Key Takeway: We Need to Play Small Ball Against OKC

The OP is exactly right. This is what I have been saying throughout the season. When we play the elite teams in the playoffs they are going to keep exposing and exploiting this weakness. The Dwight/Jones combo will not work against those teams. The reason why Dwight was so bad tonight is because he was playing against multiple defending bigs when Jones was in there. OKC was more than happy to give Jones shots. Hence my point that Jones scoring numbers are simply a byproduct of the defense concentrating on Dwight and Harden. Don't you remember one play last night where Jones catches the ball outside and just stands there with it, not wanting to shoot it but having nobody to pass it to? Guys, that is going to keep happening against playoff teams over and over.

Jones and DMO cannot put us over the top but if McHale doesn't reign in their minutes that decision could cost us a championship. This game was lost when Jones and DMo were on the floor.

 

Man, would Kevin Love would be nice for this team. Having two guys going for blocks is probably why we can't get rebounds.(T. Jones) Love would be in position for a box out while Dwight intimidates anybody around the paint. On offense Love would spot up on the the corner 3 or lob it up to Dwight. Nice....Pipe dream I know...

Now back to reality . Small ball would be a good way to switch it up on OKC. Let's hope we can implement something like this the next time we meet up. Better yet , when we meet in the Western Conference Finals. :grin:

 

So if schedule ended today we would have 4/5 Portland, then winner out of 1/8 or 2/8 matchup ? Anyone can help me on this one ?

 

If Dwight is able to get his normal numbers last night, we might have been able to win. We need to find a way to make him at least relevant when on the court.

If Ibaka will leave his man to go block Dwight's shot, then Ibaka's man needs to cut to the basket or move to the open spot.

 

We would have the winner out of 1/8. So if the playoffs ended today we would get Portland( 5th seed), and if we won that series we would get either San Antonio (1st) or Dallas (8th).

 

yes and no, I was at the game in lowers behind the goal, Howard had a lot of good clean looks one on one against him, he just rushed them & seemed like Adams had him out of his game. He was also getting bullied on boards wasn't really trying much, maybe he was hurt idk. I like when asik was in there setting picks with the small ball line up and he controlled the paint better, but we still need Howard because he can get some easy points if he demands respect in paint and hustles

 

The problem with cutting to the basket against good teams is they all have an elite defensive presence in the paint. You can cut to the basket and finish against Minnesota with Pek and Love. Neither guy is an elite paint defender. But against OKC with Ibaka that cut and finish is not there.

And concerning moving to the open spot. ... If you can't shoot a basketball then you can move to all the open spots you want to because that is what elite defense want you to do. They want you to shoot the ball.

 

That's what I noticed yesterday. He was rushing a lot of his shots. I wonder if fatigue is a factor to his poor play yesterday.

 

I feel like they needed to lean on T Jones a little more last night. They gave him about 3 possessions to get going, it seemed like he did and never went back. Dmo too, I understand Dwight is the big lion but on the block Dmo is terrifically skilled and has infinitely better touch on the ball. If not when Dwight is struggling, then when?

I think Dwight's dedication, work ethic and all have shown themselves through this much of the season. He's obviously focused. He's obviously improving his game. That's all well and good but you see a game like last night where his mini drives off the block aren't falling. He really needs a turn around jumper, like a dream shake, a Dwight-shake. I know he's not the best shooter but just put the thought into their heads, that you're not just going to try the same two moves all night. Have a counter move. That's the next progression for him, offensively.

Of course, it's got to be hard to gauge yourself against a guy who weighs probably close to 3 bills on one end of the court he's trying to manhandle everyone and the other he falls over like a feather. I'll give Adams credit for playing his game but I felt like his game involved a whooooooole lot of baloney sammiches.

 

That was clearly the biggest takeaway from this game.

Ibaka isn't a post threat, so you need somebody to get him out of the paint for Howard and any drivers.

Despite the loss, I actually came out of this fairly confident. Still don't think we can beat them in a 7 games series this year, but I feel better.

 

Jones brings better weak-side defense, but the difference in spacing is stark when he's off the floor. Against a team like the Thunder, with outstanding transition defense and rapid recovery, a lack of proper spacing really cripples us last night. Whenever we went to the ISO everything just turned to ****. "The Thunder run ISOs all the time too though," you might say, but note that ISOs are basically their entire offense. We can't afford to play the way they do.

 

Did you just compare Serge Ibaka to Bill Russell and Hakeem? alright alright..

 

They just have to play more disciplined than OKC. How many times did Houston hit a big shot on one end then collapse on defense on the other? There were a handful of times where OKC would drive in the paint, a wing defender would crash down leaving their man wide open for an easy corner three. I''m not even talking about the Durant heaves because he will get his stats against anyone.

Also, Beverley has to play with a little control. The foul on the 3pt shot from Westbrook was huge. Odds are, he was going to miss the three and Houston would have the ball down 5. I love Beverley's attitude and grit, but he really needs to know when to be super aggressive and when to simply employ his regular antics.

With all that said, both teams played terrible and Houston did not get blown out. No moral victories, but considering only Harden and Garcia played well, it could have been a lot worse. They really need to beat OKC in their last matchup though.

