Maybe the Rockets' brick-laying problem requires a split-personality solution

As Van Gundy noted, the talent level is pretty even. Most of the game is played inside the players' heads.

Re shooting, on one end of the court, the mentality driven into their heads is to do anything to prevent the pill from going in the hoop. Brick, brick, brick. Miss, miss, miss. Clank, clank, air ball.

On the other end of the court, they're then required to COMPLETELY REVERSE that mentality. That's pretty tough if your mind isn't trained to do so, and no sport IMHO requires such a drastic shift so repeatedly.

Maybe we need to hire a schizophrenic psychologist who knows how to give players split personalities, or hire Jordan just to consult on the mental framework required to think brick and swish back and forth without getting the two overlappping, or use the collective wisdom of the BBS?! Or maybe ask Mike Piazza, as in baseball, they say catchers and shortstops have lower averages because the intense focus on defense takes away from their offensive concentration - and vice versa for first basemen and left/right outfielders.

This may explain why NBA teams score in runs so often, or why players have an uncanny ability to shoot 3 pointers with a much higher percentage after an opponent just did, or why you get one team shooting 30% and another 29%, in the same night (ie last night.) Coincidence?

Teams that figure this mental contradiction out will go deep into the playoffs.

For all of you on this board that can shoot and play D, how do you do it?

 

Anything but. Just observant of human nature I've been told.

 

Sheesh - let me lay it out.

'Split personality' and schizophrenic psychologist reference - JOKE. I mean, I feel silly even having to say it's a joke, but I guess that's what's to be expected on this board - talk about multiple personalities.

Difficulty of going back and forth between playing tight, high-intensity defense and loose, relaxed-in-the-flow offense - NOT A JOKE.

Rockets offense - JOKE.

Number of trade proposals, demands for benching and player beratings on this board per minute - NO COMMENT.

I'd like to think hard-core fans can in someway help the team rather than sound off on 'em as if they were little kids.

 

I swear I'm not trying to keep this alive, but bad shooting is a fundamental NBA problem right now, not only when you play back-back games. NBA players are in way better shape than that, give me a break. Just look at the scores - 75-64, 63-55? Weren't these halftime scores in the Magic-Bird days?

Players are stronger, faster, better conditioned and have more tools, trainers and facilities available to help them improve their game - and players probably all have hoops in their own homes - yet their shooting is well documented to be worse than ever. That's a common perception among NBA insiders - period. The problem is mental, and the first teams that figure it out will win big.

Phil Jackson isn't the "zen coach of basketall" for nothing. Mike Krzyzewski the same for college. If you don't know this, just google "Phil Jackson" and "mental" and the same for Krzyzewski. You'll learn a LOT, really... and hasn't Jackson won, say, a rather hefty percentage of NBA championships in the last few years? Sure he had talent on his teams, but to threepeat and fourpeat isn't a walk in the park either, especially when you're managing so many egos. It's not like any other coach has done it recently either, and yes, a lot of us hate Duke because they're there every year, me included (but that's another thread on another board).

OK, maybe I was expecting too much re a discussion on "zen coaching of basketball" amid non-stop postings of trade demands, rants and insults, but at least I know now where not to discuss it.