Personally, i don't think its that hard at all. I know JVG offense and its not that complicated, but if he had a hybrid triangle type offense, it would use Francis and Yao to the fullest. Since JVG doesn't or hasn't , he should do the next easiest thing, take the forks out of the road for Francis. What do I mean? Give him option 1 or 2, thats it. Make decision making as easiest as possible for him and Mobley. Giving Ming the ball early in the offense either at the low block or high post could really cut down on Francis decision making also. I think Francis needs more fine tuning than anything. Things such as setting up the pick on a pick and roll, ball delivery in the post, and little stuff like that. They don't have to tear him down and build him back up, just tweak him and his style a little. He would be a disaster at the 2 guard. I do think Francis is a little more explosive than Mobley, but its not like he's just that much better as a athlete.
I'm not sure we should let handle all the point duties.I say we bring him a play making side-kick in the back court. Originaly this team was guard oriented.The transition to a balanced team(C-PG) is going very hard if you don't change at least one of the composants. Though he is trying very hard,I think Francis is still suffering of the transition,making it that much harder for him to be an effective PG. Bring in somebody that can help him on path to team play!(been watching too much TV! ) ALA
As some have predicted and others lamented ( HP, I have one clue re: whoever it was who urinated in your breakfast cereal: it wasn't me... ), I have indeed roughed out my own version of how to approach the Francis dilema...add to that the fact that I've just staggered in after a night out with my roomies, and buyer beware... As I see it, there are a few stages to process the problem: Analysis: It's slightly different, but back when I was being recruited as a rb, I went to a few schools for gab and grub sessions, tours of the facilities, etc...and one of the bigger schools had this process of scouting that they ran potential recruits through...I was a running back, and what they would do was to break down scenario after scenario, on film, and on the practice filed, and analyze your decision...Off right tackle back set run, fb misses the block on the lolb, safety is inside, de is pinching: what do you do?...They would have you scouted before you got there in terms of decision making, and to what degree your spilt second decisions added to or took away from your athletic ability, and they would also run you through hypothetical scenario after scenario...it was very interesting at the time, and I am amazed that it hasn't become standard practice. Awareness of our decision making tendancies is, if we have any descipline at all, a huge step towards redressing the,. Now I know the Rockets coaches watch film and critique the players, but I would run fleshed out example after example with Steve...I would use existing film to analyze his tendancies as is, in much the same way we already do to see if an opposing player goes to his right when played tight, jab steps twice before shooting, ect. I would do the same with Steve's overall playmaking decisions as we do with individual tendancies. NowI know that we do it to a degree...and I know that it could be construed as insulting to an All Star like Steve to be subjected to hours upon hours of scrutiny...but a new coach is just the excuse we could use, and it would tell us a lot: Does he operate better, as leebig suggests,with fewer options, or does he use fewer openings as an excuse to revert to solo play? Does he direct plays any differently from the top of the arc, or does he feel more vulnerable, and therefore protect the ball more out there? There are many...I don't have all the data, but based on what i have seen, this is what I suggest: Planning & Application: What I would do is not so clear cut as to remove him from decision making/initiation, nor to lessen his alternatives...I would make his check downs more rigid: ie on a certain play, if the ball is designed to go into Yao, and whether or not he is being fronted is a factor, that is the first check down...So I would make it simple but firm: If he is fronted, that play is rotated off.. if he isn't, the ball goes in. Forget about the specifics, as to whether we should go away from Yao if he's fronted...I don't really mean that....what I mean is, with any set play, you conceive of a series of check offs...ie possible determining factors...and you have preconceived points, like on a train line, where the play gets redirected if X happens instead of Y...So in this case, Yao is fronted, and the 1st check down is enacted...now up till now, in this situation, Steve goes on auto pilot, and plays 1 on 1...and I agree with those who state that Steve's decision making process is a weakness...but i don't want to make him into a ball delivery boy, i want his ability to come into play. I still say make Yao the primary point of decision in the half court, but Steve has an important role too...Let's exploit our ability to run it through two stars rather than make Yao the only target for the defense... But just letting Steve 'create', or hoping that Steve will spontaneously 'get others involved' at the point when the set play breaks down has not and will not work, no matter how hard we pray...So my view is you use him something like a Run and Shoot quarterback...with a series of