I have a few opinions about what the rockets should have done differently when Harden is on the floor. I'm sure these are obvious, but non the less I would like to share. The first is that Harden should not be taking the ball up the court and setting up the offense. He shouldn't be taking the roll of Jeremy Lin. It seems that once he does that, the team doesn't know what to do. Should they give him spacing or start the motion of the offense. I think he did that on every play once he came in for the remainder of the 4th quarter. Once he figures out the iso isn't working he passes it to Lin and the offense still stays stagnant, including Harden 5 ft behind the three point line waiting for Lin to pass it back. Lin then passes it back and the iso starts all over but now there is about 7 8 seconds on the clock. I really like Harden's assertiveness in trying to lead the team but I think he can do it in more productive ways. There is no need to have him play point guard, Harden shouldn't have this many isolation plays and he needs to be a part of the offensive motions.
I guess they figure they can save some time is setting up the play for him if Harden brings the ball up himself. Also, it gives him more space to make a quick drive to the basket, if he chooses. But the defense is perhaps more likely to see what's coming.
The offense runs better when Lin runs the point and finds Harden running towards the rim....the defense colapses on Harden and he has the option of either going for the lay-up or finding the open man for the three pointer.
My biggest prob was with Pat... There is no way in Heck that Shane could stop Pat down low... He was basically having his way in the paint. But for some reason the guards wouldn't feed him when he had position and then he would get out. I keep hearing Bill talk about the coaches want Pat to stay in the paint, but it looks like the offense is designed for him to move to the perimeter to allow the guards room to drive. The only prob I have with that is especially last night.. Pat had the clear advantage down low and the guards were not driving they were basically settling for outside shots. T_Man
I understand... But last night he should have been playing in the paint and being feed in the paint..
One thing that's definitely missing is Lin's killer instinct. Last year during Linsanity he would drive hard and fearlessly towards the basket and most team's just couldn't stop him. Now for some reason he's settled into being a spot up shooter or full-time facilitator. If he could just get back to driving to the rim as hard as he used to, he could attract some of the defense to himself and take some of the heat off Harden.
Anything I say here is going to cause a stir with the LOF's so Im just going to say that in the final 2 minutes last night, James Hardens passing out of the double team led to 2 open 3 pointers that kept the Rockets in the game. Could have been 3 three pointers from a hockey assist had Jeremy Lin made that 3 point shot, but Im not going to blame Jeremy... anyone who has ever played basketball ball before has put up an embarassing air ball. Happens to the best of them. Harden is historically the best ball handler and decision maker on the court. In crunch time, he's the one proven guy who can get it done at least to setup the play correctly, and direct the offense to get a shot off. During other moments of the game I agree the coach needs to keep finding ways of getting him involved in the offense playing off the ball more, but during crunch time, he's the best option you have. -The main reason why Harden passes the ball off to Lin is the move the ball to the weak side to check for any gaps in the defense. If they hug the strong side, Jeremy might have the ability to penetrate. Even if Harden passes to Jeremy and he passes it right back, in theory it should at least momentarily relieve some defensive pressure on the strong side to get Harden a shot.
Accurate assessment, Harden is a SG with play making ability that if push comes to shove, he can play PG. The coaching staff seems to think that means he should have the ball from the start in almost every possession, which means he is setting up for his team mates and/or himself to score, which has been hurting his effectiveness since he really has not been on a NBA team where he is the first option and still had to do that, hence when plays don't develop like he likes he goes off for himself. I don't think it is something Harden demanded, so much as the coaching staff are trying to get the best of him but in thinking this is the best way they are putting him and his teammates at a disadvantage.
The reason Jeremy Lin doesn't have his "killer instinct" anymore is because everyone knows how to play defense on him now...
I don't think the offense has big problems now. Sampson is doing a good job to coach our offense. Harden seems to be our best playmaker in clutch time. We should let him have the ball. See who is making plays for the Heat in the 4th - not their PG. Of course I came to this conclusion by "eye-test". If statistics say something different, say Lin controlling the ball gives us higher probability to score, then we should change our strategy. Our bigger problem is the defense. I have to ask the question again: why isn't Asik on the court when we were leading and were needing defense/rebound desperately?
