JVG's singular focus on defense is his flaw

It worked last year with a crew that had way more individual defensive ability than this year's crew. It takes much more effort and energy to play hard defense especially if a player is not good at it which in turn takes away from the contributions on the offensive end. One can argue that the Pistons won with defense. Yes, they did. However, look at their roster. They are loaded with great defensive players and a perennial defensive player of the year. Larry Brown was just emphasizing a strength of the team.

Can anyone really find a very good defender on the Rockets? However, there are a lot of good to great offensive players on the Rockets.

Don Nelson said it last year when he said the only way his team could win was to outscore the opponents. He then changed his players which allowed him to have a more hard-nosed defensive gameplan. However, the key is that he changed players.

Cato is much better than Juwan defensively. Cuttino may be on par with TMac right now defensively. Steve is much better than Ward/Lue when you take a look at his defensive rebounding. The strength of this current roster is not defense. Defense is their weakness. They are fighting their weakness which always takes a lot of the player. Carpenters shouldn't be welding. That's not to say to team should just lay down on defense, but is it that bad to have a top 15 defense rather than a top 5 defense if the offense improves from a lower half team to a upper half team? JVG has demonstrated he is not willing to adapt to a different set of players even though he is responsible for many of those different players being on the team. That's a sign of extreme stubborness. What worked for the Knicks may have worked somewhat for last year's Rockets. It will not work for this year's Rockets.

Juwan is not Oakley. Mo is not Larry Johnson. Yao is not Ewing. TMac is not Sprewell. Why is JVG trying to mold them into his former team?

 

I think defense wins championships unless you've got the personnel to say otherwise. Pistons have killer individual defensive players. The Rockets have none. Lakers won their championships with a balanced attack of great offense combined with a good defense. Lakers did not go in the game trying to limit the opponents to 80 points or less. Spurs have won with a very good defense and a good offense. However, they have the personnel to do it too. The starting 5 for the Spurs has twice the athleticism of the the Rockets' roster. Ginobli by himself is a better defender than anyone on the Rockets. TD is a very good defensive player.

The fact is the Rockets are now loaded with guys who can score. As much as the current players have said they are WILLING to buy into a system that will let them win more, they know for a damn fact that they are getting hosed on the offensive end since they have no energy left to even shoot a short hook shot accurately (see Juwan). The career averages of all the Rockets are above the averages that are being displayed this season.

Doctors shouldn't be trying to fix a car. Do what you are good at.

 

I agree. JVG is disillusioned if he thinks a cast of characters that have stamina and age issues can effectively execute his intense defensive gameplan without suffering greatly on the offensive end. That's also a big reason why the team just collapses down the stretch. By the time the 4th quarter rolls around, the Rockets are so tired, the opposing team with younger legs can just roll right through the Rockets with minimal resistance.

 

I sure would like to see how this team plays using a zone defense. Zone defense tries to hide the weaknesses of bad defensive players. Don Nelson said a couple of years ago that Dirk Nowitzki wouldn't be able to survive in the NBA without the zone defense. I saw the Utah's college basketball team who was filled with white guys except for Andre Miller beat the vaunted NC Tarheel team that had Antawn Jamison and Vince Carter. Majerus (the coach of Utah at that time) utilized a zone defense to win the game.

Since the zone defense was made legal a few years ago, I'm surprised at JVG not wanting to incorporate it into this defenses. The guy is supposedly a defensive genius. Look at the Mavericks who have used it many times to basically shutdown the Rockets. Look at the TWolves. Flip Saunders is an avid user of the zone defense.

http://www.basketballsbest.com/articles/article18.htm

THE BASICS OF ZONE DEFENSE FOR THE BEGINNING COACH

by

Glenn Wilkes
Former Head Coach, Stetson University

Zone defenses differ from man-for-man defenses in that players are assigned a particular area of the court to defend rather than a specific opponent. Foremost attention is focused on the ball and the area of the court to be defended. All defenders mass in assigned areas in and around the free-throw lane and shift as a coordinated unit with each movement of the ball by the offense. This team massing and shifting protects the area close to the basket and makes short shots very difficult to obtain.

