FINDING WHAT WORKS By tweaking Rockets' offense, Rudy T keeps opponents guessing By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Rudy Tomjanovich the player always enjoyed the arrival of each season's new plays. He was like the fashion maven excited over the Paris introduction of a new clothing line, the car buff checking out the year's new models or the couch potato who must see each fall's new television programs. Years later, Tomjanovich the coach found himself up late, drawing lines that would push his X's past their O's. He spent his summers examining the options new players would offer. He would scribble on napkins and chalkboards, tinker through shootarounds. It was part of the job, but a part he knew he loved -- even in his one season trying to please Scottie Pippen. But he did not know all those years were preparing him for this season. In a season that has been plagued by injuries, there have been 12 starting lineups featuring 11 players in the first 31 games, little has changed as much as the Rockets' offense. Most of the philosophies remain the same. But the Rockets have written and rewritten plays at a dizzying pace. "Finally about two weeks ago, I sat down and said `Let's let this sink in,' " Tomjanovich said. "I was coming up with different stuff all the time. Guys were going nuts. We were trying to find answers, and we don't even have a rotation. The rotation changes every single day as far as who's going to be in, who's going to play with who. There's been so many changes. And every change changes something else." To casual observers, the Rockets might not look that different. Cuttino Mobley looks like Cuttino Mobley. Moochie Norris does the same things Moochie Norris always does. Toss a pitch to Earl Campbell and he would run with pretty much the same style whether he was following a pulling guard or a trapping tackle. A crossover dribble might not appear different in the middle of the court than the side. But NBA scouts who last season laughed at how little they needed to study, having jotted down the details of Mobley in isolation many times before, are back to work during Rockets games. "I've always done that," Tomjanovich said of making changes during the season. "I did that with Scottie. I stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning trying to think of different ways to use him. I love that stuff. "I have had guys say `I have to get something else.' You give them a different look. I've always believed, `Why not have a bunch of different looks so they can't sit on your stuff.' "I loved that stuff as a player. I loved the different looks. We have guys that are open to it." More than being open, the players viewed the changes as potential solutions to their problems. The changes were inspired largely because of new personnel and rules changes. Teams have used zones against isolation plays, making it harder for Rockets guards to penetrate without having to double-team. With a rule change to allow "incidental contact" officials also have permitted far more hand-checking this season, negating Mobley's quickness advantage. There have been open shots against the zones, but the Rockets have been unable to knock them down consistently. Without the option of beating opponents off the dribble without running into a pack of defenders, the isolations left the Rockets with little movement and forced them to take perimeter shots. The solution was to isolate Mobley just off the center of the half court. Therefore, teams could not double-team him without leaving the lane, rather than the 3-point line, open and Mobley could attack the basket before a zone could cut him off. "We used to do isos last year on the wing, and they would get the double and the triple team," Mobley said. "This year, they don't double too much." Of course, the Rockets exploited double teams with Mobley and Steve Francis last season. This season, when guards have been positioned on the wing, opponents have zoned, allowing them to help on the Rockets guards without leaving too many open shots inside the 3-point line. "It's more because of the defense," Norris said. "The defense is doing different things. If Cat (Mobley) gets the ball on the wing, they go to a low blue (zone). They're running a guy across the lane, denying him the baseline drive. When he catches off the elbow, it's hard to blue. You have to stay honest with your guy. If you blue in the middle, the post man will have an easy layup." The Rockets rely on Mobley's quickness off the dribble and will rely as heavily on Francis' penetration ability. Even with the pick-and-rolls they run more often than ever, they work to make sure there is spacing to allow their guards room to drive. The strengths have not changed, but the way the Rockets work to exploit them has. "They leave a lot of open area for themselves and their teammates," Warriors guard Jason Richardson said. "They get everybody involved in their game, and they get people to the basket. The way their offense is that they spread the court and there are so many open spaces and they have one guy drive and there is nobody down on the weakside so they get to the basket easy." Of course, Richardson saw the Rockets' offense at its best in several weeks Friday. The Rockets' 41.8 percent shooting not only is tied for 24th in the NBA it is just one-tenth better than the worst shooting season in team history. But when the Rockets won in Golden State, they reached 100 for the third time in four games and fifth time in eight games. They had scored 100 points in just one other game in the previous 22. "We get