It looks like the Rockets (assuming they resign Mobley) will be great on the offensive end of the floor. Plenty of scorers and shooters. But how the hell are they going to stop the other team? think about this roster defensively: C Hakeem even if he plays, he's even more lost on D than he is at the offensive end C Cato big question mark. gave up way too many inside buckets, except in preseason against the Cavs PF Collier who knows -- had a lot of blocks in school but doesn't look like an NBA defender PF Thomas didn't play much D last year SF Williams enough said SF Rogers assuming he's on the team, he'd actually be one of the better defenders SG Anderson the one stopper on the squad SG Mobley like barkley said: instant offense. on both ends of the floor PG Francis doesn't appear to focus on the defensive end PG Norris midget PG Drew can you say, Maloney? ?? Bullanghi like a police escort to the hoop this team could give up 105+ a game. And Croshere, if a deal were to go down, brings a lot more to the table at the offensive end than on D. I'M SCARED! ------------------
Francis said he'd work more on his defense, which isn't bad. Duncan said KT played good defense. Cato showed that he can be a force in the paint, with his hard work he can be a full time wall. I also feel Collier can be a decent defender. The Rockets defense isn't terrible but is does need improvement. With more practice the Rocks defense will get better. ------------------ I AM SPARTACUS
Mobley has good defense against the 1, but needs to work at the two. He should be fine this year. Collier gives another 7 foot defender. Since they are talking like he will be primarily a PF, it suggest that he should have atleast average lateral movement at the 5. I've never thought Walt was as paper thin as made out, but he's not good either. Rogers can play D against the smaller PFs and larger SFs. Hopefully, Collier can handle the bigger PFs. Francis is young. You can't expect him to be Payton in a year. He got scorched by vets a lot (But he scorched some of them too!), but he did very well against the 2-3 year players. KT, he's short and will always have trouble with big 4's shooting fadeaways. The rockets should be a good post up defense team. They have size up front to slow down the post with a quick backcourt to cover the lanes and double quickly. ------------------ "You've got 6 fouls, use them well" -Derrick Coleman
The Rockets can effectively defend the post with a team defensive strategy that utilizes the new rules, which allow a strong side zone. They can double guys like Shaq, Duncan, and Wallace before they even have the ball. Perimeter defense is not important as it once was, in my opinion, because the defender is severely limited in the body contact he can make with the offensive player. The league is becoming more offensive, especially on the perimeter, and less defensive. This is by design, what the league wants. The Rockets are trying to tailor their team to this change. ------------------ Too-Rye-Aye!
This draft probably didn't improve the Rockets' defense (though I can't really say because I haven't seen Collier or Langhi play), but it hasn't made the defense worse. These guys are not going to take playing time from any players who are good at defense. ------------------ http://www.gaffordstudios.cjb.net/
I'll have to disagree on this one. Just about the only good thing Hakeem did last season WAS Defence. Maybe not half as good as he's always been but when he's healthy, i tell you, Dream defensively can average like 10 boards and 2 blocks. ------------------ Ostertag for Three!!!!!
We can just try to outscore opponents like those early 80s Nuggets. Makes for fun b-ball to watch, but isn't the best philosophy for getting far in the playoffs, IMO. The top 6 team defensively this year (post rule changes) were (in this order) LA, Mia, NY, SA, Phoe & Por. The top 6 teams offensively were Por, Min, Mil, UT, SA & Mia. Removing the teams in both lists ("both focused" if you will), none of the "defensive-focused" teams lost in the first round (LA, NY, Pho). Of this group, two made it to the conference finals. Two of the three "offensive-focused" teams lost in the first round (Mil, Min), leaving only UT, who was promptly booted the next round. Despite the rule changes, I still will take my chances with a slightly better than average offense plus a great defense over a great offense and slightly better than average defense. As we are already are loaded with young players with offensive skills that will only get better (especially Francis and Mobley), I still think we ignored what we most needed--quicker and longer front court players. More examples: we are already ahead of the Philadelphia model-they basically have one great offensive player (we have 1.5) + a good defensive players. Phila hasn't been doing too bad in the playoffs especially considering their talent outside of 1 great offensive player. The Lakers have two great offensive players (although Kobe is really better on D than O) plus defensive minded players, which is why they had by far the best defense, and record, in the league. Surprise, they also got the ring this year. Granted this is all based on 1 year and I am not totally confident in these trends, but I am not ready to say offense is now more valuable than defense because of the rules changes. [This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited June 30, 2000).]
Sir -- thanks -- i am convinced that defense is more important now, in this pro-offense climate, than ever. In particular, quality man-up defenders are at a premium: the old rules allowed basically anybody to play defense with hand-checking and plenty of contact. Now it takes someone quick with good anticipation and a willingness to work at D to be a solid defender (at least outside the paint). Whether you're with me or not as far as the relative importance of good D today, i would have to say that the Rockets as they now stand would have to rank in the bottom third of the league in defense, which makes me extremely skeptical of their ability to challenge for a playoff birth next year. ------------------
Look who just won the championship, I thought the Lakers were the worst defensive team to win the championship in many years. At least 12 (I didn't watch much basketball before that). I think that we should have better than average one-on-one defense in the post. Cato is good at Center, hopefully Collier will have the size at PF to do a decent job in this respect, and Shandon will do well. On the perimeter we have speed and potential with Francis, Cuttino, and Shandon. There isn't any reason that we shouldn't be able to play excellent team defense with those guys if it becomes a priority for them. If Collier can block shots at the NBA level then that would give us two shot blockers for guys who can make it past our speedy guards. I think that the biggest questions marks will be Cato's team defense and smart play, our backcourt's effort, and finding some defense (rather than offense) off the bench. ------------------
