Last night was probably the first glimpse of the Rocket team we were hoping for. We got up and down the court, TMac was unbelievable, and we didn't have Yao setting those silly picks 15ft away from the basket. Yao was a couple easy shots away from having a nice 20 & 15 game. Having that said, here are some areas we need to improve on and areas we need to keep up: 1. FTs, FTs, FTs. We are a good FT% team (not lastnight), but we don't get to the line. We are last in the league in FTA and we have Yao/TMac. FTs are freebies and we just aren't getting any. Answer: Drive to the basket, obviously. TMac driving to the basket will result in two things: a scored bucket or foul. It is almost impossible to stop him when he gets that first step. Also, keep Yao down low. When Booth came in, Yao was abusing him badly and all he could do was foul. Keep Yao in the paint, get him the ball, once again: either a foul or shot. 2. Keep the uptempo play. Its not necessarily a matter of running and gunning. But bring the ball up faster and get the offense going ASAP. TMac was able to get easy shots like this and was also able to give Jimmy open looks as well. Answer: If the shot is there, take it. We saw TMac pulling up as soon as he could. TMac may not shoot like that everynight, but it keeps the defense on their heels, it is another thing they have to worry about. Also, anyone notice that Yao DIDN'T SEEM TIRED last night. This was the fastest game of the season in terms of speed, and Yao wasn't hanging his head down. No more silly picks for Yao, no more useless post-ups and then battling through the paint to the other side. I'll add more later, gotta go to class. But what do ya'll think?
Oh ya, one more thing. 3. Give TMac the ball. He is able to do so many things with it. and 4. Keep Yao near the basket, period. He missed a couple easy shots but lastnight was definitely his best rebounding game. You can't rebound when your 10ft away from the basket.
I agree with you gucci888. This type of tempo seem to fit T-mac and the team much better. Hell, if Dirk head hadn't gone off the way he did last nite would have been an easy win. I have always believed that T-mac should attach the basket more. I think the more he does the refs will start to give him a lot more calls. We'll see how Sat. goes but I have high hopes for a win vs. the 76ers.
Wow! Something was obviously different last night eh? So maybe JVG read this forum and let the boys do what we and they know they can and should do! Now more of the same. Anyone notice Sura can rebound unlike our previous PG's? Anyone notice our PF's can't rebound? All great ideas listed here. I personally think JVG was trying to turn our guys into something they are not, and was making it way too complex, and trying to change in one month what can probably only be successfully changed and developed over 2-3 seasons, individually and as a team. I think he finally figured out it's back to basics and let them all play their strengths, then add some skills to their repertoires much more slowly. I think JVG thought he had a team of all-stars with Einsteinian IQ's like his. It is just a game and we have a skill-limited roster. Keep it simple stupid!
I think we should make tmac the first option. When he has the ball, good things happen. Last night, he also had 9 assists. If the rockets hit half of their shots, he'd have had like 15 assists. So when he has the ball, good things happen. We should also keep yao in the paint. He did get a helluva lot more rebounds that way. Oh ya, sura is more of a man that all of our pgs and pfs put together.
Really? I didn't seem Yao was too tired lastnight, he atleast didn't seem as tired as the previous games.
1) JVG needs to loosen the controls on the players and also lighten up when they make mistakes. 2) Restructure the offense around Tmac. Play to maximize his strengths on offense and personally, I actually think Yao will benefit the most from this new plan. He'll actually be a better player overall.
agree on all four points. i think Jvg should just focus more on PF defense then offense, just let T-mac be the playmaker and let yao play volley ball inside all night. Yao will get the shots with t-mac being double team, he should get his shots. Please JVG send our PF's to a defensive class for 24 hours so people like dirk won't get 53 pts a game.