check off points, with preset ways to go depending on defensive reaction. Now there are only so many seconds, and after an established number it will come down to Steve taking the play, but game film and coach observance would have to support his having given the alternate play legit chances. This also means that at least one or two other players need to be reading the defensive reaction ( in this case on Yao), and moving into plan B with the first enacted check off...in this case fronting Yao. So say the established 2nd option off of Yao's being fronted is Cat curling aroung Yao's back towards the basket, with Steve making one more read: Does Cat;'s defender follow, cut around the big men, and does Yao's man come off of him to interrupt Cat;s progress to the basket. If the latter, back to plan A...If the first, Cat continues and Steve hits him en route...if the latter, and Cat pops out for the J...Simple, no? Sounds awfully like a pick and pop, no? Yeah...but as a secong option, it does many things..it keeps the ball in the hands of Francis if Yao is out of the play, thereby making the defense as uncomfortable as possible, it gets others involved, and while it seems that Francis is making decisions, he is in fact merely running down a failry simple checklist, in conjuction with his teammates, and initiating a play that is simple and easy to defend as a 1st option, but deadly and effective as a 2nd. The point is, you keep the ball in the hands of our two most effective offensive players for most of the development stages of our offense, Yao and Steve, but you reduce the actual decisions Steve makes. It's not so much read and react as it is read and act. The secondary options are already in play, the reads are designed to be simple, as are the plays running through Steve himself. A few points...It would seem that this could, especially in a playoff format, be broken down by opposing coaches, and that would be correct. But consider two things: you have to walk before you can run...ie Steve needs to be efficient before he can be brilliant...and that defenses, no matter how well drilled on our set reactions won't be as practiced with them as we will be at initiating them come playoff time...We can exapnd, we can give Steve more freedom as he proves able to running the check off plays...but start with the first step. I also want to say that often the 1st or second check off play might be predicated on how Steve's man is playing him himself..ie, there will be plenty of plays that Steve initiates where he will be the first or second option himself...we don't want to turn him into a pass only guard...but that he will have to be as rigid with his own check offs as he is with others: Ie if the check off on a certain play is that Steve takes it around a screen near the right elbow...unless his man is cheating to his right or the screen is penetrated... and either of those things happen, Steve cannot say " Oh, well, it's my play anyway" and merely pull off the screen and look for anothet opening. He gets into check off option B, period. It will occur to some that this seems really inflexible and lacking in creativity, but that will come, and the plays will be loosened as we learn to use them themselves...We can add to it like a veteran baker, but we need to get the basic ingredients down first. It might also seem laborious, but keep in mind three points: Yao will still be the primary point of decision for the halfcourt offense, Steve et all will still have open field plays off of the many defensive turnovers we will create, and lastly, and very importantly, to allow for the time constraints of the shot clock, check offs will have to be simple and easy to group read to begin with, until we get used to them, and this above all: The play needs to begin very early in the possession. No more sitting around, probing and poking, waiting and hoping for something to develop...Initiate, and have ready answers to the basic reactions of the defense...reactions we will be more familar with than they will. Steve stays in charge when Yao isn't...and the plays run through him...but his decisions are mapped out and well practiced for/with him, and until he masters them, aren't really decisions at all, but merely script reading. Now this is just a concept I've tinkered with for a little while, and it has flaws...and some will point out that it's not that different from what teams do already. I agree with the first part, but think that it is a very positive first step towards getting Steve out of the pattern he is in without slapping him in the face publicly...and re: the second, it may be akin to what some teams do, but certainly not us...our only checkoffs in the past have been how does the defense react with the double team...This is broader than that in process, but as simple as that, and easier to initiate ( than the perim iso plays) in application. Also, as a means of negating the rather simple nature of the check offs, the rigidity of their application reduces the decision making time to almost nill, and it becomes virtually instictive...Yao fronted...bang, Cat curls...Cat's man pursues..bang, Steve hits him with the ball as he clears the big men. Speed of enaction will overcome the ( if we are well scouted) the predictablity of our reactions...and we can adapt and expand over time. Also, any of our set plays will allow for Steve or Cat, etc. to break his man down, adding an element of the unpredictable. Thoughts?
