JVG's style was horrible. It was redundant and all too predictable. There is a reason morey and company hired rick. And please don't reference Rafer, I thought that dark chapter was over and we wouldn't have play the "What If" game in regards to him.
If anything, Yao won't average 18 points in 25 minutes. He didn't reach 20 for way more minutes played last season when he was healthy. RA already adjusted at how to use Yao before he got injured. Feed ball to Yao when he's single covered, but no force feeding when he's fronted and double teamed. Score quick points if there is a chance, even if it means Yao is still behind half court line. The result was good.
that works, I don't see what the problem is... My only worry is building around him to see him getting injured agian.
If you take brooks out of the portland series and replaced him with lowry or rafer, the rockets lose.
I can guarantee you that your guarantee doesn't mean anything. Don't bring the trade into the topic, because even if the offense improves( a big if) , it only means the improve offense is because of the trade, not AB. And it could very well be a lot better if Yao is still playing. To prove your guarantee even more worthless, RA did adjust his offense for Yao in each of the two previous seasons. And the breed of ball Rockets are playing right now is totally different from the breed when Yao was here. And RA will adjust again for Yao once he comes back.
JVG's style is too predictable, yes. But I believe it has a lot to do with what players he had. He can't really run plays for Rafer Alston as the 3rd option. When JVG had good offensive team in the 2nd half of 04-05, both offense and defense looked great. Nothing to take away from RA, he's a great coach too, especially at developing offensive players without much defensive talent.
Disagree. Look at his stats for games 3,4, and 6 (all Rocket wins; Brooks had a great game 1). Cumulatively, he shot 9-27 from the field, 3-8 from 3 pt land, 8-14 from the ft line, a total of 9 assists, and 10 rebounds. Those numbers are rather pedestrian. I can't imagine Lowry would have any difficulty replicating those numbers.
That's a legit concern. But what Morey/RA did this season means they are aware of that and they are already prepared for that.
I think Rafer would do that.He went to NBA final with Magic that year. Keep in mind, Portland was no Utah, they had no playoff experience, and Rockets had better talent than before.
Another interesting thing is, Morey didn't have much hoops credential, but he seems to understand basketball way more than a Isiah Thomas ,a Kiki Vandeweghe or a Elgin Baylor. Stromile Swift can beat the ***** out of JVG on basketball court, but does that mean he has a better basketball mind?
I remember alot of the yao fanboys whining last year when was at the high post alot. Now a full yr without him we see more backdoor cuts, more alley's, more points in the paint and more points in general.
No question, that was probably our biggest mismatch after game 1 when they decided to double Yao more. Even portland fans acknowledge, AB's ability to break the defense down and make them defend him was one of the biggest reasons. Portland had no playoff experience but they were young and athletic as hell. Rafer went to the finals because he was on the best 3 pt shooting team in the NBA. his weaknesses were masked to a point where he didn't hurt them in that aspect. The rockets would never had made it to the 2nd round with rafer running the point, and it was quite obvious they did when they had a legit guard.
That's something that really impressed me with the Rockets early on this season. For the most part, they were outscoring their opponents in the paint without Yao on offense OR defense. As injuries and overall wear and tear from the season took it's toll, the paint defense got worse and worse, but the team still scores quite a bit in the paint.
He had started less than half a season and you could tell he was improving more and more. During the lakers series he played unbelievable well in the wins and crappy like the rest of the team in the losses. The rockets would have probably gotten swept without him.
The whining had merit, put Yao in the high post resulted worse offense,so RA adjusted. I don't see anything wrong with that. Different team, different style. You take Yao off the court, the defense becomes a disaster and the team can't make playoffs, you put Yao on the floor in the low post, defense becomes a lot better, offense doesn't suffer much(in this case, last year's offense was more efficient than this year's, which means better). So give me a reason why not put Yao there?
ok, theres one thing you have to understand, morey pulls these great deals out of his ass, but he does it in accordance to rick who scouts the players as well. They are taylored to rick's system. Morey is the great negotiator that weighs his risks and plans for the future. Management has a lot more to do that just bball. The very fact that he drafted AB and traded rafer to have him start speaks a lot more as well.
Actually it doesn't surprise me a bit. When Yao is in the game, the opponents focused more on stopping him in the paint, and sometimes had to leave guys like Rafer wide open. Without Yao, the focus shifted, they'd rather give up some inside points witho lower efficiency than give up 3 pointers to AB. Different team, different strategy, on both ends, by both teams.
Point guard had been Rockets biggest weakness in JVG era. JVG asked for PGs as well, if you remembered. So draft Ab isn't that surprise. Rafer is traded for Lowry, not for AB. If the management was so high on AB, just let AB start and let Rafer back him up. It's as simple as that.
