Well, tbh I'm a Lin fan, but I think he has room and ability to improve in that regard. With Parsons, I think it's just that shoulder and etc, and probably the heavy minutes getting to him, but he could probably also improve a bit too. And I don't expect much from Morris and Patterson and DMo so whatever they give is a gift/surprise/luxury.
That was something I noticed in stats a while back. Rockets seem to be making a concerted effort to keep other teams off the free throw line. While still having players their own players that get free throws. That in and of itself could mean difference of 2 extra points a game for a league that hasnt caught on. And against certain teams could be 5+ points. (I know what people will say, so that means James Harden and Kevin Martin not sticking their nose in to play any real defense and not getting fouls called on them cuz they're not even trying hard, is still works out cuz they simply have an advantage in the free throw attempts. No not quite, they should be better. But with the right personnel, which I think Moreyball was WANTING to have happen with Martin paired with Yao, it COULD POSSIBLY still be a net positive effect.)
Rockets achilles heal all season has been transition defense and turnovers. Is there a stat for half court defense vs. transition defense?
Don't have the stat myself but I remember a Morey interview saying that they're pretty good at half-court but was hugely porous on transition D. It's possibly up on synergy?
The defensive rebounding has always been a problem, but since we have a legit 7 footer in Asik it's improved. We still need more production in rebounding from the PF position. I hated it in the fourth when the Rockets couldn't grab a rebound.
As long as they score more points than they give up ---> I'm Good... Hopefully they will tighten up that defense on the perimeter as the season goes on...
By doing this, they also give up among the highest opposing FG% in the NBA. Basically, they'll let you walk in for layups instead of fouling you. So the results is harder to see, because they are trying to (A)keep Asik out of foul trouble even at the expense of his blocks stat and (B)keep opponents out of the bonus situation more often. So it's not as simple as just "don't foul the other guy." Right now, I think the biggest concern for the Rockets defense is their turnover rate. Not raw turnover numbers, but the rate they do so. To be a contender, they must play more disciplined offense like the Kings or the Suns back in their heyday. In this case, the key player is Jeremy Lin, and to lesser extent Harden.
durvasa, excellent point. It's not that difficult. We use very little of the 24 sec shot clock (especially compared to other teams), and therefore the other team gets more possessions than compared to when they're playing teams other than the Rockets. However, we have some fans that can't even do this basic level of math (lars). Houston is great for some things, but our inner city school system is not one of those things.
http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/opponent-fastbreak-efficiency http://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/opponent-fastbreak-points-per-game
Durvasa, Im a huge fan of your BTW. But, teams are averaging 104 points against us. Isnt that the biggest statistical indicator of how good/bad our defense is?
The biggest statistical indicator of how good or bad our defense is would be points allowed per possession, not per game.
I think it more likely that the other team is gassed from playing from our pace and they brick more free throws.
Eh, our defense isn't terrible like some say, but as one commentator put it, it's "mediocre." We are around 18th in terms of points per 100 possessions, which I think is a great way to measure defense. That's not that great, and it's what seperates us from the top teams in the league. If we can get in the top 10 range in terms of points per 100 possessions, then we will be golden.
Excellent thread OP, thanks. I don't understand this metric: "free throws made per FGA allowed". Is that opponent free throws made per FG, or Rockets free throws made per FG? (I'm assuming OPP FT per FG.) Why would this be one of the four pillars of defensive metrics? Is the frequency of fouls and FTs that important?
From Zach Lowe's Grantland piece regarding our Harden-Lin-Parsons-Morris-Asik lineup: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id...rs-golden-state-warriors-more-nba-best-lineup
I was just joking. That stat just means we are number one in NOT sending the opposition to the line. It is very rare that we see the other team in 'bonus' situation early in the quarter. It is usually till around the last 5 minutes before we get there.
are you kidding.. were not that bad at D. we get tons of steals, Asik changes shots.. even when the best players on the other team has big nights, melo, Ellis, irving, kobe, etc.. we still beat them
We’re 6th on offense (PPP=1.049), 19th on defense (PPP=1.022), and hold a point differential (PD) that’s ranked 10th. 1st in pace, 6th in offense, 19th on defense, and PD of 10th will not take us deep into the playoffs. Here’s a rundown of the league’s regular season leaders in pace (possessions per 48 minutes) since the 2000-01 season; where they finished in terms of efficient offense, defense, point differential, and how they did in the postseason. 2001 Pistons 24th offense, 8th defense, 19th PD (point differential) > missed playoffs. 2002 Kings 3rd offense, 6th defense, 2nd PD >lost WC Finals in 7. 2003 Kings 6th offense, 2nd defense, 2nd in PD >lost WC Semifinals in 7. 2004 Nuggets 9th offense, 13th defense, 11th in PD >eliminated first round in 5. 2005 Suns 1st offense, 16th defense, 3rd PD >lost the WC Finals in 5. 2006 Suns 1st offense, 16th on defense, 4th PD >lost WC Finals in 6. 2007 Warriors 10th offense, 17th defense, 14th in PD >lost the WC Semi in 5. 2008 Nuggets 11th offense, 9th defense, 11th in PD >swept first round. 2009 Warriors 11th offense, 28th defense, 24th in PD >missed playoffs. 2010 Warriors 14th offense, 29th defense, 22th in PD >missed playoffs. 2011 Timberwolves 24th offense, 27th defense, 28th in PD >missed playoffs. 2012 Kings 22th offense, 28thn defense, 25th in PD > missed the playoffs. 12 fastest teams (No 1 pace) from the past 12 seasons, none made the NBA Finals, three made the Conference Finals, two made the Conference Semifinals, and seven didn’t win a playoff series.
