Mistakes that we see over and over that can be corrected

He should learn from Mutumbo how to protect the ball after grabbing the rebound.

 

Someone said earlier lack of screens, or if screen(s) are being set their done poorly. The team would do so much better if they taught teveryone to run screens whether its a set play or a broken play, players can spot it and help the man with the ball try and make something happen. Doesnt have to be Harden or Jeremy Lin, though a majority would be with both of them. Unfortunately Asik doesnt screen too well. When Terrence Jones was put in I actually noticed him trying to screen for Lin a lot without Lin having to ask him or motion for him to set a screen. Asik does it too, but its just weak sometimes.

 

Yes Terrence tried but he wasn't to great at setting screens either.

Here is a link with a bit of video at the end.
http://www.coachesclipboard.net/Screens.html

 

49. This team needs to trust each member of the team more on offense and defense.

The goal is to have a good team, not a few players that stand out. Last years team was far less talented, but would never have let the Jazz have them by 20. I attribute this to a group of individuals rather than a team. I hope these guys enjoy playing with each other. Every one of them has at least one great talent.

 

We're 3rd worst in opposing 3FG%. My feeling is that we have a tendency to help off of the 3-point line, particularly the corner 3, too much. I'm comfortable with Asik or Patterson playing post defense 1-on-1 against most players.

 

Probably coaches orders.

 

Not sure if it's only the PG, but I've noticed too many open 3s allowed as well. Perhaps a matter of over-helping or maybe a lack of rotation on the perimeter, but there are an unusual number of open 3s allowed.

Specifically, the Rockets have allowed opponents to shoot 38.7% beyond the arc, third highest in the league and have allowed 20.9 3-point attempts per game, sixth highest in the league.

 

setting better off ball screens to create better spacing. they have the right idea but either the player trying to get free doesn't run his man hard enough or the screen is weak. this alone would make a huge difference in our half court sets.

 

Just want to say that this is a very good thread and quite educational for me.

 

We saw it yesterday many times. It's not just the PGs helping but the domino effect after it too.

Ex: Lin helps on Jefferson leaving Williams open. Jefferson passes out to Williams. Since Lin is too far away, Harden comes off his man to close out on Williams who then passes to Harden's man who is wide open in the corner. Our defensive rotations get completely messed up. There's that split second hesitation in our players "am I the one that's supposed to close out?" before Harden/Lin or another player makes a move.

Happened about 3-4 times yesterday. Frustrating to watch cause you know what's coming. Lin's been successful in the past stripping the ball in those situations (see against Bosh in Miami game), but it's pretty risky. When it does fail, it fails rather catastrophically.

He does it every single game and that defensive breakdown happens at least 1-2 times a game so I have to assume it's under the coach's direction to double the big so that Asik doesn't foul out.

 

Especially I dont want to see Ppat shoot 3s. Makes no sense.

 

What is Patterson's freaking excuse when even a rookie is trying his best without people asking?

 

How about boxing out?

 

I'd like to see them cut down on turnovers.

 

I feel many of the things listed aren't really correctable without time. Harden would not be going 1-on-3 if opponents respected our shooters. But we still have to shoot or there would literally be no room to penetrate. On defense, a bunch of young kids who never played with each other are going to suck on rotations. Even the Spurs defense are no longer the Spurs defense these days with younger players playing more uptempo.

In the end, a lack of current talent and chemistry is going to lead to bad plays. And it takes time for these guys to eventually get enough of a feel to make good decisions at NBA speed.

 

Sampson plays TD too much and in crunch time. Kelvin is supposed to be a defensive specialist coach and obviously feels TD is a better defender than Lin. In the 2nd OT against Portland TD got picked off 2 times in a row and Lilliard drained the jumpers. Why didn't he put Lin back in then? Why did he pull Lin with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter with Houston in a comeback and only 10 points down (from 23)?
Another thing Sampson doesn't get is that Lin has great floor vision which is a natural talent like jumping ability, speed, etc. This is an extremely important ability for a PG. TD doesn't see the floor well and the offense stagnates when he is in the game. He certainly isn't that much better than Lin on defense (actually I think Lin is better overall) to justify his playing time. He shold only be in the game for short stretches to give Lin a breather. In the meantime they need to find a replacement.

 

Exactly. Basketball is a very complex game, dependent on thousands of split second decisions. There is seldom time to think about anything. To master basketball at the NBA level players need to instinctively know the proper action. And you have to instinctively know what your teammates are going to do. And that takes years of repetition.

 

The Rockets needs to incorporate Parsons into the offense more and cut back on ISO offense and more on motion offense.

 

Great points. The first and second games showed us what this team will look like when spacing works. Proper spacing will happen at some point.