I say limit his role a little bit and let him excel at what he can. "Do you get him a backcourt mate that takes more of the burden of decision off of him, but lets him keep the title?" I like that option.
really, I think you've given that a little bit too much thought... and I also think you could have explained that with about 250% less typing, but I guess we're just different. Anyway, thanks for your opinion, I think you've got some good points. I think the Rockets need another shooter, coupled with the team's improved defense under JVG, and we'll be fine- especially once Yao is in his mid twenties... Bring on Jon Barry and cut Moochie, even if they double the cap hit by cutting him, get it done- he's a cancer.
Interesting read, MacBeth. It helps the non-x&o people like me to see how to apply the nuts and bolts with the aid of a Screwdriver.
My first thought is to go take a couple of extra strength Tylenol! My second thought is that now when I watch the Rockets, all I'll see will be X's, O's, and arrows rather than players running, jumping, and shooting and showing off talent that I couldn't have in my wildest dreams. BTW McB, who was the school and what was the result of the recruiting?
We need to retain the ISO, a 2-men ISO though. With added pratice time, Yao and SF can possibly work on some variations of Pick & Roll. SF's penetrating ability and Yao inside or midrange shuts should be deadly in game closing tight minutes.
Macbeth, Please realize that most on this board can't concentrate long enough to read your post. I for one appreciate the ideas and work that went into your post. I think Francis is just going to have to adjust his way of thinking in a lot of ways. He has more than enough talent, and if it wasn't for him, this team wouldn't be near as good. Once he trusts his teammates to actually make an open basket, I think you guys will see the pass first type player you want. As long as the other morons are missing wide open jumpers that he creates, he has to take matters into his own hands. It's not like Rudy had any actual plays set up anyhow. That was the way Rudy wanted him to play. If it wasn't what Rudy wanted, then Rudy was way worse than I thought. See what JVG has in mind first, and then let’s make some decisions on what Steve needs to do.
Steve's not going to make decisions quickly enough. He has to dribble dribble dribble before he makes an entry pass or crosses over. All that time smoke is coming out his ears as he tries to look at the court. You can break tape on him all day but his strength is his ability to get over on his man one on one. Take the ball out of his hands. Steve can make a good pass in the flow of the offense. Let someone else initiate it. The right way to initiate the Rockets offense is from the wing; ideally, with an entry pass to Yao. PASS the ball up the court to the wing so it gets there before the defense can set up. IF Yao is slow coming up the court, the wing can hit Cat or Steve for a trailer-easy bucket, as they use superior cutting, or pass back and forth around a big man for an open pop. If Yao can slide to a high/low post set, he has two options to escape coverage for the entry, or he can push forward and drop back for the lob. A taller wingman can make that entry better, or drop it off to a cutting Steve who just used a pick while everyone else was looking. I'd love to see the Rockets keep the ball moving. Steve could get 6 assists in the flow of the offense without initiating. He has good instincts that way; bad instincts setting up.
