" (ironic isn't it for those who have been to Arco?) city for Webber. I know a lot of people probably disagree with me on this but with the Rox, I feel like here too we're better off having a group of semi-stars than having a prima donna superstar to whom EVERYBODY defers too. It's just a bad formula for success and that's not a pot shot at T-Mac but just a point on managing a franchise for long-term success. To have one piece deemed so irreplaceable that it stays with you at the expense of allowing for more open thinking keeps a stagnating franchise stagnant. And that is what I fear about the Rockets with T-Mac. Going back to this thread - with Sacremento, they suffered the losses of a few people here and there, but nothing life-threatening. And even when the old guard left, there was new young blood ready to plug the holes. The Rox in their current construction are still too reliant and oriented toward T-Mac. But what of the Sacramento comparisons? 1. Sacremento got great output from the 1 guard - Bibby (I feel optimistic that AB might be our solution here) 2. Sacremento got great output from its guard bench - Bobby Jackson (I feel optimistic we have good guards here too) 3. Sacremento had a talented passing center - Vlade/Brad Miller (We got Yao baby!) 4. Sacremento had some offense at the 4 - Webber (Shane/Hayes where are you??? Luis is the much better option here) 5. Sacremento had major offense at the 3 - Peja Sadly, this is where I feel we are most lacking - a consistent 3 point threat, free throw shooter, passter, and a smart decision maker - but not necessarily physically gifted. We need to upgrade our point and our three shooting. The former we have a solution. The latter, I'm not sure who that is. But the whole makeup of it is still not of a team deferring to one superstar - or more to the point, BELIEVING that it needs that one superstar to win. theSAGE theSAGE
We don't need to be like the old Kings. They never had a great Swingman in T-Mac who could single handedly take over games or a dominant big man in Yao Ming. The Kings NEVER had players like that. And the last time I checked, those Kings never won a title. Don't give me crap about a bad bounce here or there cost them a trip the finals. Fact is, they never made it. Let's build on something new instead of trying to recreate something from the past.
Rubbish!!! The way Coach 'A' described how he wanted the Rockets to play at the start of the season [like SAC]is quite different to the way they are actually playing. In fact the Rockets have adapted themselves to their own scenario.
The biggest difference right now between us and the Kings of 2002, as seen in that youtube video, is that our offense still looks robotic. Nothing looks natural and in the flow. Right now we are still at the point where I can tell pretty quickly if we are going to run an Adelman or JVG set, and I can anticipate a few seconds in advance how the play will unfold (ie who will take the shot). With the Kings, they didn't always run the high post...it was a free moving offense that ran a wide variety of plays, most of which were decided based on the flow of the game and what the defense gave them. It was a system based on instincts that told them what to do, not set plays that looked force like the Rockets experience.
Is it just me or does the offense look much more spontaneous/creative in the first quarter? After that it seems like things start to slip a little bit.
hahahahaha a week ago we are the worst team ever. Then we beat the knicks and its like OMG finals here we come..
We need McGrady to buy into Adelman's offense. The last few games, we've seen stretches where it's worked very well. Extra passes that are finding Yao in single coverage, when the possession began with the other team doubling him. Brooks, as small as he is, getting open looks and hitting them. Bonzi cutting to the hoop for easy baskets. Scola hitting midrange jumpers. Designed plays within the offense. Tracy needs to buy into that. He can make things so much easier if he does.
How did it look in the second half against Boston... I wouldn't call them a bad team. How did it look in the first half against Orlando... I wouldn't call them a bad team either (even though they are in a semi-slump) edit: darn it I should have read the whole thread... someone beat me to it, so "Yeah what he said"
The Rockets dont look like the old Kings. You may see some same offensive sets but the Kings didnt have Yao - a scoring centre. The reposting of Yao at low post was not in the Kings play book. T-Mac has came off screens to catch and shoot - just like Peja. But Adelman would never have Peja had the ball at the top of key in an last seconds iso play - i.e. T-Mac's ferocious dunk in Detriot's game. Adelman wants players movements and ball movements that lead to easy baskets. The philosophy is still the same but the Rockets talents are totally different. It's a mixture of old and new offensive sets from Adelman.
Different players, different strengths, different weaknesses. The players from the Rockets and the old Kings are as different as night and day. The Rockets should only apply 2 parts from the old Kings system: 1) Have plenty of sharp, crisp ball movement. 2) Make plenty of smart, active, off the ball movement from the players without the ball. The ultimate objective is to GET EASY SHOTS! At this stage, Rockets still a team in development. They have yet to: 1) Incorporate T-Mac properly into the system. 2) Make more use of Scola (yes, he needs to get more experience and iron out his rookie mistakes, but to do that, he needs to play more). 3) Develop a Plan B alternative when Yao is not in the lineup. 4) Have our 3 point shooters regularly start knocking down their shots. Biggest factors should be one and two. Once those are complete, then the Rockets can really be a team to be feared and respected.
Yeah, tough loss at Boston, after fighting back from down 20, and a gutsy road win at Orlando had nothing to do with it.
Ball movement can lead to OVER passing. 9 crisp passes with each player touching the ball on one possession, while it shows unselfishness, doesnt mean they're doing anything. The Kings in the video, and the current Suns and teams emulating their style shoot the first open available shot and run back down. They use ball movement to get an easy, early look. But ball movement might be key for the Rockets since they don't have the fastest of teams and array of players who could handle the ball like the old Kings.
