[I'm ignorant] Educate me on Silas' offensive system

Too bad, with you as coach clearly this team would go 81-1

 

nah i couldnt be the coach, too nice, just like Silas

 

And its way easier to hit that shot than off the dribble jack up

 

He lost 20 in a row last season and didn’t get fired…..what’s different this year?

 

Further….after the first few games clearly had the worst record in all of the NBA and the team makes a movie about his “supposed” greatness. Think he may have the safest job in all of the league.

 

https://theathletic.com/2890480/2021/10/15/alperen-senguns-minutes-danuel-houses-fit-in-rotation-solutions-at-small-forward-and-more-rockets-mailbag/

Do you think the plays the Rockets were running in preseason are a good indicator of what will happen during the season? By that, I mean half-court sets, or was Silas just giving them more freedom and experimenting because it’s preseason? — ProdiG 1.

This is a good place to start, and it’s something I’ve wondered myself since training camp started — and subsequently asked Stephen Silas about this during the week.

During Silas’ first season, he spoke a lot about the style of offense he envisioned. Of course, he imagined coaching players like James Harden and Russell Westbrook, but his pillars didn’t change all that much. He wanted quick, simple actions, ball movement, player movement and decisiveness. The emphasis here is keeping defenses on their toes when they are set and also being able to attack early in the shot clock or off defensive stops when they aren’t set.

If you squint your eyes hard enough when looking back at the 2020-21 Rockets, you can see some of that. They might have lost a lot of games, but it’s not like all of them were because of a lack of Xs and Os — the talent was just nonexistent.

After surprising many and winning their first preseason game, Houston has looked, well, young and inexperienced. Back-to-back losses against sturdy defensive units (Miami and Toronto) have recalibrated some. Most of us can agree the Raptors game was a dreadful affair, but there was one possession in particular that stood out to me.

Vid

A lot is going on here. An early kick-ahead pass from Jalen Green to Kevin Porter Jr. on the left wing touches the hands of two more Rockets before Porter gets it back on the other wing (with a tame Christian Wood down screen). At the same time, Green is sprinting off a stationary Daniel Theis, and Wood has moved up to the free throw line. A quick give-and-go releases Porter from his defender, and he’s through on goal (it’s a soccer term, but you get the gist).

Porter misses the shot, but that’s not the important takeaway. We know a few things from this possession. For starters, this is clearly what Silas and the coaching staff have been working on in practice. First plays of games typically are sets to get things organized and set the tone for the evening. Freelance basketball has become more and more popular as the years have gone by, but half-court execution is where coaches make their bread and butter.

Secondly, we know exactly the type of movement and actions Silas likes. He’s a big fan of the kick aheads, the give-and-gos and wrap arounds. But Silas also said he didn’t want to experiment too much during the preseason, wanting to keep things simple. That makes sense — it’s a young group still learning to play together. Four preseason games aren’t nearly enough to jell. If we can agree Houston’s opening play was a fairly simple set, how much of this can we expect during the regular season? The Rockets of course want to play fast and to their strengths, but there are so many good defensive units in this league. They’ll need to be able to break defenses down on many an occasion.

“A mixture, I would say,” Silas said of the balance he’s looking for between play-calling and “random” offense. “But if we’re playing a little more random, that means we’re playing fast. And if we’re playing with multiple passes, screens, cuts, ball movement type of stuff, that means we’re playing a little bit slower. Finding the balance between playing fast and playing slow is important for us. Obviously, I think we’re at our best when we’re playing fast and beating the defense down the floor, but there definitely needs to be times where the ball is moving from side to side and we’re attacking ball movement instead of pace.”

Apologies for the response length, but I would still lean more towards Silas opting for speed and random offense as opposed to more structured play calls. That doesn’t mean we won’t see them in games, but probably not as much as a more experienced team. You have to work with the tools given to you, and the Rockets have two speedy, shifty guards in their backcourt and an athletic frontcourt. Playing fast should be the MO.

 

Funny because that's exactly what Harden did best, chucking in key moments. At least this is pre season.

 

All I can say is that it is revolutionary, in that it will change the way we draft (put us in the best possible position) as long as he is here!!

 

We need to play John Wall, we can do both.....win and give the young guys playing experience as well. Its best for Porter and Green to see how to be a guard in the NBA instead someone telling you verbal. Porter is still a young player who is usually up and down in production. Green is teachable but he needs to see it on the court. If we get Wall and Gordon to play this year we can do both

 

No matter how hard I squint, side to side ball movement means nothing if defenses remain static due to lack of threat or favorite new term, gravity.

There needs to be much more off ball movement AND screening IN CONJUNCTION with ball movement.

 

false, its not where you draft its who you draft....what matters is your expertize and not how high you pick...you may pick 1st every year and still get nowhere especially if your coach is not good

 

What we have hea is a failyuh to communicate.

Wall is finito with the Rockets.

Ship sailed.

Silas needs to effect plan B.

 

I jest but yeah… you’re sort of correct assuming there’s still talent left on the board when you pick. You’re probably not saving the franchise picking at 10 plus every year no matter how successful your expertise is or has been.

 

Well there are 30 teams in nba youre probably not saving the franchise picking top 3 every year..so whats the right thing to do?
compete so that the chips fall where they may
hire the right coach, practice 2x times more to make for lack of talent so you can win anyway

look where is picked every player of milwaukee bucks, the current champion, do you have that data?

 

If JVG got frustrated with a veteran team filled with guys who gave their all (and T-Mac), it's hard to imagine him patiently coaching a group of youngsters who are going to screw up as often as shine.

I'll pass on any coach we've already hired and fired. That's like ending a relationship and going back to the one you dumped years ago, forgetting all about the reasons you dumped that one in the first place.

 

I dont like what I have seen.... At all.

We need more movement. Green needs better opportunities created for him within aforementioned movement. Green needs to be practicing the PNR with Theis or Sengun. I want Green going toward the rim. KPJ same thing.


And I want mother******* offense geared around Sengun.

 

So system is PwP; Play with pace.