I like Utah's backdoor play. It seems easy enough to run. A) The guard with the ball starts ouside the top of the FT circle. B) The center or PF set up at the FT line. C) The off guard on the wing, strong side. The other 2 players stay on the weak side and clear the post. A nods at C, C nods back. A feeds B, C fakes out and toward the ball but cuts backdoor toward the basket. B feeds C for layup.
Raging thanks for that. I am probably being a little unfair to JVG but I do not want to find myself like I did with Rudy, just giving him all kinds of benefit of the doubt. I like JVG but I am not cutting him any slack. I guess if you want to introduce and solidfy new sets you may not allow the guys to run so you get as many opps as possible to work on the sets and plays in game situations. I hope that is the case.
IMO, it is very tough to double a point guard effectively. You CAN do it but it often leads to easy buckets. The Rockets have done it occassionally as a way to get the ball out of the hands of a playmaker, but the way to double a guard is with a big man and Cato isn't quick enough to double and get back to his man. Another key to JVG's defense with guards is that he prefers that they overplay and force guys to drive to the hole. Normally in basketball you don't give up the baseline but the Rockets used to routinely funnel guys down the baseline to Hakeem because of his shot blocking skills. JVG seems to like to do something similar with the primary difference being he likes for the guards to over play the ball handler and stay right up in their business. Another biggie is that the Rockets have been exposed too often on the pick and roll. The guard has to fight over the pick in JVG's system and the big man has to show on the guard but not so much that he cannot recover on his own man defensively. They have really struggled with this because Cato and Taylor haven't been quick enough to show and then go. It ends up with either a wide open 15-footer for the guard or a back door for the forward. IMO, Steve's biggest deficiency on defense is his tendency to cheat. The last couple of seasons he's been in the top 20 in steals, but it is because he cheats into the passing lane. While this CAN result in turnovers, more often it results in his man ending up wide open. He's been better the past game or two at staying home but he still gets burned too often. The one thing this team does defensively really well is rotates on the perimeter. One of my big pet peeves with the Rockets over the past few seasons is their really poor defensive rotations. They just simply gave up way too many open shots. This year, they have done a great job of rotating on the perimeter, HOWEVER, it does occassionally cost them in the rebounding game because it pulls one or two players away from the basket and often leaves big men out of position underneath mostly because guys like Yao and Taylor are really still learning to be good rebounders and they don't have a big third guy (small forward) to pick up the slack. Taylor will probably always be deficient in this area. I think Yao is going to improve throughout the year and, eventually, (in a couple seasons), I think he will be dominant defensively. Steve has dramatically improved in his defense this season but he still cheats a little too much which is a habit he'll need to break. He has a chance to be a very good defender at the point because of his size, strength and quickness. Mobley could be a shut down defender at the two but he seems to get lost on the floor too often and doesn't really accept that role unless he is overly challenged by his opponent. I have high hopes for the Rockets defensively. I'm still not sure what I think about them on offense.
I don't agree. I think he is really improved and is showing the necessary effort that it takes to overcome this perceived deficiency. When in the past was he required to be a great rebounder? The defense under Van Grunty is fine. Steve cheats because we have an inside zone to collapse on the driver. I don't have a problem with that. We tend to forget we started fast and other teams are really gunning for us. Also, we are now part of the Texas trio and teams come here fired up. The offense is way suspect. I think the schemes and plays are very amateurish. I'll give JVG a chance, but I don't think he is even a decent offensive coach. Look at the article today and the Topic about it...
Yeah, I hated to see Tmo and Posey go. Granted, Posey did not live up to his potential or expectations with the Rockets last year, but he could still be a very good addition. He was a pretty good defender non-the-less. Tmo was a good defender, rebounder, passer, shot blocker, and his shot was improving. Scott Padgett???? Seriously. Hey, its not too bad, Tmo is in the NBDL, we can always get him back. Convincing Jerry West to give back Posey. That will be a bit more difficult.