ADVANTAGES OF ZONE DEFENSE

1. It effectively counters the set-pattern offense involving screening and cutting.
2. It affords maximum protection in the area close to the basket, making short shots difficult.
3. Fouls are committed less frequently. A switch to a zone defense when a key player has accumulated several fouls is wise in many cases.
4. It conserves energy.
5. Fast Break opportunities are more easily obtained from zone formations.
6. Most zone defenses strengthen rebounding.
7. It is very effective on the smaller courts so often used by high school teams.
8. It minimizes fundamental mistakes by a defensive player.
9. It increases chances for pass interceptions and encourages "ball hawking".
10. It is relatively easy both to teach and to learn.
11. The tall, slow player tends to play zone better then man-for-man.
12. Some opponents tend to have more difficulty attacking a zone than man-for-man.

DISADVANTAGES OF ZONE DEFENSE

1. It is weak against good outside shooting teams.
2. It is susceptible to fast-breaking teams.
3. It allows opponents to overload an area by placing two players in the area guarded by one defensive player.
4. Individual defensive fundamentals tend to be weakened.
5. It is often ineffective against the deliberate game or stall.
6. The offense often can move the ball faster than the defense can shift.
7. The standard zone defense must be abandoned when a team is behind late in the game.
8. Using the zone makes it more difficult to determine individual defensive responsibility.

GENERAL ZONE PRINCIPLES

1. Players must get into defensive position quickly Most offensive plans for defeating the zone include the fast break. Therefore, zone defensive players must hustle downcourt and into proper position immediately after giving up the ball.
2. Players must maintain good individual defensive stance. The quick shifts necessary to defend rapid ball movement can be executed quicker when proper defensive stance is maintained. In addition, correct stance is necessary to prevent offensive drives.
3. Players should keep hands up in position to deflect passes.
4. Talk between defensive players is of major importance in order to handle offensive movement. This is very difficult for a coach to obtain and requires constant reminding of the importance of defensive talk to the defense.
5. Players must focus their attention on the ball and shift quickly with each movement of the ball. The ball moves, all five players move, and all five players must have their eyes on the ball.
6. When an offensive player cuts through a zone near the ball, he should be guarded virtually man-for-man until no longer in position to receive a pass. The defensive player guarding him must then release and hustle back to his original position.
7. All players must be rebound conscious. It is more difficult to block out from the zone, but rebounding can be easier as all five players converge on the defensive basket. In addition, many zone offenses spread players too wide and thus make it very difficult to get an offensive rebound.

 

Nelson credits the zone for helping the Mavericks thrive despite injuries to Raef LaFrentz, Nick Van Exel and Popeye Jones, a starter and two top reserves. He also said the alignment is behind the improved rebounding averages for offensive stars Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash, and it's helped Shawn Bradley revitalize his game.

Nelson even said the zone keeps Nash healthy. How? Instead of him chasing one player -- such as Francis -- all over the court and banging into screen after screen, he can let a dribbler go, knowing someone else will pick him up.

But if the zone, which the NBA adopted last season, is such a cure-all, more teams would be doing it. It's worth noting that Minnesota started 15-5 last season when it was zoning more than anyone else.

http://texnews.com/1998/2002/texsports/texsports_e_defense1122.html

 

I think he's pretty good, but the lapses in defense in the Knick game especially when rotating to cover Kurt Thomas reflected why JVG is inflexible even in his defense. He was asking his players to use the same exact defense in the 4th quarter that he used in the 1st quarter knowing his players have issues with stamina and age. Knowing his team's physical condition and adapting the defense to it appropriately is part of being a defensive genius. JVG thinks everyone is a car, and he thinks Gatorade is a gasoline. Gatorade is not fuel. Drinking a couple cups of Gatorade in a timeout does not fully refresh a player.

Players do not cover on defense at nearly the same speed as the 1st quarter. Not adjusting to an obvious physiological fact is what has caused the team to wilt many times in the 4th quarter. JVG is best off with a crew like the Pistons or the Pacers. He wants to coach guys who can fly around on defense for 48 minutes straight. He says with a straight face to the press they didn't have discipline in the 4th quarter.

As much as Rudy T was not a supreme Xs and Os guy, players would go to war for him. I don't think the Rockets would lift a finger if JVG was getting mugged. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your troops is essential to any general leading them. If you want them to win a war of attrition, you better make sure they have the physical and mental makeup to do it.