http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3435226 First night gives glimpse of rosy future By JOHN P. LOPEZ Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Opening night was for catching glimpses and glances. Hints and signs. You can't see the whole picture of what these Rockets will become, but you notice things. Like Yao Ming being more sure, more fluid on the offensive end, smarter getting into position and more confident of where he needs to go and when he needs to be there defensively. "This is not a good day to talk about my defense," Yao said. "I got into foul trouble." Sure, he picked up too many fouls, but a couple were cheap and another came on an aggressive play for a rebound. Yao's 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a little more than 25 minutes showed just how much better an offseason with fewer Chinese national team commitments made him. So much to watch Opening night is for looks of wonder at the greatness of Tracy McGrady, who despite a sore knee filled the nets (23 points) and dazzled defenders. It's for watching the new backcourt of Rafer Alston and Derek Anderson show flashes of what they can become. It's for seeing power forward Juwan Howard almost look like his old self, with nine boards and solid defense, despite tough-luck shooting inside, the ball persistently rolling off the rim. It's for the stand-up comedy of Jon Barry in the pregame with a microphone in his hands and the knock-down 3s he drained for a game-high 24 points with the ball at his fingertips. And opening night is for splashes of reality tempering anticipation of a great Rockets year until a few questions are answered. Stromile Swift, for one. He is "Project Stro" for coach Jeff Van Gundy, who doesn't grade on a curve. In the final minutes of Wednesday's 98-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings, when the Rockets had to have a stop, Ryan Bowen was in the game, not the touted offseason addition. "I guess I was just brain-dead or something out there," Swift said. "I just tried to make up for it by playing hard. It was tough." Full of promise It's no secret how good this Rockets team can be this season. We saw it clearly Wednesday night against one of the better teams in the Western Conference. That the Rockets could win so impressively despite Yao's foul trouble, Howard's misses inside, T-Mac's sore knee and Alston and Anderson still finding their way says much about how good this team can be. That they had to win despite Swift's horrendous night on the defensive end of the floor, where he was supposed to make the biggest difference, tells you how far the club still has to go. If Swift ends up giving Van Gundy exactly what he gave him Wednesday — exactly what he has given his entire career thus far — they'll be among the better teams in the conference. But they won't be the team we expect them to be. Not until Van Gundy connects with Swift and Swift figures it out will this team step to a higher level. This was an impressive night in many ways, and a night of contrasts among Rockets big men. There was Yao, after all those many rants and heart-to-hearts with Van Gundy, after all those long days in the gym and intricate lessons, it all clicked. Judging from the assertiveness and confidence Yao showed, he could be starting his best season yet — as much defensively as offensively. Then there was Swift. Swift flew through the air spectacularly with 5:20 left in the first quarter, catching a pass at the top of the key, dribbling once and jamming a two-handed dunk so viciously it rattled the shot clock above the backboard. The crowd went into a frenzy for Swift. But we knew Swift would bring that. The dunks and finishes on the break have always been there. It's the other stuff, the defensive positioning and rotating and subtle placement on the floor that Van Gundy demands. Not long after the dunk, Swift looked lost, especially on the defensive side. Brad Miller cleared the ball, head-faked and Swift bit, allowing Miller an easy path to the bucket. One possession later, Swift left Miller to double-team Peja Stojakovic, leaving Miller open for another layup. Next possession: Swift laid too far off Miller, allowing an easy bounce pass to Stojakovic for a layup. Over and over it went. Out of position and out of sorts. "If we would have lost that game, I probably would have been a lot more upset," Swift said. "I made a lot of mental mistakes. I don't know if I was nervous ... I'd get stuck out there sometimes. There were a lot of missed coverages." And all the while Van Gundy paced up and down the sideline, harping on Swift or waving him over after whistles. "You had that cut, Stro!" "Watch the pump fake." See you at practice, Stro. Coach is looking forward to it.
I have to give credit to Stro for owning up about his performance. I have to give Lopez credit (surprises me) for actually watching Howard's play and understanding that he was still important in the outcome of the game. I understand how some here are reluctant to see Yao's improvement, but it's the subtle things that are different that makes me want to get giddy. But I won't.
it's about time one of J-Lo's usual "glass half empty" articles is justified. Swift will come around, I believe. Until then, expect to hear more articles like this from Mr. J-Lo.
I'm not too concerned about Stro's defensive struggles. The Kings offensive system always seems to give us some trouble because our defense is designed to make teams shoot from the outside, and that is what the kings do best. He'll be much better against the more conventional teams.
Actually the problem was with the back door passes and easy drives to the basket by the C/PF when Stro was in.
You're right, and I think our guys are just not used to defending the kings' offensive system, with the movement, shooting, and backcuts. Our guys were trying to play their shooters tighter than we would against other teams (besides Miller of course), and we got burned backdoor repeadedly. There was the one play where Stro jumped onto Peja before he even received the ball, resulting in Miller's drive to the hoop. My point is, there are not that many teams with so many shooters to worry about. The Kings and Miller in particular always seem to give us problems, but Swift will have a much easier time with teams that don't run Princeton style offenses.
I am not sure Yao Ming's performance is truely improvemnt, though he looked more comfortable and confidence over there. It's against King, they did not double against him as usually. The Miami's game will see little more about his improvment and shark' fadeness. But I think King should not comlpain that Miller was not selected as star over Yao, On one one one, Yao was obviously better than miller. Most of miller points come from open shots created by his teammates, and Yao score with Miller's hands and body all over him.
I think Lopez just found his next whipping toy. It used to be he always criticize Yao. Stromile will come around. For some reason, I think Yao's gonna have a MVP type of season and taking us all the way to the finals.
Ya, Swift looked completely lost out there on D lastnight, at least he knows it. They were mental errors that I'm sure him and JVG will correct.
Besides TMac, Ming not Swift is the key to the Rocket's success. A significant improvement in Ming's game makes the team a threat to win it all. Because of the way the Kings defend Ming, it is hard to evaluate possible improvements in his game. The season is just starting, a few more games will tell. He does look more confident, less tenative. He also looks stronger and a bit quicker. As far as Swift, there are reasons two of the best coaches in the league couldn't make progress with the guy. I don't think it is the lack of smarts as much as it is nerves or "brain speed," some people's mental wheels just turn more slowly. He seems relatively intelligent in interviews, but appears real shy, almost scared. I think he gets confused on the court, he needs a simple formula to follow. I think sophisticated defensive schemes are not going to work with him.
