I am tired of all these T-Mac and Yao have no intensity and heart threads, Rafer cant shoot threads, and millions of threads saying a player isnt tough enough, so this is the official thread. My 1st guess is that Adelman isnt using the players effectively, Rafer shouldnt be starting, Steve Francis should be, Yao Ming should be playing in the post 85% percent of the time, Battier should be using his all-around skills more, he has a pretty good 3 point shot even though its cold right now, he has a really deadly baby hook, and can drive in and dunk from what I have seen of him, Chuck Hayes is not a starter either, Luis Scola should be PF and it bothers me as to why he isnt playing at least 30 minutes and getting 8+ shots, this guy is a beast, he has a sweet mid-range shot, can drive in and has good go-to moves in the post, and Yao should be feeded the ball when he is doing well.
What's REALLY wrong is that the team isn't familiar with a new coach, teammates, system etc. We can't have defensive lapses that make it easy for the other teams to score. In addition the team needs one the following players to be a scoring threat each night. At least on other player on the list needs to be at least a moderate threat each night: Rafer Alston, Steve Francis Mike James Luis Scola Shane Battier Bonzi Wells Luther Head
nothing is wrong but if the players continue to miss their open 3 point shot maybe then we should trade for 1 or 2 proven 3 points shooter.someone like matt caroll,eddie house,daniel gibson,anthony parker or even jr smith and there are a lot more
Yao needs to be taking more shots, even if he's not in the paint, since it's harder for him to get a shot off there with the double teams, even if he's closer to the basket. More high post for him. Also, Tmac needs to shoot less if he doesn't have it going or doesn't really have a good shot. I'd like to see Scola starting and being posted up first play of the game; the Tmac/Yao show is too predictable for the other team, and they can get passes from Scola, who is a decent passer. I'd like to see SF start, but at this point, I would take MJ starting over Rafer. Just change it up. Hayes needs to come off the bench. Bonzi might be valuable come playoff time (when/if). Deke should play spot minutes every night to keep people out of the layup parade, especially when Yao is on the bench or in foul trouble. Shane needs to work on his mid-range game instead of living and dying by the 3.
Here is an article I wrote right after the Miami game.... -------------------------- Well, here we are, 13 games in and below .500. Hard to believe considering we were 6-1 and ranked as the best team in the league in 2 major power rankings (SI and NBA.com) just a few weeks ago. Houston came into the season with a huge influx of talent on the roster, a new coach dedicated to making this talented offensive squad finally click, and the aspirations of finally exiting the first round and possibly going all the way. Yet, 13 games in, the Rockets look totally lost out on the court. The new wave of talent has been extremely inconsistent (Bonzi and James) or hasn't been able to get on the court (Franchise). The offense is ranked #23 in PPG, #25 in FG %, #27 in 3pt %, #20 in FT # and #17 in APG...in other words, the offense is far from clicking. The coach with the freelancing style of play has refused to make roster adjustments and play former all-stars, while instead choosing to start the worst starting PG in the league bar NONE. And now we are 6-7, with hopes of reaching 55+ wins (would have to go 49-20 rest of year) and getting a prime playoff seed to finally win in the playoffs going slowly down the drain. So, what exatly is going wrong with this team? Here are my 10 reasons why the team is faultering... 1) Inconsistent offensive gameplan/playcalling. Before yesterday's game vs. Miami, I was struggling to find reason as to why such a talented offensive club is struggling in such an open system. Then, during the game, ESPN interviewed T-Mac and Yao, asking them what the best part of JVG as a coach was. T-Mac immediately said that the best part was that the team was ALWAYS prepared for each and every game. Then I reminisced for a minute on last season, and thought about the Rockets this season, and it became clear to me the main source of this year's problems- Rick Adelman's inability to adequetely implent his Princeton-style offensive system into this team, and how he keeps changing the gameplan to mix the old with the new. As opposed to last year, when every single game the Rockets would do the SAME exact offensive sets and each player knew exactly what his role was, this year Adelman has changed the offensive philosophy each game in hopes of slowly adding new plays to the arsenal. Thus, one game the offense may be T-Mac heavy and he is dominating the ball on the elbow the whole game, and in another game he may be playing off ball or used in endless pick and rolls ala last year. Some games Yao is always down low, other games he is 50/50 in the low and high post. These inconsistencies have are a problem throughout the entire team, thus they have no rythym whatsoever and the players look totally lost. 2) Poor use of certain players. Simply put, Yao should NOT be in the high post, Head should not be running the point, Bonzi should not be taking spotup jumpers, Battier should never NOT be in corner waiting for an open 3, and Alston should never be on the court period. Instead of playing to each player's strengths, Adelman is toying around with each player and waht they might be good at, but after 13 games it is easy to see what is and isn't working. 