The Reason We Beat Miami and Should The Style Continue?

The Rockets only played 2 "real" big men all game - Smith and TJones - neither of whom are really good rebounders at their natural position, much less in a small ball lineup.

This should be expected from this type of lineup.

 

Great post.

My thoughts - raw rebounding numbers don't tell the whole story. For example, when your guards get a ton of rebounds, it may mean that they aren't guarding the perimeter. We also have only one player who is elite at boxing out (Dwight) and we give up a lot of offensive rebounds as a result. I liked what we saw yesterday and hope it can continue. Both teams were missing their elite bigs, so I think we can take yesterday's win as a true sign of moving in a positive direction.

 

It won't continue. Every so often...the Rockets have one of these games where they do a lot more than they normally do. I think the losing streak brought them to this level of play. Now, whether this team is better off without Dwight or not...it depends on which team we are facing. I believe the ball does move better without Dwight on offense because the rest of the team gets more involved. Defensively, not sure Dwight missing helps us much. Again, depends on the team. Miami is not that great so my enthusiasm for last night's performance is tempered at best. The Rockets always act like they figured something out and are turning a corner...only to miss their turn. I do believe this team will play harder and with more focus in the playoffs, though, when it really counts. While seeding is obviously important, I'm not clear how serious the Rockets take every game because clearly there are many games where they just lay eggs and are inconsistent. This team is really confusing as they seem to have the talent but can't put it all together consistently. And, it is primarily because our defense sucks most nights.

 

DMo is the key. Stay patient.

 

The only reason we won in my opinion is because Miami stopped driving the lane for no apparent reason whatsoever. They owned the first quarter and they got in the lane at will. I mean at will. And it's not like the Rockets started squaring up their feet and stopping them, they continued to give angles... the Heat just didn't take them. Maybe they got tired. I don't know. But it was that simple to me. The Rockets still have a lot of improvement to do.

 

I think Smooth covers a lot of mistakes defensively Jones doesn't. I think JB needs to seriously consider starting Josh with Dwight. Our defense when we're small is beyond horrendous

 

agreed.

still think jones has a little potential, and should play a little better from this point of his career forward.

not sure if jones is in morey's long term plans. but if he's not, why not start josh w/ dwight while they're both here? josh is obviously a better player than tjones at this point. jones ball-hog mentality is also suited to come in off the bench.

 

Yeah, but we've sucked all year at it, no matter what the lineup. Big reason why we're where we are currently.

 

We beat Miami b/c they didn't properly utilize Bosh. They rarely gave Bosh the ball in the post, but when they did, he was usually able to score or draw a foul.

 

Excellent point that I hadn't given much though to. Going for second-chance points is advantageous IF you have multiple good rebounders that know how to follow the ball and box out properly. And when that they don't get the rebound, they need to be able to get back down the court quickly.

The only person that seems to semi-consistently get rebounds is Dwight, and he's too gimped to run the court if he doesn't get the rebound. He's also likely to either get beat up as our only rebounder or throw an elbow and get called for foul trying to do it. Acknowledging that it's simply a weakness that the team has and focusing instead on preventing fast breaks is a pretty smart idea. Regardless of what your strengths are, it's definitely bad to play to your weaknesses.

 

Excellent point, they just played harder on defense. James absolutely becomes the leader along with JSmoove. Did anyone see the lovefest between James, JSmoove and JET. He never talks to D12 at any point in time on the bench.

 

I str8 up cringe when I see Tjones enter the game. I loath his double pumping to get a shot off and his timidness when rebounding or having to play post D. What is his plus/minus during the season.

 

I also hope HE notices.

 

The Rox beat the Heat because Amar'e is only a shell of his former self.

 

Good post and observation

Recently heard on a broadcast, Popovich's philosophy is "get back > off rebounding".

Spurs are currently ranked 25th and were 27th last season.

Didn't research further, but likely a trend that's been happening for years.

 

I like Pops take. It's not Rocket Science; no pun intended. You just have to outscore your opponent. Of course scoring depends on how you use your possessions. As a team, we have too many possessions where we come back down court empty. Next thing you know the last four minutes of the second quarter we haven't scored anything after being up 12-14 points.

http://www.slcdunk.com/2012/5/14/30...g-popovich-or-what-i-hope-ty-corbin-can-learn

 

Yes! We should strive to be like the Spurs in any way possible.

 

It is not a sustainable or winnable in the playoffs scenario or system - it is basically what Atlanta ran last year.

DD

 

I think is true against a team that does own a top 10 defense. Against a team like the Spurs for example, their defense is stifling that you want to get as many looks as possible.

 

JVG Style, I like it.