 

My key take away...hope the playoffs end how they are now. We'd play the Blazers and the Spurs and the Thunder would eventually have to play the Clippers so we let those two eliminate each other.

I don't want to see the Thunder or Clippers in the play offs, that will be the end of the road for this team.

 

You really are relentless aren't you.

Posters on here(especially new ones), do not listen to this non-sense.

The Rockets have trouble with OKC with their normal sized, or big lineups not because of inadequate power forwards, but because of spacing & the inability for that lineup to exploit their defensive scheme. OKC has just simply has insane length and athleticism and really clogs up the paint and protects the 3. Defending them is defintely something they or any NBA team can do and live with as good as anyone can (which is essentially giving up either a weak side 3 or making Durant score off a double team or tough shot), but scoring against their defense (when they are motivated) is something very few teams can do.

OKC forces their opponent into tough long 2's or contested threes. If their opponent can get into the painted area, they have to then deal with two post defenders, one being one of if not the best shot blocking big in the league on the weak side, and the other being your typical "Hockey Goon" mauler type (Adams, Perkins, or Thabeet). When OKC is playing engaged defense, they are pretty much impossible to score against unless you can effectively push the ball in transition & score at a faster pace while defending them on the other end... which is easy to gameplan against due to Brooks' simplistic offense, but you are essentially running the risk of Durant scoring against double teams or giving up the weak-side 3... which (important to note) with the Butler pickup, they can now do.... which makes them even more scary.


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So folks dont let Basketcaseahollic try and brain wash you that just because the Rockets are forced to down size against OKC that Jones and D-Mo are some how not effective players, not effective against 29 other teams, or can't become effective against OKC in the future when their games improve. OKC is simply a matchup nightmare when they are on defensively because of their speed, length, and ability to cover enough ground to pack the paint but still cover the 3 with all 5 players in their half-court defensive sets.

* If the Rockets were dumb enough to scrap their young PF's because of one match-up problem in the West I would really question Morey here. Maybe its one of those match-up like the Sonics in the 90's and the Rockets eventually have to make a roster change down the line, but in the end, you are better off just worrying about making what already works against the majority of NBA teams work even better over time rather than scrapping what works to worry about one team (see the effectiveness of Hakeem go down in the regular season and post season when you take away a floor spacing to match-up with just one team in the Sonics).

The reason why a player like Garcia can be more effective is that he has a quick release 3 point shot unlike Jones or D-Mo. Even Casspi's 3 point shot wouldn't be effective because of his natural motion of having to **** back, set his feet, and flick the shot up. This Garcia 3 is effective because (again) OKC packs the paint, and then runs out on shooters. So if you can get a quick 3 up, you can usually get that shot all night long.

 

Ibaka was owning harden when it mattered. Get him away from the basket!

 

Play Dmo more.

DD

 

I think eventually he would be able to match-up pretty well with OKC's lineup in all honesty. He gives you a little more length on defense to help recover on the weak-side (see the Caron Butler 3's killing the Rockets last night when they doubled Durant), and on offense he should be able to do what Garcia does eventually with a little more work on that shot.

Jones is sort of an odd match-up for OKC because they are one of the few teams that can out athlete Jones at the 4 spot so you really have to take that advantage away from them. Have a 7 footer that will eventually be able to do everything D-Mo can do is one of those ways to counter it.

The Rockets just need to stay patient and continue to work with him, and be willing to go small in the meantime to counter OKC in the meantime. I would have a big problem with Morey making a roster change just to match-up with OKC when you have tools to use that just need improvement over time.

 

1. Who cares how "effective" they are against the dregs of the league. That don't win a ring.

2. We're not taking about the future. We're talking about now. Contrary to what you think we are trying to win a ring this year. My comments are framed thustly.

And remember, 70-75% of the posters here don't want to see either Jones nor DMO during crunch time. Your campaign to justify them getting their minutes cut is failing.

 

LOL... so now I'm the one with the campaign. Pot here's your kettle.

"Dregs of the league"... like the Heat, Spurs, and the Pacers when he Jones was pretty much the key to winning those games.

Where is this 70-75% of posters stat coming from. I might be going on a limb here, but I'd be willing to bet that most posters here WANT TO SEE JONES AND D-MO DO WELL more than anything which means playing in crunch time as well because that's what suites the Rockets interest more than anything else.

The fact is Jones and D-Mo have done very well this entire season for the most part and you found one game where the Rockets had to go small and then you go on a tangent bringing up your little stupid rant about how Jones and D-Mo are holding this team back. Its ludicrous, and if you were honest you would admit that you were sitting back waiting for a game like this to happen so you could say "See I told you".... I won... like a 12 year old girl.

Campaign.... I have no F-ING campaign you crazy a#%hole other than rooting for the Rockets to do well. And what suites the team best is for Jones and D-Mo to continue to improve enough to where Morey wont have to gut the team to make some stupid dumb trade that you would do just to MAYBE beat one damn team in the league. Even then... that team has Kevin Freaking Durant so your probably going to loose anyways regardless.