I think I finally understand the Rockets' new offense

Yeah I think its a good offense.

 

That is a pretty good analysis.

There is already a description for that kind of offense.

Playground

Mango

 

the Rockets showed me two very good offensive plays lately that they run oftenly...

1) Shandon posts down low -> sets a pick for Carlos up top -> Carlos can cut to the basket or set a pick for Steve -> Steve then takes the ball to the middle where he can either take the mid range jumper, drive to the basket, pass off to the roll (Carlos), or kick it outside for a 3

2) Carlos (or Cato) posts high -> Mobley feeds the post -> Steve sets a pick on Mobley's man -> Mobley cuts to the middle -> Steve fades along the sideline -> the ball is passed to Mobley where he can either take it to the basket or dish off if the defense helps out

the rockets turned all of a sudden from a post-up offense to a motion offense. our post-up players used to be our strength, now our penetrating guards are our strength... and rudy is doing a good job of slowly moving to a motion offense... you can't change an offense over night. our base play used to be feed the post, and kick-out when there is a double team. now that we don't have a player that demands double teams in the post, we have to get them from penetration. and since we have two of the best penetrators in the league (Mobley & Francis), that's not a bad idea!

 

You have to work with what you've got. Since Mobley doesn't know how to do anything other than dribble between his legs and take his man off the dribble(sometimes he pulls up for the jumper and hits about 25% of his shots and sometimes he takes it to the rack and does a little better if he doesn't turn it over)I guess that's the kind of offense you have to run. At least Francis passes on occasion. We desparately need Dream back in this line up to give us a solid post up player just so long as he doesn't cry about not getting the ball all the time.

 

Francis still is dribbling the ball FAR too much.

There are too distinct styles to running the plays between Francis and Drew.

Francis - Comes down, yo-yo, yo-yo, yo-yo, more yo-yo, waive off the first pick and ignore the guy rolling, wait for the second pick, come off that and shoot or pass to only Cato (almost always the man Francis gives the ball to on penetration). Amazingly due to Francis's extreme talent level he can still pull this style off. More 24 second shot clock violations however. One player is responsible for the assists, and that of course is Steve, because everything is based on his penetration.

Drew - Comes down, passes to first wing he sees, cut and reposition (movement without the ball), there is also more direct feeding of the post in this style. More players touch the ball, and a variety of players are responsible for the assists as there is very good ball distribution.

 

So Francis is more exciting to watch. But Drew didnt play all that bad tonight. He played well in the 4th and that is what matters the most.


[This message has been edited by Francis3 (edited December 24, 1999).]

 

I dont care what any 1 here wants to call this type of offense....all I know that is our point gaurd had 11 assist with 0 turnovers....The Rockets would have to have another back to back championship to please 90% of you people here. What I saw tonight was a group of young talented Basketball players doing what we all thought they would or was supposed to do this year(run)....they have begun to develop a effective running offense, and have remained very competitive through out this season ( err.....well thats true for atlest the first 3 quarters) these guys have shown continued improvement from game to game.....they have shown signs of coming together and have always been a blast to watch this year...seeing guys like Kenny Thomas, Carlos Rogers, Cato, and our back court of Mobley& Francis, and for a handfull of games Anderson, has been very fun to watch this year.....I have realized that this team is not going to be favored in 80% of the games they play this year but of all the teams that we have been compaired to this year (GoldenState,Vancouver,Chicago, etc....)i still think that we have the type of squad that has promise and potential.....cut these guys some slack, u think they like their record?? I think that before all you people take the role of Judge and Jury, you should give these guys a chance....I bet before this year is over with we will get to the .500 mark, and hold some respect in such a tuff West Conference....right now teams are not giving these guys anything.....but we have to hold our heads high, these guys represent our wonderfull city and we should atlest acknowledge their efforts

 

Shotcaller, just relax and put the gun down. Nobody here is slamming anybody, we're just trying to learn from each others inferences about the way the offense is now being run. If you can't handle civlized discussion about other topics besides how great they are than go post on Bill the Rocket guys site. We believe here that this team can play better.

Although they did a very good job tonight.

Ohh yes and I will take you up on that .500 prediction of yours. That won't happen. Enjoy the Eastern swing while it lasts.

 

I think Shotcaller meant well, caucasiansensation.

I agree with him in the sense that some of these posts seem to be making fun of our team but maybe not.

We do have an exciting young team, and reality has finally set in with me in that regard. We don't do anything perfect ourselves and need to be a little more compassionate towards the team cus these guys are human too and will have to learn by mistakes. They are progressing, and at least we are not the Chicago Bulls, at least I don't think so. Hopefully, the Rockets will be fast learners!

GO ROCKETS!

 

cute summary Will. I've been working on actual charts of plays that I've seen, but your summary definitely comes off more concise.

Give me two more live games (Toronto and Clippers) and I should have some backing data for your summary. Rudy certainly has many plays to utilize, effective picks, and seems to be adding some each game.

Eventually, I believe we'll prune it down a bit, and go with the most effective ones. Right now, Rudy seems to be trying more than he'll settle on. The return of Dream and TMass will certainly bring back some low posts.

Anyhow, I hope to contribute some charts soon for people to look over, digest and look for on the court.

As a teaser, my favorite play so far is what I call the "Warp-n-Woof", involving a double-high post and weaving picks for Francis.

 

I saw Rogers do that play Sunday with Mobley cutting into the lane. Unfortunately, Mobley fumbled the hand-off...he was clear sailing to the rim.

Yes...look for that play more. I suspect the cutter to the baseline will be open when the guard is trapped in the lane, whether the high post guy gives the hand-off or not.

 

Shotcaller, are you still looking for those championship games from 94 and 95