into some of the same situations different ways," assistant coach Jim Boylen said. "We iso in the middle of the floor for Cuttino. It's totally different. It used to be on the wing, now it's on the elbow because it's difficult to red (double-team) people on the elbow. "A lot of it was done after the first seven games and again when Steve went down. We had to find ways to score. Ten games in, we were learning how people were going to play us." What they learned also inspired the Rockets to put more emphasis on their weakside offense. They used more "stagger" setups -- like a picket fence for defenders to run through -- to free shooters. Increasingly, they have been using double screens to block opponents. "We run the plays all the way through now and get to the weakside more," forward Walt Williams said. "With Steve initiating plays (last season), and the defense trying to do so much to stop him, we went through the strong side of the play and what the defense does and react off of that. Now, we run through the whole play, make the defense shift a lot more and then react off that. "We do a lot more weakside stuff and try to get the defense to react instead of concentrating on the strong side because we don't have as much firepower to initiate the offense." The changes have freed shooters away from the ball, but inside the arc. They also have forced defenders to work through the screens. The Rockets don't run opponents through the mill the way the Pacers will to free Reggie Miller or the 76ers will to get the ball to Allen Iverson. But defenders can no longer rest on one side of the court while a Rockets guard pounds the ball on the other. "It's an opportunity to have those guys chasing off screens and make them work a lot more defensively as opposed to me sitting in the corner," Williams said. "It makes them use a lot more energy." But with the lineup changing almost nightly, the offense has had to change with it. The Rockets have had success with Eddie Griffin dropping back on a pick-and-roll to catch and shoot. Kenny Thomas is more explosive off the dribble. Francis likes to penetrate from the wing, building speed as he enters the lane and attacks the basket. Norris prefers to drive up the middle. His first step is his quickest, and he uses a series of pump fakes and stutter steps, rather than explosive speed, to beat his man. "I prefer to be straight on," Norris said. "That way if the big man hedges, even if I pause, I'm still on a straight line, and my defender has to go all the way around the pick. "Steve likes the pick-and-rolls way out on the floor because it makes the defense extend more. He has more room to get his stuff together. Steve is explosive. He gets there and gets above the rim. I try to get from point A to B in as short a route as possible, as quick as I can. For me, I try to catch the weakside off guard. My first steps are my best steps. I don't get off the floor like Steve and Cuttino." But the unseen advantage of the changes might be emotional. With all else failing, especially in the Rockets' 15-game losing streak, changes in the offense could bring new hope. The changes also brought adjustment periods. Mistakes or even hesitation with a new or revised play has cost valuable shot-clock time. Nevertheless, these were changes worth making. "It definitely makes you feel good," Norris said. "The coaches are looking for changes. Trying to make things happen. They're asking what do we see out there, what do we feel can get us in better situations. It's what we needed." Rudy making changes to the offense? Really?Article
Rudy does not get the respect that he deserves from many members of this site. He is one of the best coaches in the league if not the best. I would not pick any other coach over him.
I just read that. Really great read. If I didn't know better, I'd think that this... <i>To casual observers, the Rockets might not look that different. Cuttino Mobley looks like Cuttino Mobley. Moochie Norris does the same things Moochie Norris always does. Toss a pitch to Earl Campbell and he would run with pretty much the same style whether he was following a pulling guard or a trapping tackle. A crossover dribble might not appear different in the middle of the court than the side. But NBA scouts who last season laughed at how little they needed to study, having jotted down the details of Mobley in isolation many times before, are back to work during Rockets games.</i> was directed right at this BBS with all the complaints about Rudy T.
Rudy is still bad!!! If he is in control of this team, then he would make them pass the ball. This team is full of ego-minded players that are looking at stats. I thought it was funny when Collier came into the game, the other night. We had 5 players SITTING AROUND on the 3 point line waiting to start heaving!!!! That surely does not sound like great coaching to me. Hasn't he ever heard of running plays from inside out, I think a guy name Hakeem use to do that. Maybe he has heard of running fast breaks with ball movement. Not running one-on-one, when you have three-on-one!!! As far as Cuttino, if he demands double (or triple) treaming like Francis, then that leaves several people wide open for the easy shots. There is no reason in saying that they run the ISO's through Cuttino, to create the open shots. Everybody knows that Cuttino will rarely pass the ball out of an ISO play. If you watch some of the other games on NBA pass, you can see a major difference in how the game is played. Lots of ball movement, and few ISO plays. Rockets are 99% ISO with no ball movement.