3) Stubborness to change rotation/Adelman's doghouse. Between sticking with an offensively challenged starting lineup in which only 2 players can create their own shots to refusing to play a proven all-star in Steve Francis over a 34% shooting Rafer Alston (22% from 3) to the defensively and offensively incompetent Luther Head, Adelman has been far too stingy with roster rotations that simply are NOT working. There is a reason Houston signed Steve Francis, and it is because Rafer Alston is the worst starting PG in the league. He is an average passer, but he cannot finish at the rim, he is a horrible CHUCKER from 3, and is just a liability when T-Mac or Yao are doubled. What Francis offers is terrific slashing ability and attracts defensive players to the rim as he drives. This, in turn, opens up the struggling 3pt shooters and gives Yao another pick and roll option other than McGrady. This ability to force the defense to respect a slashing player is why the offense always struggles without T-Mac, and why Francis is so valuable. He always can give you solid jumpshooting and amazing rebounding at the PG position. 4) Poor jumpshooting. Whereas last season the Rockets had one of the top 3pt shooting teams in the league, they have gone ico cold this season. Sure, the new offense may have taken players like Battier away from their hot zones a bit, but they are missing WIDE OPEN SHOTS. 5) Overreaction on defense/Yao is being explosed. The defense is still elite, but they are over rotating and over reacting, thus giving up wide open shots too often. The intensisty and fundementals are there, but guys like Scola are trying to jump through the roof on every pump fake and guys like Battier and Hayes are gambling too much by swiping at the ball at unnecessary times (see their defense on Shaq yesterday). On top of that, Yao is being put into positions where his defensive problems are being exposed. Jumpshooting big man that can put the ball on the floor (Boozer, Haslem, Bass, etc..) are ripping him apart. Then you have terrible switches where you have Yao guarding Devin Harris...no comment necessary. 6) Lack of intensity. I am not a huge believer of "killer instict" and having a huge heart=wins, but this team has no life or attitude on the court. Outside of Scola, they have no energy, no hustle and no edginess. Battier and hayes gave this last year, but this year they are somewhat dissapearing. 7) Can't sustain leads/poor clutch play. Outside of games missed by T-Mac, the Rockets have had nice leads against almost every team vanish before the end of the game. Against Dallas twice, against the Lakers on opening night, against the Grizzlies...they have had decent leads evaporate in final quarter or so. The reason is because with the defense keying in on Yao and T-mac, no one is hitting their open shots. Alston missing open 3 after open 3, Bonzi turning it over, Battier missing a wide open 3...the offense simply dies down the stretch. 8) Inconsistent play at PF and off the bench. In the offseason, the 2 biggest upgrades for the team were at PF and off the bench. At PF they claimed 2x Spanish league MVP Luis Scola, and for the bench they resigned Wells, got Mike James, Steve Francis, etc... While Scola has been very good the last few games, he has been inconsistent, as you saw last night when he simply dissapeared after a great 1st half. In the first few games of the season he was MIA. Hayes, meanwhile, has been either great or terrible, as seen in the last 3 games when he has had 2 rebounds one night, 13 the next, then 1 the next. I wanted Udonis Haslem in the offseason for this exact reason...with Yao at center, all the Rockets need at PF is stability and consistent play, neither of which they have had yet. As for the bench, both James and Wells started off the year hot, but outside of 1 or 2 great games by Bonzi, both have been ice cold since. Very little of that energy or scoring punch that won us the first few games. 9) Starting lineup offers too little offense. For the past 2 seasons, the lineup of Alston/T-Mac/Battier/Hayes/Yao has been a staple, and while it helped win the Rockets 52 games last season, it simply isn't potent enough to hang with the best teams in the league, especially with a philosophy that has less emphasis on defense. Out of those five, only two can create their own shot, and this is a problem for a team that will be facing teams with highly potent starting 5's that will trample Houston out of the gate and force them to play catch up. 10) Hardest opening schedule in the league/T-mac's injury. Facing the top 3 teams in the league 2x each in first 15 games as well as Lakers 2x, Jazz 1x, Denver 1x, and putting a T-Mac injury on top of that, and it simply wasn't a favorable schedule whatsoever for Houston. Basically, if Adelman gives the offensive gameplan and player rotations more consistency and stability, everything will fall into place and this team will go on a hot streak with December-Mach being pretty light.
When you are at it, why don't you start a "Whats 'REALLY' great official thread, so that no new thread will be needed in the future?
last time i checked, battier tried to dunk but was no where near the rim, i think i can jump higher than battier
