It seems that Boozer caused all the problems to Rockets. Is there better way to guard him? Strategies?
i wouldn't change much. rox have tried a number of things in games this year. Yao is not better off guarding okur. he needs to be around the paint area. Sam perkins killed the rockets in years past because of big man outside threat. let juwan and hayes do the work on okur only thing is that yao needs to continue to stay in front of boozer.
Boozer can't hit at that rate the entire series, the Rockets really have no better option. He would overpower Chuck, so switching the matchups wouldn't help, especially since Yao shouldn't really be chasing Okur around the 3 point line. Hope Boozer scores under 40 and make sure the other Jazz players struggle mightily.
honestly, i have no problem with boozer getting 40 points on 15 foot jumpers. as long as he is doing that, no one else is getting involved in the offense...namely deron williams. when williams is penetrating, he's getting our bigs in foul trouble. when williams is penetrating, he's drawing defenders and hitting open 3 point shooters. when williams is penetrating, rafer's defense is exposed. boozer is an incredible power forward, no doubt, but i don't think he hurts us shooting 15 footers all night long. if for some reason we did need to stop him, however, all we have to do is run a quick double team at him as soon as he catches the ball. he isn't especially quick to get around double teams, and his passing is less than stellar. read the jazz boards and scouting reports on boozer...you'll find that he is a black hole of othella harrington proportions.
i honestly hope not, if boozer is getting 50, and noone else can score, that is a successful game plan
thank you. boozer's 40 points are an empty 40 points because they are coming on 15-20 foot jumpers. no fouls placed on yao/chuck/deke/ . if you're really hellbent on stopping boozer (which i am not), make him a playmaker.
Boozer's jump shot does not bother me. I don't think he will be always hot like last night. Keep him from attacking basket is crucial. Yao got 3 calls when boozer rushed into paint.
actually they were collapsing to cover in anytime Boozer drove. Most of the time it was either Shane or Chuck. And to protect Yao from fouls in the second half, when Boozer got into the lane on a drive they were hacking him before he reached Yao. I think some days you just can't stop him, much like other all stars, because even when we had him covered he made a lot of tough shots in that game last night.
Don't change a thing (yet). Boozer can't hit jumpers that that clip the entire series if Yao gets a hand in his face. And with single-coverage on Boozer, this means that Okur and the other guys will get less open shots. With Yao on Boozer so far: 1. Boozer had a poor game and the Jazz lost. 2. Boozer had a sensational game and the Jazz still lost. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I wouldn't make any adjustments on defense until we see how Sloan adjusts first.
Just keep doing what Rox is doing. I bet all my money that Boozer can't hit that high of the percentage if he continues to shoot those fade-away mid-range jumpers. Actually all Jazz' offense did in this series is PnP and shooting mid-range jumpers while Rox got a lot of points from second chance opportunities, put-backs and layups. That was the difference in first two games. Rox got a lot of easy points while Jazz had to rely on their accuracy on jumpers. If they continue to strictly shoot those mid-rangers and refuse to penetrate, Rox will be in great shape and a sweep is very likely.
TMac's not strong enough to guard Boozer. Yao did a decent job on Boozer in Game 1. He uses his length to force Boozer to shoot quick, high-arcing shots which I'd rather have than him getting in the post.
After it is said and done, it's still best to have Yao guard Boozer and make him shoot over Yao. The trouble is, Yao seems to play defense only one way, stay back and hand in face. He needs to mix up his defense. Everyone knows on offense, you use different moves at different times to keep the defense off balance. You can also do the same on defense to make the offensive player guesses. Sometimes you channel him to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes you give the guy room, sometimes you body him up. Sometimes, you just have a hand in his face. Ocassionally you needs to try to block his shot, even if you foul him, just to make him think. Just make sure, before you come down and foul him, really swat his shot into the stand.
