I still think the most major part of out Offensive woes is simply HITTING THE OPEN SHOT it is not dribbling the ball too much [though it is a problem] it isn't poor rebounding by yao [though it is a problem] it isn't poor decisions by SF [though it is a problem] All that but if we knock down the OPEN SHOTS we still would win It seems we get a TON of open shots [not just against the Knicks] If Piat, JJ, Mo T and Cat hit those shots off Yao and SF's feeds WE ARE BBBBAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKKK Rocket River
Exactly! I posted this elsewhere, but it fits this thread too: Memo to all the JVG bashers out there: - Did the offense (the one that is not supposed to even exist, according to some of you) SUCK last night? - Isn't it just a matter of the players hitting their shots and moving the ball around like their coach has been preaching? Funny, I was beginning to think that it was nearly impossible for the Rockets to score over a 100 points while JVG's non-existant offense was run... guess a lot of people are eating crow today. As for Francis, I'm not jumping off the trade bandwagon until games like this become the rule instead of the exception. Funny thing is, have you guys noticed how the team seems to play with more passion when it's on National TV? Last time around it was that victory against the Lakers... it's about the players, not the coach.
Yes but we seem to hit the open shot against weak defensive teams. We seem to miss the open shots against the good defensive teams. I don't think it is just us. I think the "theys" have an effect on us.
Look up "aberration" in the dictionary and last night's Houston/NY box score is there... Don't worry, the Rockets will find a way to disappoint us like they always do...
I think you are right. When we play a good defensive team, we don't expect to have many open looks so we force marginal open shots and rush the wide open ones. We seem to look out the corner of the eye expecting defender to come and block the shot at the last second also.
Agreed, actually. The offense isn't actually pretty, but I think the biggest problem is actually the fact that our role player jump shooters suck. Pike has been a huge disappointment. Jim Jackson always plays tough, but his shooting has been streaky at best. Mobley, Francis, and Yao are always going to be guarded. We need someone to hit those open j's. This team needs a shooter in a bad way (or someone like Pike or Nachbar to step up).
Funny how great the offense looks when we hit jumpers! Like VG has said in the past, the shots are there, they just have to fall. I thought when Yao or Taylor got the ball in the post we ran much more disciplined offense. Better movement from the players and better passing. But when we didn't go to the post or Yao was out of the game or couldn't get the ball to Taylor because he was being fronted I think our guards start to freelance and eventually end up taking bad shots. Our inside out approach sets the table for our offense and we can't stray too far from that! JJ is a must for this team. He is so steady when he is in the game. Calms people down and always gets the ball to the post player. He really is a good SYSTEM player. Great role player. He is easily becoming one of my favorite Rockets each and every time I see him play. His defensive toughness is there everynight, but when his jumper is falling, watch out! I am VERY disappointed in Pike. His shots on the run were tough ones and that is not really his game but the feet set stand still jumpers NEED to go in! That's why he is on the floor! Pike needs to be more of a factor on this team off of the bench. And I think Nachbar is done on this team. If he can't even get in the game with 5 minutes left during garbage time when we are up 30, then what the hell!?!? So he goes in with 1 minute left, big deal! Forget it, his future is not in Houston!
The fact that we had only 1 more assist than the knicks proves that our offense sucks. Everyone was just taking their man off the dribble and was hot last night. How often do you expect JJ to be that accurate from the field. One think I've noticed in the last few years is that when the SF his hitting shots, our team does really well. I remember the hot streaks we had the last few years coincided with the Wizard or Rice being hot from outside.
The player that has really impressed by so far is Mo Taylor. At least on the offensive end. We are starting to see that unstoppable baby hook he showcased last year. Also, his fadeaway jumper, as well as his jumper is sweeeet! He is exactly what we need off the bench. Now, as haven mentioned if we get an outside jump shooter to start getting his shots to fall come off the bench, we're a lock at the playoffs. You know, as good as our offense looked last night, there were still a lot of mistakes, and just boneheaded plays. Mobley threw up some shots, that well, looked like he was warming up before gametime. I don't know what his thought process was. Francis on a few occasions dribbled way too much, and a few times his passes reminded me of intentional grounding. He would drive to the basket with the purpose of scoring or drawing a foul, then throw the ball away to a teammate in a bad position. Lastly, I'd pay money to know if we practice the fast break. I mean, come on, our fast break is as fluid and natural as playing basketball with a football. All in all, great performance on a huge stage. Let's see what happens in the next game. Great teams build off of wins such as this, mediocre teams don't. Let's build up some steam until the All-Star break. If we do build up some steam up until then, am I the only one that would worry that we'd lose it coming OUT of the break?
