Most likely the only plan... unless Morey comes up with some surprise. But it would be a mistake to overlook what Yao's presence in the middle means to the defense for this team. The intimidation and changed shots factor is huge. I think this will be evidenced by the fact of how many more times players will now, successfully, go the hoop and get to the foul line. And the Rockets defense has become a measureable part of their offense. If Landry and Scola are the fill-ins, fouls will, also, now mean less points. And if they are busy at the 5 this likely means more minutes for Hayes at the 4. And we all, I think, cringe when he goes to the foul line. Don't be surprised if the reality of life without Yao looks worse than we hope. I'm 100% behind the "fighting spirit" idea... I just think reality is reality. He will be sorely missed. All the best for your recovery, Yao.
We were actually a bit on small size to start with, but going smaller is really our only option. Maybe they can find a center from somewhere, but small ball is probably the best approach. What else can the Rockets do?
Yeah, but Scola isn't half the rebounder Wallace is, even at this stage of Big Bum's career. Rebounding isn't all about height. Scola needs to give us 9 to 10 boards every night even while matched up against guys like Camby and Duncan. So far, that's been a weakness of his. Landry's shown more potential for grabbing rebounds, but also is not consistent enough with it yet for us to feel totally comfortable. It's going to be a MASSIVE point of emphasis for these two to crash the boards at all times. Since Adelman's high post offense pulls them away from the basket, it's tougher for them to get O-boards. On defense, they'll both be under a lot of pressure containing their guys (Gasols, Amares, Duncans, Garnetts, etc) and will need help on the glass. I believe this is going to get Hayes off the bench for us. Going small also means no more Yao to change shots or block them. His ability to change shots and make people miss might be a bigger foundation of our defense than you would guess. Evan
Playing small can make up some ground for the huge hole Yao leaves. I think Landry in particular will really benefit...more playing time plus more space for cutting. I think we'll be seeing Tmac to Landry for a layup/dunk quite frequently now. But we have to be careful about fouls...I don't know if Landry can last major minutes w/out fouling out. I wonder if Green gets some time. NOW I'm actually interested to see him on the court.
The defense will suffer the most.....as we have lost a very intimidating presence in the middle. Got to SOLDIER on !! SMALL BALL !! DD
If any coach could pull this off, it would be Adelman. We can play faster and more motion with Yao not on the floor. Hey this looks like the Kings back then. Scola will have to take on Divac's role. Actually, Scola is a better scoring option than Divac. He can even flop a little. If Rafer can continue his hot shooting (BIG IF), he can run the offense about as effective as Bibby. Battier is a better version of Doug Christie. And T-Mac is much better than Peja. We even have the real Bobby Jackson as our sixth man. What we don't have, unfortunately is someone who can take on Webber's role. Someone who can pass, shoot, and rebound. Hayes is a good rebounder and an underrated passer. But he can't shoot a lick. Landry is a decent shooter and decent rebounder. But I don't see him as a high post passer. I think a better line up would be having Hayes play the center role and Scola on the high post sort of the poor man's Webber. We still have Landry and Head coming off the bench. No too shabby, if you ask me. LET'S GO ROCKETS!!
They just removed 25+ points from the starting lineup and you want to resort back to starting Hayes? Even with Yao, they were conceivable headed to the Lottery and all at once they reeled off 12 straight W's. Right when they benched Hayes for more offense.
start Green and go small Scola Battier Green Mcgrady Alston we need to play small ball ala Phoenix Suns when stat was out, can someone pull out their roster, they only had a rotation of 7-8 players and made it to game 6 of western conference playoffs. this will develop green and landry can still come off the bench
I'm calling it right now. Adelman's offense will get us through this. You will see so much more cuts, passes, backdoors, free flowing offense. If this were any other offense wed be screwed, but I believe that you will see an offense that will work to perfection and carry us to the playoffs. Now is the time to support our team, not jump ship. They need us more than ever, and now is the time to show it. If we give them heart, they will feed off of it and become a great team. Those that have jumped ship, please jump back on. This is the essence of fandom right here, right now. Get better Yao. Go Rockets!!!!!
im hopin small ball along with adelmans offense..keeps gettin us victories, more PT for scola n landry cant be a bad thing..throw gerald green n brooks out there..run run run
alston / jackson / brooks tmac / head battier / green landry / hayes / novak scola / williams / deke lets do it.