Inside out games don't really work if you don't have a big man who can score decently well in a post up, or if you don't have a good passing big man with lots of motion from your guards. The Rockets have neither of these. If we dumped the ball in to a Cato, Willis, or Collier consistently, the ball would either get passed back out to a covered man (he would be covered because NO team would double down on those clowns) or he would eventually put up an ill-advised shot. Rudy knows the capabilities of his players, and I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt (being that he sees them a LOT more than we do) that he is doing everything he can to utilize their skills as much as possible.
I wish we could get more articles like this. I love this type of stuff even though I know diddly-squat about it. Crispee, whatever happened to your play diagrams? Those were fun and enlightening; you should come up with more. That goes for anyone else too. Anyone know any good websites that go over basic basketball plays so I can familiarize myself with the terminology?
I did notice where Mobley was getting the ball against GSW, but when he played Kobe, he was forced further out and into tougher shots. Its cool to get Mobley the ball there, but while he has the ball, how about a back pick to the big so he can roll to the basket? Just starting the offense and making 1 pass is the start, after that is when you really see what you can get.
Relativist, "blue" and "red" are clearly Rockets terms for opponent defense. You won't find those in any book. My guess is that "blue" is the wing defense that plants a man in the low block, calling it a zone or a passive rotational double team is a matter of argument, imo. The "red" defense (that Boylen mentioned) sounds like a real double team. No he wasn't. He got the ball in the same position. It is not exactly the elbow, but it is his 1st step from the elbow. All he has to do is be in the seam on his 1st step and it is a significant repositioning of Mobley. In previous positioning, he was 2-3 steps from the seam. The main difference with the LA game (aside from nothing falling including 3 layups and 3 with 10') was that the scouts had seen 3 blistering games of Mobley at the elbow not being double teamed, and LA said, screw that. They double teamed immediately. And playing 4 rookies, we just couldn't exploit it. They brought Horry over immediately. Kobe did not move Mobley further out. I key on Mobley every game (as the defense used against him), and I'm telling you, it was the Horry double team that was the defensive adjustment. Kobe doesn't stop Mobley's drives like people want to believe. Mobley actually stops Kobe's drives and forces the jumper. And how many times did we see Mobley strip Kobe...I counted 4. They all went out of bounds, not steals, but that is harassment. Kobe beats Mobley with height, but not speed, and not by stopping his drives. The fact Phil Jackson gave Kobe Robert Horry double team assistance *immediately* proves it... it *proves* it.
"A lot of it was done after the first seven games and again when Steve went down. We had to find ways to score. Ten games in, we were learning how people were going to play us." After the first seven games, we went 2-6(who knows how hurt Steve was then), then Steve goes down and it only took 15 games for them to adjust? It doesn't look too good for our adjustments to other teams' adaptations. We had an adjustments in our offensive plan but the judgement of the guy (Cuttino on iso or Mooch at point) with the ball who is looking for the open man is pretty poor on average or all of all other players are idiots, or the other teams's defense must be awesome, since we get so many long jump shots and so few layups. Also, relying on the quickness of a guy with two injured ankles seems stupid, until he healed. For the record we had 1-5 layup versus the Shaqless Lakers(17-30),4-13 in our good game versus Golden State(14-21) and 10-18 versus Phoenix(12-24), 5-17 in our win over Milwaukee(10-22). It seems like one thing we definitely should be working on is layup drills. I think our offense will just be much better when Steve comes back, cause we either can't execute or can't adapt-> doesn't matter which, and we can only ride Cuttino's back a limited number of times, esp since he's not 100%.
1st, Happy New Year to you all, from Caveman in a cave! 2nd, JONATHAN FEIGEN=A leading Rudy appologist in media. 3rd, JONATHAN FEIGEN's description of his job="In Rudy's Ass We Kiss". 4th, The reason for Rudy's appologists in Clutch City="In Rudy's Ass We kiss". Last, Peace and Love. Again Happy New Year!
