game 1 - 108 pts on 59% shooting game 2 - 103 pts on 50% shooting game 3 - 86 pts on 46% shooting game 4 - 89 pts on 40% shooting game 5 - 77 pts on 45% shooting with each game the point total is declining, and with the exception of game 5, the shooting % is dropping. is this a trend? is it worth being worried about? is portland getting progressively better at countering the way we play offense? or is it just a coincidence?
Yao isn't getting consistent touches. If Yao can get 20 before the first half is over in GM 6, Yao can just sit for the 2nd half, because I know we'll already have won it. Yao Ming needs to get touches. Plain and simple.
he actually got more touches last night than he typically has in this series....sad because he didn't shoot the ball at all in the 1st quarter.
It was mostly AB not being aggressive early, then settling for bad shots as the clock wound down. There were countless occasions where he passed up a great shot for a bad drive. It was just bad execution. Should be fixed next game.
but does any of that explain why the offense is getting progressively worse? some of the low FG% numbers are explainable by the offensive rebounding and extra shots but why are they scoring 30 points less per game now than they were in the beginning of the series? why is it declining so dramatically? portland's numbers arent, really.
that's what i was gonna say.. would be interested to see the stats historically from games 1-7 (or 5)
we have three groups of players: group1 : Yao, Scola, Landry, Artest. <-----soft bigs, jump shooting all along. group2: Lowry, Brooks, Wafer. <---------streaky smalls, got blocked from everywhere on the floor. group3: Battier, Hayes, <----- good guys but they have no say to the game.
Fatigue.. That's whats happening. The season is long and brutal and add the playoffs and guys are going to get tired.
i worry that the rockets are becoming more predictable, and the blazers are locking in. i also fear that as this continues, the rockets will continue to force the action and play outside of themselves. it does not bode well.
Any team with your big man as your only guy who can create his own shot has a predictable offense. That being said, Just give the ball to Yao and create opportunities from double teams and he can score at will anyways.
but if thats the case, it should have been predictable from the beginning of the series. why would the offense continue to decline? the same opportunities are available because of the fronting defense since game 2. yet fg% is declining and we are drawing less FT. is the offense less aggressive? more jump shot oriented? any thoughts there?
