He's much quicker than Kobe. Kobe lost a few steps too, he's just smart enough to perfect his jump shot before it happened. The point being that Battier is ideal in situations where he can -- most of the time -- keep the opposing player in front of him (e.g. Kobe, Carmelo, etc). But failing that, quickness would cause him a lot of problems. Rudy Gay would have worked in this scenario
OK- - point is- that is the one guy we need to shake up. I would double him and get the ball out of his hands if possible. No one else looks comfortable running their offense.
I understand your frustrations, it sucks being tormented by opposing point guards virtually every other game in this league, especially in the West where most of the top PGs reside. But if this was Baron Davis, I would agree with you. I just think Williams is a different breed in terms of the matchup problems he creates. B-Diddy is also physical but he's slower and he likes to take a lot of contested jump shots, Battier would be ideal in that situation. I just don't see him doing all that well against Williams, he's not only strong but also very quick and has even better ball-handling abilities, and can shoot.
I understand, but I also don't think it would be all that effective in the end, since the Jazz run a lot of cuts and PnR with multiple players, they can probably have Boozer anchor their offense in the high post should they need to. They seem to have Sloan's system down pat.
Man it just stinks that no sooner do we get rid of Malone and Stockton, that the Jazz come up with Boozer and Williams.
I would take Williams over Stockton and I really think Boozer isn't that much different from Malone (he's bulky strong, can shoot the 15 footer, rebound, run the PnR), with exception of the cheap shots and nailing other players' family jewels. I dare even say that this duo may -- one day -- do something the Malone/Stockton duo couldn't: win a championship. This Utah team will be trouble for years to come...
rudy gay is a terrible defender. for being as athletic as he is, his lateral quickness is his biggest weakpoint. so although i recognize the sarcasm, i don't like the idea of rudy gay trying to defend d-will. hell, i dont like the idea of rudy gay trying to defend a parking meter.
somebody better play defense on AK47. He shouldnt be scoring over 20 pts. Maybe the Rockets should double up on DWill. After all he is the backbone of their offense, and if no one person we have can stop him....
Only because he's still recovering from his tailbone injury. To me, he seems quicker than Nash at this point in their careers.
Let me state it this way- When Nash and Paul have the ball they are dribbling and moving facing up, looking to break down the defender. When Williams has the ball he is dribbling but not moving as much, he seems to rely upon his strength and body position to put his defender on his hip more. Actually I know he is quick, but he actually uses his strength more, he plays more like a power player than a quick player. Iverson and Paul and Nash are/were the quick PG who broke your ankles- Williams plays much more physical- he is a Baron Davis with much more height, more body control and greater passing skills, court vision and BB IQ.
I know this isn't college basketball, but why not just run a half court trap. That would get the ball out of Williams' hands without sacrificing too much. Only problem is all 5 of their guys can score. I think we are quick enough and athletic enough to pull it off though.
I'm not trying to be stubborn, but Williams uses his strength more than Nash or Paul because he's strong to begin with. Both of those other guys are featherweights and have no strength to use. Plus, Paul is in a class by himself in stop/start quickness. Nobody can touch him. I also understand your frustration, but focusing too much on Williams will destroy our defense because the Jazz can beat you so many ways. The way to beat the Jazz is to make Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer work hard on defense. Scola brought his lunch pail on Saturday but we don't have a PG to keep Williams busy. Putting Battier on him is a non-starter.
Williams is more a threat to score vs. our defense. Paul might get a five foot floater, Nash might get an open three pointer, but Williams gets layups on either side of the rim. Not good. Need to put Battier on him (isn't Battier supposed to guard the opposing team's best scoring threat within reason, making it Boozer/Williams) - or get the ball out of his hands before he can make a play.
read today's chronicle. adelman says our best defensive lineup isn't our best offensive lineup. he thinks we may have to sacrifice some defense to up the offense to make the whole thing work. i'd love to see how adelman carries out what he has in mind tonight.
The two biggest changes from game 1 that would help don't need to be radical. What's needed is for Scola and Co. to make their shots at the basket; CREATE contact and get the foul. And secondly, towards the end of their big win streak they started to have less and less motion in the offense -- AND less ball movement. (I think if they had made half of their missed shots around the basket they might even win game 1 without playing the same kind of BB they played so well in February. I said it in another thread... if the player who has the ball (once in the half-court) can count to 3 and isn't shooting, passing or driving the basket, then they are not playing the game the way they played it to get 22 games in a row. And if you're going to drive, CREATE contact and follow through to try to finish the shot; don't pull up/back. If the Rockets can get back to their "February selves" they can win in Utah as well as here. As DD said... "run 'em into the ground."
Thats a fact, we shot 35% vs. 52% for Jazz and lost by 8. If we couldve hit just 45% of our shots (resonable IMO), we wouldve won maybe by double digits. We have to shoot better to have any chance, our defense is FINE.
What about doubling D Will at the beginning of the game? Would that get him out of his rhythm? Do to Williams what the j*zz are doing to T-Mac.
I believe it's not so much what we defensively as offensively. But I'd consider the switch as a late game surprise tactic. We need Alston back. We need more players. Hell, Alston by himself might be the answer to changing the defense against Deron. BJax and Brooks are having a tough time. While Brooks did play some when Deron was in the game, Adelman primarily wanted him to play against Price. You could see the moment Sloan put Deron back in for the last time at midway throught the 4th, Utah went to Deron twice in the low block against Brooks and Adelman yanked him quick. It was clear that Sloan was going to attack Brooks mercilessly in their endgame strategy, so Adelman yanked him. Don't argue with me like I'm againstt Brooks. He attacked the basket well offensively. He helped. But the two coaches know his weakness against Deron.
HP, But what do you do if Alston is not really healthy? And, I don't think Alston is all that good against PGs that have the size and strenth of DWill, so with Brooks, IMHO, you are not losing all that much. Granted, I like getting Rafer back to alleviate some of the pressure off of TMac to initiate the offense.....but I hope he is really really healthy, because otherwise it is like trying to put on a used band aid, they just don't stick. DD
