Now that our roster has been revamped by 50% and the "And One" club has been shipped off to Disney Land, I am pumped up to see how much hussle we will see this year from your Houston Rockets. What I mean by this is movement without the ball (which is something that has been dead in the NBA for years) by out team. Pick n Rolls using T-Mac's athleticisim and Yao's massive frame (something we all wished him and Stevie would have done). I hope and expect to see a lot more of this fundamental style of play which will make the games way more enjoyable to watch and get everyone on the floor involved. Back cuts to the basket, kickouts for the wide open 3pt shot....man this is going to be good. Anyone care to share your thoughts on this? P.S. - this is not a bash against any of the old rockets players who were traded, just a new found emphasis on basketball fundamentals and the berth of a new season......GO ROCKETS!!!
I hope Lue and Ward consistently knock down the 3-pter, and JJ continues to do so. It would be great if Boki improved his shooting percentage as well.
And that alone is cause for celebration. That and fewer turnovers. Those two factors will make the Rockets infinitely more enjoyable to watch this season.
You've seen Jeff Van Gundy coach before, right? The slow-down, uglyball offense is the only type he knows. It is unknown whether he will be able to win here using that style, but (even for the home team) it is rarely "fun to watch."
I think JVG coaches to a style that suits his players. He will run this year..... and play good defense. He has good slashers and passers now....the team should play a very different brand of ball. DD
What's the last non-halfcourt oriented team to win the championship in the NBA? The 1980's Lakers? Efficiently-run half-court offense can be just as, and usually more effective than "fun" Sacramento Kings / Dallas Mavericks style ball.
Amen! Denver/Dallas/New Jersey type offenses excel during the regular season, but, get ground up by a team that plays good halfcourt offense. If you run a good set and your gaurds are always in a position to stop the fast break (Detroit), you can dictate that the other team will run half-court and make them uncomfortable. An uncofortable team in the half court is now easy to run against because their gaurds are moping around the three point line and they aren't getting those easy buckets so they aren't as excited about getting back on defense. That is why you see Detroit ripping New Jersey or Denver 106 to 86. Good half-court defense starts with good half-court offense.
"If you can't beat 'em...join 'em!" Isn't that how the old saying goes. Not to say that USA is going down the drain, but if European teams can beat the all mighty USA by playing team ball and good fundamentals, why can't we take advantage of the style of b-ball. Granted that there were many reasons why team USA lost, one of the main reasons why the other teams won is because of their unselfish, team oriented, body movement/ball movement style of play. Definaltely something to take into consideration.
I found the two Rockets championships thrilling to watch, no matter how many people called it uglyball. Call me weird, but I love a game with high defensive intensity. Every play becomes important.
You'll have to excuse him, he finds a way to bash JVG in every thread, whether his point is irrelevant or not.
What's better to watch? Winning with style, winning with dominance, or winning with drama? Hard to choose huh? How about any one of those choices versus watching the Rockets lose? Easy choice now.
It would be nice if Yao and T-Mac could create one of those unbeatable patented moves. but then why stop with one.
Did any of you guys watch the Knicks' run to the '99 finals (from their run to end the regular season and onward)? I wouldn't call that ugly-ball at all. That team had to run, and they did so as often as they could. It took the playing styles of Miami and San Antonio to really make them look bad. Watching that team showed me that JVG can coach to his player's talents just fine.
I for one truly enjoy a good fundamental game of basektball. Crisp passing, open shots, team play. I like Larry Birds philosphy about hitting guys in the head with passes, if you do it long enough eventually they will learn to expect the pass from anywhere on the floor. Now you are making the other teams defense react to YOU, and as a result you will always have the advantage in most cases. Team play will ALWAYS win against the "and one" style of play because you have to guard everyone on the floor. If you think that is not truy, name me one team in the past 20 years who has won the championship with the "and one" style of play. And don't tell me the Bulls because as good as MJ was he didn't win until he started getting his teammates involved.
From what I remember, the only vaguely entertaining series was the one against Indiana. The others included "gems" like (google, as I don't remember the scores, just that they were what got me disliking VanGundyBall) : San Antonio 78, New York 77 San Antonio 80, New York 67 San Antonio 89, New York 77 New York 77, Miami 76 Miami 87, New York 72 Miami 83, New York 73 New York 79, Atlanta 66 New York 77, Atlanta 70 That in an era when there was MORE scoring than in 2003/4.
The Rockets averaged like 114 in the Championship with Orlando. They were far from ugly the second time around. New York made it ugly.
True fans care about team wins before anything else. The roster has been revamped 50%, but remember the backcourt has been revamped 100%: T-Mac Sura Gaines Lue Ward None of them were here last year. I think we're going to get more easy points. I think Yao will get more assists. Only Sura, Boki, Gaines and T-Mac are really capable of running. Hopefully next year's objective will be getting more athletic players to run a bit more. Stromile Swift seems like he'll be unrestricted next year, and he's a Rocket fan. He'd be great alongside Yao on this team.
I don't see that happening. Easy points, up-tempo game, running basketball == more scoring. Van Gundy coached teams have (to this point) been incapable of doing that.