I hate to say it, but I agree. While I am happy we won, I haven't seen the Rox hit those shots with that much ease all season. JJ was on fire and SF was hitting shots that made me overlook some of the boneheaded plays he made last night. It was easy to see that he was still not playing within the offense and got most, if not all of his points in ISO situations. While everyone else got theirs in the flow of the offense. But hopefully this is a turning point, it is just what I have seen before this win, makes that hard to believe.
I reviewed the tape from the Knicks game and saw how we raced to the 23-2 lead in 6:30 mins: 1) Yao 18 ft baseline-Turn-around-J, fouled by Mutombo. 2-2FT. Houston lead 2-0 1a) Kurt Thomas 18ftJ, 2-2. 2) Yao 20ft J from the elbow, Hou 4-2 3) Cato layup, Hou 6-2. 4) JJ 3pt from the wing. Van Horn ran under pick by Yao. Hou 9-2. 5) Yao 15ft baseline TAJ over Mutombo, 11-2. 6) JJ 18ft baseline J, VanHorn ran under pick by Yao, 13-2. 7) JJ 20 ft elbow J, VH picked by Cato, 15-2. 8) Cato 20ft elbow J over VH, 17-2. 9) Yao 18ft baseline TAJ, fouled by Thomas, 2-2FT, Hou 19-2. 10) Cato 10ft TAJ in the lane, fouled by VH, 2-2FT, Hou 21-2. 11) Steve dunk, Stephon picked by Cato at the elbow, no weakside help. Hou 23-2. Yao 8pts, JJ 7, Cato 6, Steve 2pts. Later in the game, Steve, Cat and MoT hit some of the same shots they might have missed in other games.
In essence, we won the game last in the first eight minutes when we had the 21-0 run. At one point, we led by 23-2. Most of our assists occurred during that span of time. Francis had 5 assist in that run. That basically told the whole story. When Francis drove and pass around, we had wide open shots and made it. When Francis looked more for his own shots, the game looked pretty but (the remaining three quarters) not as effective. IMO, it is not as simple as hitting the open shot. We didn't have many open shot in the games we lost. Look at the Detroit game, how many open shots we had. We simply dribbled a lot in the game.
You look at what Yao's first points were, the crap zone with no effort NY played, and that Steve did his "last year" self first game and that's what got it done. Major emphasis on the crap NY zone and effort. Hit the open shots? Duh! Look where they were Yao low post fans. He hasn't shot those in months! maybe he should. Maybe Steve should be shoot first / pass second. You think Steve was going to do JVG's game plan against Starbury in MSG. He went with what works and what he knows works. And, JVG couldn't do a thing about it when they raced out to a lead. You didn't see that quitting little Hitler yelling at anyone then did you?
Isn't this the problem for the entire NBA except maybe the Sacramento Kings? I mean, look at the Knicks yesterday. They had as many open looks than we did, especially from downtown, but couldn't hit. But I do agree: if the Roxs hit the open shot, their offense will be better
Steve only had 2 assists when we had the 23-2 lead and they were credited generously. One was on Yao's 20 ft shot when he had to fake the pass. The other assist was for Cato's 20ft J. If Cato can hit those shots consistently, I'd have 20 assists passing to him. Your point is well taken though. When Steve plays like a PG and other players make their shots, the game looks easy. When Steve goes 1 against 2,3 and the rest stand around and watch, it's ugly.
Lack of ball movement is the Rockets problem. Last night was an exception to what normally happens. I wish they kept stats on the Rockets shooting percentage when the person that brings the ball up the court takes a shot without passing the ball. I bet it would be around 30%. It's probably about 45% when a rocket catches the ball, does NOT DRIBBLE, and shoots.
I don’t know if the jumpers are open because the offense is working or because the defense is just inviting the Rockets to go ahead and shoot from the perimeter by leaving players open outside on purpose. I would still like to see the Rockets do what they did last night against a great defense like the Spurs or Detroit. So far the results have not been pretty.
I know we all watched the same game last night. I mean it was nice to watch and I was happy about it. But this has happened before, some nights all your shots go in. The ball movement wasn't particularly nice at all. Guys like MoT were throwing up this no arc step back Js that were contested but they just always went in. I don't really know if that's sustainable in the long run. Meahwhile I do have to say Francis was awesome. He made some great plays.
