Houston We Have a Problem

Personally, I think Rudy needs to tell the Rockets work harder on their cutting to the basket after the pass into the post. Ming is AMAZING at getting them the ball if they are open, and we have several players on this team that are good finishers. More often than not, the person that passes in will just trot through the lane and not even look for a pass (Mobley is bad about this). If we can get open for a layup like this 4-5 times a game, it will drastically improve everyone else's play, because easy baskets always do. Right now, Francis is the only one that tries to get open on these cuts, and he still doesn't try his best every time.

I agree the offense needs to be running through Yao, but I don't think that means Yao needs to be taking 20 shots a game. There just needs to be more movement when he has the ball. The key to this offense will be utilizing that brilliant passing of his.

 

Yao is obviously looking to pass the ball as soon as he gets it. One of 4 things will happen. 1- He'll find an open cutter, and get an assist, or, 2- while he's looking, the ball will be stripped from the weak side if he's not looking and his side isn't cleared, or, 3- he'll take the shot himself, or 4- He'll get doubled and pass to an open man. He rarely looks to score immediately after receiving the ball, which he should do more often in certain instances.

The worst scenario here is that the ball will be stripped from the little man on his weak side. This can be avoided by better spacing on offense and more awareness by Yao himself. So what does that leave? Some good opportunities in my opinion.
The offence would flow so much better through Yao, at least use him more often, not necessarily all the time. Mix it up. When Yao gets the ball, the play should be executed quickly. Take the shot if you have a good one, pass it to an open guy, draw a double. One of these options should be utilized very soon after the ball is dropped in.
We need to have an inside game, Yao or not, because a steady diet of long rangers isn't going to work. The percentage isn't that high, and opposing defenses are just clogging the middle.

 

I agreed that the offense should go through Yao. In the Seattle's game when the Rocket run the offense through Yao, they cme back and win the game after being down by 10 points at half time. I thought in yesterday game, the Rocket should do the same. After Yao miss a couple of shot early in the third, they stop going to him to start the offense. In the Seatlle game, he didn't score that much but he was able to make good pass and get his teammates involve. I think the Rocket guards need to have the mentality of Yao. Yao seems to trust his teammates to finish the play whereas our guards think that they have to carried the team themselves. May be it will take times for them to adjust. After all they have been carrying the teams for the past 2 years.

 

Now that I have thought about it a little more, Cuttino REALLY needs to start cutting to the basket harder. He is the best candidate for success on these plays for 3 reasons:

• He is an excellent finisher at the basket. He can lay it up on both sides or fingerroll it in with ease.
• He has the quickest move to the basket. He should be able to create space on this cut easily.
• He is left handed. When he cuts, the help defense will come from the right most of the time. He can use his body to shield off that help and lay it up with his left hand.
  
  I think these are things Cat will realize over time. Right now, he has only been playing with Ming post breakout for a few games. Steve is starting to realize the benefits of cutting hard to the basket to get layup passes from Ming. Others will eventually too. When that happens, there is no reason we shouldn't go to Ming on just about every single possession.

 

I'm glad you made this point b/c I don't think a lot of people do. Just b/c you run the offense MORE THROUGH MING doesn't mean he's gonna be hoisting up 20 shots a game. If anything, the big guy makes the MOST of his shots with less than 15 shots a game. At a conservative 50%, down from his usual 55-60% FG%, that's still 14pts+ a game before FTs.

But the passing as you noted is the real key advantage. I've been harping on how bad our guards are at creating plays for others. Here, we have a dude in our Center who is probably one of the best passers on this team. Even if it's high picks and give 'n' gos, there are so many REDUNDANT yet effective things we could be doing btw the Yao and Francis tandem... esp to make Francis' offesnive life a lot easier. With Yao's footwork, why couldn't he play a two man pick/roll game like Malone does with Stockton? IMO, the answer is a resounding YES. Why couldn't we run more baseline screens like Smits and Miller? IMO, the answer is YES.

We aren't exploiting our strengths and I'm just so frustrated that 20+ games or so into the season, and we're still playing to the script of our opponents.



theSAGE

 

The problem is chemistry. It is something every good team has and it takes time to build. Having Yao in the middle is a really big change for this team. It is still early in the season and it will take a little time before this team finally gells together. AND WHEN THEY DO THEY WILL BE A FORCE TO RECKON WITH. So have a little faith Rocks fans and be patient. Remember everyone said this when we drafted Yao.

 

i think its soooooo funny to hear all the armchair coaches.

if you guys know what ailds the rockeets, and how to fix it, why aren't yall in professional sports?

 

Surprise!!! Real basketball fans actually know something about basketball.
Now if a fan only knows how to read the scoreboard, he should just stop watching and do something that doesn't require THINKING.

 

Even non-coaches can offer little bits and pieces of advice. I don't think anyone here is saying they have all the answers, gram. But feel free to devalue any input a fan has to offer.