I dont doubt that Rudy isnt thinking of ways, staying up late, etc, etc. He's an NBA coach, andhas always been considered a good one...thats what good coaches do. I think the team will be much better when Steve gets back. But regardless of whether or not youre forcing scouts to do their work, it seems like they are having little trouble doing it, as our offense is generally pathetic. Having to use one quote from a rookie on a crappy team (on of only two rockets wins in what, the last 19 games or so) who porbably doesnt know anything about NBA style offense and basketball yet shows that the writer was searching. Plus, when shots are falling, everyone's offense is great. Im still a Rudy supporter, but hope to see much more when Steve is fully back - in fact, it can be the same offense, but if it nets us, around 97 ppg Id be happy.
Woofer, that is a good read. I follow. But allow me to argue with you that I don't think you are really reading these player and coach quotes correctly. It seems like you are critiquing Feigens interpretation. I don't really believe Feigen is 100% buying into the coaching philosophy, as I could show you times he is highly critical of relying on ISOs or lame pnrs. But here, I believe he is merely trying to be fair to the quotes. He is trying to write a story about what this team is believing, and his quotes seem to come straight out and tell their story. All the quotes are agreeing and saying the same thing. You have to believe Feigen did not get all these guys into a room together. So when you have agreement like this from so many players, it becomes easy to tell their story. imo, this is the difference between Fran and Feigen. Fran hypothesis and editorializes. Feigen delivers the quotes! You might not agree with his assessment, but we have the quotes to make our own read. When does the success of adjustments get tied to breaking out of the 15 game losing streak? We were making adjustments and losing. Where is the logic in saying that because we lost we made no good adjustments? That logic merely says that losing means the adjustments must have been wrong, as if other adjustments would have produced wins. True. Unless of course you just conveniently ignore all the injuries, no practice time, no practice squads, and us having to play 4 rookies real minutes as cause for the continued losing. Woofer, first you are completely dismissing Walt's quotes. Walt clearly states that he thinks we are using the weakside more than ever since he's been here. He says that with Moochie we use the weakside more than with Francis. He doesn't mean that Moochie distributes better, or Cat does, he means that they were running all the way through the plays. That is what he said. That means running through the options, to get to the weakside options. He is not saying that Cat or Mooch never do strongside plays. He is talking about the number of them versus Francis. You seem to say again, that since we lost the games, our adjustments sucked. True, Cuttino is showing up with having difficulty getting double teams off his ass in a consistent manner. He is not that great at thinking one step ahead of the defense. Where you are reinventing history is that we played some good weakside ball at the beginning of the losing streak (NY, San Antonio and Sacramento), but in the middle of it we just had too many injuries and too many rookies playing. Walt's quotes were talking about those games, imo. Placing blame on the playmakers is reaching for an answer, imo. I could answer "yes" to each cause you mention (playmaker decisions, idiot role players, defense)... but it comes back to a question I have for you... what is the rhetorical point that you are making here by saying our adjustment created losses? btw: we missed 25 layups in one game in the losing streak, against San Antonio. Popovich said we outplayed them on fundamental basketball. Here we have a journalist showing up with some great quotes from several different players and coaches who are all agreeing, and we still try to read our own caveman philosophies into it. The quotes are clearly saying that the team felt they had adjustments ready early in the season. They put them in place successfully (against NY, SA, Sac), but still lost without Steve...then the injuries piled on and then we had to play 4 rookies leaving us with a depleted bench...it just looked really bad! <b>Either you scrap everything, or stick with your strengths</b> If it isn't clear from this article that the coaching staff's philosophy is to stick to their player's strength, then I don't know. We have terrible centers who cannot catch or pass or dribble !! This severely limits you from playing several types of offenses. Rather than trying to be something that we are not (a Triangle, a Double Post ala Kings) that require passing centers, we stick with what we are. Right now, our strength is exploiting one on one studs using PnRs and ISO to force defense to do something. While we all want a passing game that causes defensive mistakes, do we don't have the personnel? Sure we could stubbornly apply one like Rick Pitino did, but why not just play a game of forcing the defense to pick a poison then building weakside and strongside options to exploit them. There is not much of a passing game you can play when you don't have a passing center. The best we can do right now is Sloan's pnr with other options from iso's. But the beauty of Sloan's pnr is the chemistry built up from the weakside and the attention Malone drew. With 4 rookies and KT versus Malone, we can never approach that offense because Francis/Mobley just get smothered. I agree. I follow your frustration. But being a Rice Owl fan for many years, I probably am more used to losing and learning from losing. Sometimes you are just outmanned, and your adjustments mean nothing because the defenses just take more risks than you and can beat you with a better bench and fresher legs. That doesn't mean you aren't using the best plan. When you play 4 rookies and have only 8 guys suiting up; you just have to steal wins. Just like we couldn't read anything into our win agaist the Bucks (like 17 of 35 3s is something to build from), you cannot read anything into losses with so many freaking injuries and no practice squads. Of course, stupid caveman like to read too much into this, because it makes them feel schmart.