Pasox, I think you and I are on the same page. MacB, I have to disagree with you. The scripting seems simple, but in the heat of battle, Francis will do what comes most naturally. He will dribble and probe. That is his game and we should not fault him for that. It would be the coaches fault for continuing to put him in a situation that is not optimal for his success and efficiency. I think scripted reads is the absolute MOST that Francis should be tasked with doing in terms of decision making. Most of the time, however, he should just be reacting, scoring and passing . . . with 10 seconds on the shot clock. Some may say that this overly restricts Francis' role. I think not when you consider the fact that 50 percent of the time, the entry pass to Yao should NOT be designed to create an opportunity for Yao to score. The disguise and unpredictability of our offense should come from Yao in the low block. Sometimes, the play should be designed such that Yao's FIRST option and read is to kick the ball out to the perimeter for a dribble drive oportunity for Francis. In terms of specifics, I would also add that Yao should be given more opportunities to just absolutely stick the 15 footer facing up. Dream used to hit 3-4 of those per game, benefitting from penetration by the likes of Smith, Cassel, Maxwell and Elie. Yao is already as proficient a face up shooter as Dream is, and Mobley and Francis are both light years ahead of the four championship permiter players of yesteryear. Finally, let's keep in mind that during 15 minutes or so that Yao is not on the floor, our offense will be different. Taylor and Griffin can still occupy the low block (ok, I'm dreaming about Griffin in teh low block), but our offense will probably be more improvisational and feed off a quicker defensive unit on the floor.
Good job Macbeth. Having gone through my review of about 12 games so far I would take a different approach. To begin with I would come from a position of strength. SF can score at anytime. Everybody knows that. I also believe it is easy for him to buy into the fact that his points will come because it always does. I also believe he is just as hungry to have his passes be on the highlight reel, as he did fairly often with those passes to Posey, Tmo, Cato and Mobley. I do know there will be less of those passes if he continues to walk the ball up. The teams best stretches were those that included the uptempo game, which will be the best complement to everything including Mr. Ming. I am one who is blaming Rudy T for our offensive woes. If the offense is mondane and boring with little creativity then Sf can try all he wants the results would still be the same. We win only when we are hitting our outside shots and playing defense. We will never win because of the creativity of the offense. The change to JVG I am hoping will change alot of that. The resources I am convinced are there and it is the creativity that needs to be added. In that situation I do not see why SF cannot be at least respectable. His ball handling and speed allows him to do almost anything. Does he have the vision? He is certainly not a blind man. With the exception of Cato our top 10 players in the rotation can score from anywhere. Not many teams can say the same. So it is a matter of getting those bodies moving like NJ does. When last you see NJ walk up the ball as a normal part of their MO?
zz...While I agree, to a point, there are a couple of qualifiers... 1) Are you sure that Francis is and will continue to be the go-to man? 2) The go-to man doesn't have to go-to it alone...especially if he's a perim guy. Think about great go-to men in recent history: Reggie, Michael, etc...Did they just square up and beat their man, or did they often get the ball at crunch time after having run their man through a thicket of picks and screens? It might come down to a square up and go, at times, but that's usually if you have to bring the ball up from under your own basket, and have the time. If it's an inbounds from the side or under the opponant's basket, it's usually a play designed to get a guy open for a crucial moment...and that's not solo.
The bring in new talent aergument is interesting, but then you intrduce a whole new headache, that of re-defining Steve's role. It would also make for interesting speculation...but what I've tried to do is keep our two best players, Yao and Steve, in possession of the ball for most of our decision making process, thereby keeping the defense in it's least comfortable position...while reducing Steve's actual decision making duties. And, yeah, Dallas is a good example, but as we both pointed out, beyond Yao we don't really have the horses for that particular race...
I agree with many of your observations...and I atrtempted to address them, to a degree, without completely taking SF out of the loop. I still want the ball in our best players' hands for as much of the decision making period as possible, but I also tried to, as you suggest, drastically speed up that period and force Francis to act rather than wait to react, and lessen the number of actually independant evaluations he has to make...we just go about it differently. I agree 100% about the defensive rebounds. Absolutely...but, to be honest, I think that that's already taken care of, and will be an automatice ramification of the kind of defense JVG runs.
