Why can't the Rockets shoot?

We fold against good defenses, Miami (barely won), Memphis (lost), Portland (not known for defense, but they stepped up)....more specifically, this team has a problem beating the ZONE, which JVG needs to, and probably will address...

 

Ball movement and spacing.

 

bingo.

 

That or We spend so much energy on defense.

 

I don't think the rockets were not good shooting team even last year, I remember many games in which the offense was just ugly.
Anyway, I am guessing the bad shooting is due to a combination of portland zoning on yao... and then the lack of easy opportunity, not much plays that result in layups (and the few they have, they somehow screw it up)... as well as their commitment on defense result in tired legs, so the jump shots don't fall.

To win consistently, they must play tough defense, which they do, and they must somehow manage to get some easy baskets, fast breaks or just good cuts to the baskets... nothing spectacular, just the simple stuff.

 

Bring in the Bull... The self proclaimed ZONE BUSTER... or we can just wait for Piatkowski to slide into the rotation...

 

They don't know how to pass.

 

Ive said it about 10 times already and nobody gets it.

CAto is the problem. With the new zones,teams dont have to guard cato and thus use a free range floater type defender to double anybody that has the ball. The rockets will pass it around trying to find the open man,but cant because the only open man is cato,and he wont shoot,and when he does its a hideous airball.

So basically the rockets are playing four on five every time down on offense. A guy like Griffin that can shoot threes and space the floor would help,but all the conservative guys on this forum want to dump a player if he smokes dope and punches somebody.

Good,think about that when Griffin is lighting up cato just like bosh did.

 

They SUCK, that's why!

 

Hell yes they do im pissed , well probably cus i just finished watching the game & im really frustrated right now! Damn all tha games we have lost we could have won that makes me even more ticked off.

 

You'd rather them get blown out every game?

 

1. The guards (specifically CM) cooled off. Did anyone actually expect him to keep shooting threes at that percentage?

2. Opposing teams are not being caught off guard and are prepared to defend CM better. He sneaked up on some teams at the beginning of the season. That's not going to happen anymore.

Raven

 

It's not even always the offense. They got enough open looks to win tonight. The offense, form-wise, has improved.

The Rockets miss far too many open shots. They need Pike very badly. This is what happens when you lack real shooters. The Rockets line up without a single pure shooter in the line-up. Nor do they bring one in off the bench.

Francis is a scorer. He's got a good midrange game, but his range is only decent. Mobley can hit the 3 sometimes, but is more of a driver. Jackson has fairly good 3 point range, but isn't what you'd call lights out. Boki is improving rapidly, but nobody would call him a pure shooter right now.

I'd trade Mobley or Cato for a pure shooter. I bet you could get something half-decent for either of them.

 

All our 3 point shooting woes will be gone once Eric Piatkowski comes back. He'll WRECK zones, cuz he'll force ppl to guard him up top, which kills any zone defense because it opens up holes. C'mon, at least be a little knowledgable before you post crap...

 

JVG is clueless on offense. Have you seen the Knicks game in the 90's. This Rocket team is no different. His offensive sets are terrible, especially against the zone.
1. Why would u send cato to the hi-post and he's taking those 15" jumpers against zone "D". Cato is clueless on offense, and should stay on the low post.
2. Why post ming in the deep post when the defense basically sags so deep that he basically cannot touch the ball. Ming should sometimes get the ball in the hi-post and allow him to get touches and let the guards penetrate. Feeding the ball to the deep low post position never works against sagging zone. I can't believe JVG haven't figure this out yet. Ming can hit jumpers all night long against a zone defense on the hi-post.
3. I haven't seen any double screens or specific plays to free up Mobley against the zone. You need to run plays for your jump shooters to stretch the defense.
4. This Rocket offensive sets are so predictable, its almost laughable.
Maybe I shouldn't be this harsh since this is early in the season. Give them 30 more games and if this continues, then u know its JVG.

 

Question:

If Houston shoots 50% on wide open looks, would they have won tonight?