He could have used Popovich's quote after the SA loss where we missed 25 layups. You guys are critiquing Feigen as if he is arguing with you. He is telling a story from the quotes. How can you focus on disagreeing with a journalist interpretation in an article of that many quotes? Seems like you should be focusing on the quotes themselves. That's what I do. Forget Feigen's words, tell me what you think about Walt's or Boylen's words. What do you think about Walt saying that when Francis plays the weakside doesn't get as involved, since Francis can exploit the strongside so much better? What do you think about Boylen mentioning the subtleties of exploiting Mobley's strength. The simplicity of repositioning him and all of a sudden the defense cannot double team from the baseline. The Lakers used Horry from the high post. I am excited to see how we can exploit that when Steve comes back.
crispee: I don't often just post compliments, but that reply was tremendous. I couldn't agree more. Everything you wrote I had been thinking but, I couldn't have said it that well. Great job!
Of course Walt or Boylen are going to say things like that. That's why I was concentratin on what others say. The Popovich quote would have made the argument stronger than the Richardson one for sure. Regardless, I agree with most everything you say. However, it is impossible to deny the fact that the Rockets offense is anemic. It is just very very bad right now, injuries or poor shooting or bad coaching...whatever. People feel like they have to blame somebody (perhaps rightfully so).
You are so right Crispee. You see the same thing as what I see. I was in a Laker forum trying to explain the same thing. Here is a little of what was said. BTW I am stevie_franchise in that forum. Hey Stevie, Who Guarded Mobley and his 2 for 17 disaster Posted: Jan-01-02 1:29 PM PST -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 2002-01-01 11:52, shaqsshoes wrote: Say,Stevie don't play yourself bro cause, you can dig up all the stats available. The bottom line is Kobe enjoys stickin his foot off into the Houston hopes.In that overtime win he was team leader with 31pts.In the next game, same thing 27pts.In this last game Phil had to pull him off you guys with a lot of assist and only 16pts but, its time for you to move on with this cause, your starting to become the forum joke!Just trying to help you out slick... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On 2002-01-01 11:52, stevie_franchise wrote: Look I only brought out stats because ya partner tried to bring them out. The only thing I am trying to get out is that Kobe is overrated on defense and he cannnot hold Cuttino one on one. Please the next time the Rox play the Lakers play close attention that matchup on both ends. Watch and see how Kobe gets so much help defense before CAT can even get started. The Lakers have someone standing in the lane before CAT even gets by Kobe. While on the other side Cuttino is one on one with Kobe on the other end. All I am asking is for you to be objective and watch. I know I really can't talk much since my Rox are 9-22 and the Lakers are the 2-time defending champions. But if we could get healthy I believe we could compete with anyone. And in a couple of years with great talents of Steve,Cuttino and the upcoming Eddie Griffin we will contend for the championship. I also believe that losing Mo Taylor this year also hurt us along with the rule to be able to play a zone.
