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If You Played the Lakers like You Played the Rocks 92-96, Can We Win a Title Soon?

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Almu, Mar 22, 2002.

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  1. Almu

    Almu Member

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    I am talking about how the Sonics played us during that stretch.

    If I remember correctly, the whole league was scrambling to contain Dream the same way that everyone is trying to contain Shaq. Duncan, Garnett, Mutombo and Mourning are just the taking the place of Ewing, Robinson, Parrish, and early Shaq.

    So how bout it?

    If you think back, the entire Sonics team relied on an innovative defensive strategy devised to disrupt opponents with relentless pressing, trapping, and double-teaming. You needed to be athletic to play this type of basketball. Do you think the Rockets have that type of personnel?

    Clearly, the team needs to improve its on the ball defense. If you are going to double team the middle, do you think the Rockets can rotate quickly to the open man like Seattle did? Remember, they completely shut us down sometimes by doing all this with athleticism. Double teaming. Trapping. Long arms. Steals. Blocking shots. Do you think the Rockets can play this type of game to disrupt the Lakers?

    Don't the Lakers resemble the Rockets of at least 1995? And Seattle would usually limit Dream by pulling him out of the paint with Perkins and having all the other Sonics do their stuff on us. Or by sending what seemed like 4 people while having 3 others rotate to our open guys. They used their quickness at every position that well. Can't this work with the Lakers who clearly have a weakness with fast, athletic teams?

    Maybe you need a coach that teaches pressing, trapping, in your face defense (Van Gundy?). Maybe Francis and Cuttino can learn to play in your face and use their rare athleticism and scoring on the Lakers the same way Payton and Hawkins used it on us? Maybe we need to get us a scrub center who at least hits an open jumper to play the role of Perkins? I think Eddie can eventually be as good as Kemp was and the Lakers don't have anyone on the PF side who can play Griffin even on just talent.

    So, what do you think? Is this possible? Can we tweak the team a little to do this? Or does the philosophy have to change? I think we have the horses and with a high pick this year can add another horse. I think the Lakers are very vulnurable when teams don't play half court and run them up and down the floor or have people at the point and PF position who can do damage.

    But Rudy has to see that the only way to beat the Lakers is to be Rudys old nightmare. We have to take into account that its not about stopping Shaq or Kobe. Can't do that. Remember that people tried that on us do and they had no luck. With the new zone rules implemented, the cheating the Sonics did before would be much easier to do now that its legal.

    Can we play the Lakers the way the Sonics played us and win? Or do we have to wait 5 more years for the next great center to embarrass Shaq at an old age? (Not like we don't know how that feels.)
     
    #1 Almu, Mar 22, 2002
  2. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Almu,

    Great idea, I think it would be a way to contain shaq somewhat, the difference is that now, that defense is LEGAL !!

    The problem is that our players are not committed to playing defense.

    DaDakota
     
    #2 DaDakota, Mar 22, 2002
  3. aggie007

    aggie007 Member

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    I wouldn't say they're not committed. A lot of the quotes I read from games all they talk about is defense. You would have a better case if you said they didn't try hard enough.
     
    #3 aggie007, Mar 22, 2002
  4. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    Aggie,

    Your statement is PERFECT for your moniker.

    They are committed...they just don't try hard enough....oh man.....

    I am going to get it as a quote so you can't retract it....

    Aggies what are you gonna do.....?

    :D

    DaDakota
     
    #4 DaDakota, Mar 22, 2002
  5. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    They also have some guy named Kobe. Sure we had Clyde and he was still a good player, but Kobe right now is in the top 5 players in the league. At the time, i don't think Clyde was top 5, maybe top ten though.
     
    #5 leebigez, Mar 22, 2002
  6. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    leeb,

    It would help if you read the post. Are you also an Aggie?

    :)

    DaDakota
     
    #6 DaDakota, Mar 22, 2002
  7. JR

    JR Member

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    the title of this thread reads like an Aggie creation as well
     
    #7 JR, Mar 22, 2002
  8. aggie007

    aggie007 Member

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    Hey, stop picking on us or we'll refuse to clone Dream.
     
    #8 aggie007, Mar 22, 2002
  9. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    The Rockets won't be title contenders for awhile yet, so I have to wonder if the problem will go away before we have to find a solution for it. I'm more interested in whether it could work for other contenders now. Given what a thing of beauty that cheating defense was, it's a wonder more teams don't try it.
     
    #9 JuanValdez, Mar 22, 2002
  10. LEWIS LLOYD2

    LEWIS LLOYD2 Member

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    The Sonics never won anything with that illegal defense they played so why copy a pattern that does not work. The Sonics never stopped Hakeem fairly because they played an obvious zone and in a fair game they could never stop Hakeem.

    DaDakota do you have that Bulls at Rockets double o.t. game on tape? Please email me.
     
    #10 LEWIS LLOYD2, Mar 22, 2002
  11. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    They didn't win a championship with it, but they eliminated the Rockets twice with it. And the two years we won championships, we happened not to have to play against the Sonics.

    The theory, to recap, is that the Lakers rely on an inside-out game similar to the old Rockets'. The defense worked on the Rockets, so it might also work on the Lakers. And, in evaluating this theory, you should note that it is popularly considered that, to win the championship, a team must beat the Lakers first. It is granted that the defense may not work against a different sort of offense.
     
    #11 JuanValdez, Mar 22, 2002
  12. Puedlfor

    Puedlfor Member

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    The problem is that a great deal of Seattle's success on the offensive end was because they could pull Dream out of the paint with Perkins - with the new rules(and even before them) Shaq doesn't leave the paint, or even the general vicinity.

    Besides, who's to say Shaq just won't knock the hell out of our three trapping defenders and get an easy dunk anyway?
     
    #12 Puedlfor, Mar 22, 2002
  13. Hydra

    Hydra Member

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    I think that there are two ways to beat the Lakers. One is to try to take Shaq out of the game with fouls. You do this by attacking the basket with quick big men. He does not get the free pass on the defensive end that he gets on offense. The other way is to get into his head. If Shaq gets ejected he misses that game and at least one more. Barkley did this in the great wrestling incident. He got into Shaq's head and the Diesel threw a punch at him. Now Charles body slammed him, but our guys could try to interpose a ref between themselves and Shaq. I would also tell my guys to try to get him across the arms if he takes a shot attempt within 10 feet of the basket. He does not like this, and he went after Miller for it. It is also often not called.
     
    #13 Hydra, Mar 23, 2002
  14. LEWIS LLOYD2

    LEWIS LLOYD2 Member

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    Your giving the Sonics too much credit for something they did not do. The Sonics won in 93 because the Rockets were screwed out of homecourt vs. The Spurs the last game of that 93 season and and in that gm. 7 93 they were victims of poor calls that cost them in that game too. The Sonics are a bunch of wanna be's who never did anything but get eliminnated 2 straight years in the 1st round. Where was that great defense then?
     
    #14 LEWIS LLOYD2, Mar 23, 2002
  15. leebigez

    leebigez Member

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    One thing that was missing in the Sonics dominance over the Rockets was typical Rudy failing to adjust. Everytime down the floor . he would run Hakeem down to the low left block, the Sonics would double then zone evryone else. Instead of Rudy moving Hakeem up the lane or to at least the high post, Rudy would run him down to the same blocks. At the time we had no one who could really create their own shot nor did we have anyone to contain Kemp or Payton. As for the Lakers scenerio, they have Kobe.
     
    #15 leebigez, Mar 23, 2002
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