I think its really a statistical anomoly because we've certainly come back being down in the fourth, (the last Clips game) we just happend to be down in these games right when time ran out in the third. Our point differential is also kind of big deal we're fourth or fifth in the league that means that we beat the bad teams pretty soundly so we are usually only down in games when we are getting our a@#@# handed to us. Not an encouraging stat but, it doesn't tell the whole story.
Conversely saying our record would be worse is silly. I do agree we need a spark plug off the bench. When I looked at the team at the beginning of the year, I thought V-Span could be the extra creator and solid guard defender off the bench and JL3 would be the Boykins like spark plug. Neither materialized, and the team has gone on to have a fairly good year.....I guess the playoffs will tell. DD
Too short rotation considering every player on the court plays very intense defense. Last night against Clippers, inserting JLIII was a right move by JVG. But it was under the circumstance that Head at PG was not working. It will definitely hurt us in the playoff where defense is even intenser (for both sides). However, Rockets bench was not well developed in the regular season and the rotation still has to be short in playoff. I think we all know the problem, but JVG is not going to change. Even he does now, it is too late at this stage of the season. Watching Rockets games all season long gives me an impression that JVG wants to win now more than developing the team for long term. Or he sees the long term differently from me, but I don't think he is right for this team. But he may be right for himself considering his contract is not extended.
Well, they may not be the toughest in NBA. But they are tough considering intense defense and short rotation. The main reason I think is that they are tired in the 4th quarter. I play basketball as well. When my body feels tired, my mentality is affected as well even though I want to win. My body is just not responding, which affects my mentality negatively.
tinypure, thanks for the static data. They are very strong proof of the disadvantage of short rotation. I was thinking collecting this data as well. Great you did.
the rox always look tired in the 4th. How many teams in the nba play intense defense (JVG style) and have an 8 man rotation? the suns don't count. Didn't jvg say once that "maybe i need to make th rotation smaller" or something like that in a post game interview? maybe he would just prefer to play his starters for 48 min. I'd rather that Yao play <30 min a game and be full of energy for the 4th.... not wheezing through the last few minutes, resting his hands on his knees and sluggishly running up court. doesn't this just get harder in the finals? Why do they allow 12 players on an active roster?
I think the reason is JVG plays Rafer and Head together in 4th quarter too much. Rockets can't get a stop when those two are on the court at the same time. Our starting 5 has the biggest +/- margin in the entire league, why not stick to it if Hayes is not in foul trouble? JVG should only play them gether in 4th quarter when Rockets are behind and need to catch up with 3 pointers.
What about games when we were losing in the fourth quarter but came back to win, even if we trailed going into the fourth quarter. Look at the last two games against the clippers. We were trailing in both games late in the fourth quarter even though we were not trailing to start the fourth quarter. However, both times we hit big three pointers late, and we hit big free throws and won the game. This doesnt show up in the 1-20 stat, but isnt it more impressive to win a game you are trailing with 2 min left rather then one you are trailing with 12 min left. Of course we win despite JVG who didnt adjust at all. And Battier and Head made their late 3s even though they were exhausted with the silly 8 man rotation that has doomed us to just being only 20 games over .500. I bet if V-span had played 10 min in each game, Battier and Head's shots would have gone through the basket twice since they would be so rested.
You do know that that amazing team in LA trails us by about 7 games right? I wish we could be more like Minnesota also. They have everything that the so called fans on this board want, like two rookies who play (Foye and Smith), a PG who can shoot and was the biggest free agent miss in Rockets history (Mike James), they have an athletic long versatile bigs who can shoot(KG and Blount), a rotation deeper then 8 guys, and a coach not named JVG. Plus look how good they are doing.
I totally agree. I've read about a trapping defense whose main emphasis is trying to sap the other team's stamina. Basically, if you take out or weaken the opponent's legs, the heart and the mind will follow. JVG has been quoted as saying that he has no problem leaving his starters out there for big minutes. Lets just hope everything works out well for our team, because it is common knowledge that when your legs wear out , no matter how big your heart is... your heart will fall and your mind will follow. Nevertheless, I still have faith in our rockets and in basketball , anything can happen when you have a strong core. But you never want to be trailing when JVG is your coach , he isn't one to adjust well. He will stick with plan A basically because there is no plan B.