same here Jeff. I agree with a lot of what you've been saying in the losing streak, too. But I'm not here trying to prop up Rudy with this article. This article is perfect for bball analysis with all these quotes. I am somewhat disappointed to see this turn into a Rudy apologist vs basher thread. bigboy, JayZ, and Jeff (with the smiley first post jab at the bbs ), can we back off the Rudy argument for one thread. Raven, leebee, relativist are talking more from an interest in breaking down these playbook insight quotes. We should at least give Feigen the respect that he is not trying to apologize for Rudy or take sides...since, he has taken the other side before. Why do you say this? Why do these quotes have to be read from some perspective like they are making excuses? Like they made these quotes with some thought about arguments on this BBS? Who reads these and says, "see Walt is saying Rudy is a great coach." or "This is just homey propoganda to protect Rudy's anemic offense." Why do we have to blame something, dis/agree with these quotes, say they are homey...say Walt and Boylen are going to say things like this. <b>Maybe Walt and Boylen are just talking shop.</b> You ever think of that. Maybe they are not trying to prove anything. Wouldn't that be something to talk to a basketball player about their playbook. wow! These are insightful basketball quotes. We do not get revealing quotes like this too often that explain what the players are doing/thinking. I love to break down offenses and defenses, but being able to match what we see with quotes like this is the best of all talk. Why can't we treat them like shop talk and try to match them with what we see...whether it is the best adjustment or not...who cares. At least it is not speculation, another blame thread or another realGM dreamcast. These quotes have so much potential for a great thread. <b>Who wants to talk basketball!</b> Can I ask again: What do people think Walt means about the weakside? What have we seen new? What do we predict to be things to exploit against the "red" defense that Boylen mentions and that the Lakers used with Horry doubling from the high post against Mobley last game?
I don't need to defend Rudy. He does a good enough job on his own. What I think is missing from the argument is much of what you said. We are suffering (no excuses intended) from a lack of practice time, a lack of healthy players, a lack of experience and a lack of patience. I think that the Rockets' biggest mistakes are based on these problems. They are hurt, they haven't practiced, they are young and they are learning to be patient. Those things take time to fix. As for specifics on the offense, I would love to see the double high post pick again when Francis comes back. With EG's outside shooting and Mobley running back screens, that play could be a killer. It takes a healthy Francis to make it work but it worked really well last year.
I figure I'll join in my own thread. Richardson saw the offense when it was running on all cylinders. He saw Moochie going to the basket like he had a personal escort, people knocking down their shots etc. The biggest key mentioned in this article is the difference between Francis and Norris. That's what has been missing. Norris used to come in, and change things up, and could keep the tempo up so that the defense wouldn't know what hit them. Right when they adjust to Norris, in comes Francis for the knockout punch. I think Rudy had a playbook in mind for Eddie, that he didn't plan on using this year. My guess, was Rudy was planning on keeping things simple for Eddie this whole year-would he have even gotten Langhi-type minutes if Mo hadn't gone down? When the season started, Eddie only got the ball in 2 ways-the pick at the top of the key and then fades for 3, or off an offensive rebound. I've noticed lately, he's getting more oppurtunities on the high post, and the elbow, and also rolling to the basket. At first, teams left Eddie for the open shot, but after the LA game, they started staying on him. That leaves a passing lane, or an open mid range shot that the PG must recognize. I can see the Eddie and Steve connection possibly becoming as much of a trademark as Stockton and Malone. Eddie has shown the ability to hit the open deep shot well enough to force the defender to stay on him. When the defender stays on him at the 3 point line, or if he roams towards the basket, Francis can have an easy mid range jumper, or can force the defense to collapse if he goes all the way to the basket. The Rockets' playbook is far from complete. As Steve and Eddie develop, as Cuttino gets his quick step back, and when Mo gets back, it'll probably be molded again. Possibly another impact player is coming this offseason. As for the "red" double teaming defense, probably the best cure will be Steve coming back. But aside from that, team recognition of the double could be much improved. On an aside note, that's some SERIOUS respect Cuttino gets-he's being guarded by "first team all-defense" Kobe Bryant, and yet the Lakers double him, pretty special. crispee- Minnesota, Utah, New Jersey, and Indiana are the top 4 in assists, but none have good passing centers (Nesterovic, Ostertag, Maculloch, J. O'Neal/Jeff Foster). Why is our offense work so poorly for assists, yet their offenses seem to be conducive for assists?
