Ok, I know I have beat this into the ground, but has anyone else noticed how well the offense runs when we have two attacking penetrating players on the floor? These last 2 games coach Adelman has been playing Rafer and Brooks together and it is creating tons of opportunities for themselves and their teamates, especially on the attack around the basket. I really really like having Brooks speed in there, and Rafer has been aggresively attacking the basket since Tmac was out. Penetration makes everything so much easier and when you play with 2 penetrating players it makes the spot up shooters (Battier/Head) the pick and pop guys (Scola) and the slashers (Bonzi) much more effective. It also allows for Yao to get more offensive rebounds as his man has to rotate off to help.... Just say yes, to 2 penetrating players please !!! DD
I live in Austin, can't really listen to Clutch unless it is posted as an archive. I will call in sometime....just to have some fun with Clutch....or at his expense. MWAHAHAHAHAHAH ! DD
bonzi has also been doing a nice job of attacking the rim. but to stick to topic... rafer and brooks seems to be working since they speed up ball movement, player movement, and overall game tempo. nice to see the rockets playing offense the way they are.
http://www.1560thegame.com/ You're beginning to sound like TMac...excuses excuses excuses yeah, but made up for it later in the game and he got a sweet block near the end of the game
There are 2 key points to playing brooks and alston together, first the opposing backcourt must be small, if kobe is the 2 guard on the opposing team, it won't work, and second, rafer and/or brooks has to be shooting the ball well to make it a truly lethal. Brooks really brings a different dimension when he can push the ball and penetrate, and also make the open shot, he hasn't shot the ball consistently yet but i think with the more playing time he receives the more consistent his shooting will become.
I just forgot.....but I will plan something for him.....because frankly, I am a fart smeller. This is just not true, it is not necessarily about size but rather the type of player that they are being asked to guard. You are correct about Kobe, because he is an aggressive take it to the hole player. But at times you could put Alston on Lewis and Brooks on Nelson and still be efffective because Lewis is a stand outside shooter, and smaller players can bother him...... It is why Dirk Nowitski has so much trouble with smaller quicker players, he has not developed his post up game. So, while I agree it is situational, it can work in far more situations than some people may think. DD
his feet are always moving, the problem is he doesn't have the intracacies of playing man to man D in the nba down yet, he doesn't know how to position himself that well yet, and he was just being overpowered last night, which is what any smart team will do, attack him with power, not quickness.
tell me about it. Jameer Nelson was looking like Billiups, Baron Davis and Deron Williams combined when Brooks was on him.
Most PG's do not have a post up power game, some do, most don't. Brooks is like Chris Paul, smallish but quick, he should be ok most nights. In the first half, but in the 2nd Brooks moved his feet and outside of the 3pt shots that Nelson hit in transition he did a good job. DD
When they are both in together, they really need to try to run and push the ball for some easy basket attempts. It would be better if Bonzi and Scola were in with them to run the floor. I wonder if Tmac will run with them when he comes back! Also, I think many of you under estimate Brooks defense. He will make some rookie mistakes, but he has very quick hands and is so low to the ground that he will get tons of steals as he matures. He also knows how to plant for a charge and isn't afraid to do so. Because of his speed, he can beat his man to the spot many times. So other than getting posted up, which Rafer gets done to him as well, he really isn't as bad as some of you all want to make him defensively. It's not like Rafer is blocking opposing guards shots or something.
the problem is someone like chris paul could overpower him, he really is small. jameer nelson isn't known as a baron david kind of strong pg, just a solidly built point guard and he easily overpowerd brooks. the point of the coach is to try and hide his players deficiencies, and rick will have to do that by helping brooks out when he is guarding a bigger/stronger pg.
That's what i've notice when Alston and Brooks are on the floor. It opens up an opportunity for Scola,Bonzi and Yao. Makes a big difference!
True. I will say though, his ability and willingness to take charges is exciting and scary, the kid is going to get run the hell over someday and hurt himself if he isn't careful!
What is happening in the bigger picture is this team is proving that at least one of Rafer or Brooks needs to be in at all times. When they play together, it's simply small ball and the lineup will work as long as the opponents has any two of the 1,2, or 3 that cannot get their own shot.
I agree, this two penetrators thing is deadly. The key is that both Brooks and Alston are dual threats because they look to pass. Bonzi; not so much... Hopefully McGrady can comeback with more aggressive penetration and revert to his old ways of looking to involve the team during the 1st half.
that is part of the hope for mcgrady, but what would make this team really dangerous is to make tmac a finisher with the penetrating guards getting him the ball in position to score. would you rather the ball be passed out to bonzi at 20 feet from the basket or tmac 20 feet out and room to shoot or just drive in for the layup?