Secondary question:

Is not hitting open jumpers JVG's fault for having a poor offensive mind?

 

Rockets have weak benches...that's the reason they lost. It doesn't matter if Steve or Cat didn't shoot much. The reason they lost is cuz because of weak benches, giving up too many offensive rebounds as always. And as much as they say going into Ming too much, actually one of the reason they lost is when Yao come out of the game, that's when Portland make a comeback, when Yao is in, he makes the team better. But as soon as he goes out, Rockets just couldn't pick up the intensity. They need a better group beside the Yao group on the paint. Also, this maybe funny...as much as they go to Yao Ming a lot tonight....it's still not enough though...cuz they need Yao to help them score anything tonight. It's like if they don't go to Yao, they're going to be behind...Just not enough Yao man!! Somtimes, i think they need to wait for Yao to get back up the court and post up and run plays for him...but the team were running up and down too quick and Yao couldn't catch up with that running and the team simply didn't go to him when they're on a break.

Even though we lost, I am encouraged by the competitive spirit of the whole team....man JVG really had these guys playing really hard out there. The change of the team from Rudy to JVG is like night and day. These guys were talking to each other, cheering for every points, kicking themselves for missing and arguing with refs..man this is a sign of a good team. I have no doubt Rockets will be an elite team from what i seen today. I believe what JVG said that when you play hard and smart, you will eventually win games. Rather than not playing hard and competitive and losing and getting frustrated like Rudy bring to the team last year, this team is going to be something to watch this year.

This team has weak benches and I can't wait for Pikowski and A. Griffin to come back and help this team cuz they really need depth out there. Torry Bragg really screwed up a lot in this game...can't handle the ball when he has clear to the basket and turning over. Also, I don't know about JVG taking Yao out when he's playing really well in the 1st quarter and when they're leading by double digits. You want to put a dagger down the opponents' throat when they're down ...u know what i mean, u don't want them to get up and give them any sign. That's why Damon Stautamire said, he was glad JVG took Yao Ming out when he's dominating the game in the 1st quarter. I think he should left him there when he's playing well. As soon as he take him out, the Rockets are a totally different team and were able to chip away points. I understand he needs rest, but can't he just DO IT ONCE, leave him out there!!!!!!!!!

 

I like Sweetie's point about Cato. Other teams know that he has no true offensive game and that he's a backup center playing out of position. So, they can leave him open and double Yao with ease. If I was an opposing coach, that's exactly what I'd do until Cato shows that he can put some serious points on the board...which he can't. What i find truly depressing is that our guards are playing so badly that their defenders are leaving them to double Yao because they know they Francis, mobley & Norris will not make them pay for doing so.

Meanwhile you have dumb, dumber & dumbest (Francis, Norris & Mobley) allegedly trying to pass the ball into the post as the 1st option on offense. Trouble is, everyone else in the league knows this is coming so they double Yao to get the ball out of his hands. This is how everyone tries to play Shaq but in Shaq's case he can pass the ball out and repost. Yao looks to pass the ball out but there is usually no one to pass to because the Rocket guards can't seem to move without the ball in their hands. So Yao is often unable to repost and finds himself swarmed. This has to be particularly vexing to him because he has yet to adapt his game to this style of defense.

Many here believe that adding a shooter like Piatkowski will somehow force opposing teams out of this defense. I, myself, feel that until the Rockets can find guards who possess a true medium range offensive game, opposing teams will continue playing them this way and simply dare the Rocket shooters to beat them from long range which the have yet to do to anyone.

 

someone put a voodoo hex on them. stuck pins in all their little doll hands.

oh yeah, and the zone. it's so painful to watch them dribble around, try in vain to find the open man, not able to penetrate the interior, and then settle on a 3 point shot, or turn it over. I think that happened on every other possession. so painful.

jvg needs to figure this **** out! i mean, i still have faith in the man, but it's starting to become more and more painfully obvious that our lack of offense is at least in part due to his lack of offensive sets and solutions, especially when dealing with the zone. the other part is of course execution. and we're just not consistent enough to execute well, especially when it counts.