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Aldeman's reasons for keeping Hayes and Alston in the starting line-up

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by OGKashMoney, Dec 2, 2007.

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  1. OGKashMoney

    OGKashMoney Member

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    Every thread after every lose around here has been questioning Aldeman's intelligence for keeping Hayes and Alston in the starting line-up so here is my logic for why the same starting line-up from last year has started this year.

    It was no secret that this team was going to struggle for the first half of the season because of how much of a drastic change in philosophy we were going to experience. Because of this drastic change, Aldeman wanted to make the change slowly and not at once. The reasons for this: it is impossible to learn everything his Kings team was doing with one month of camp and a couple weeks of pre-season.

    So as a result, Aldeman wanted to keep some consistence while he figured out the IN-GAME strengths and weaknesses of his players. Keeping a starting line-up that won 50+ games the season before was a no brainer! Further proof of this consistence theory is the fact that Aldeman has gone to the bread and butter of the team during crucial moments by calling the Yao and Mac PnR when we need to score.

    I'm willing to bet any amount of money that if Aldeman had come out of the pre-season with another starting line-up and we had this record, people would be questioning his logic for changing the starting line-up of a 50+ win team.

    So before people starting calling the coach an idiot, please try to look at it from his perspective. As he has shown with the Francis situation, he is a man of his word and his rotation is not set in stone! Give him some time to see what he can do.

    I loved Gundy's passion and work-ethnic and even his playing strategies on offense and defense, but after 4 seasons, something had to happen. I don't think it was his fault because he got the most out of his players, but something had to change.

    Let's give Aldeman until January before you call for his head.
     
    #1 OGKashMoney, Dec 2, 2007
  2. Tom Bombadillo

    Tom Bombadillo Member

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    It will take time for us to find the rotation and get used to the offense, but in the meantime I wish we would play with a bit more passion.
     
    #2 Tom Bombadillo, Dec 2, 2007
  3. ericmark

    ericmark Member

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    I agree RA needs time but not your reasoning. Someone here said we got 6-1 from JVG and 0-6 from RA's defense. ;)
    The scary thing is we could not win a game with our duo scoring 60+. We have no advantage over the medicore teams now.
    Are we becoming an old orlando team?
     
    #3 ericmark, Dec 2, 2007
  4. Aloe

    Aloe Member

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    Chuck Hayes shouldn't even be in the NBA, much less a starting line up. He doesn't give you anything. He OK defense and his above average rebounding aren't enough to make up for his total lack of an offensive game.
     
    #4 Aloe, Dec 2, 2007
  5. OGKashMoney

    OGKashMoney Member

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    Yes, we aren't having any advantage over mediocre teams, but thats because, like Knote mentioned, this team at times has lacked passion on the defensive side.

    To me, it seems like at times they believe they can just out-score the weaker teams and that ends up biting them in the a$$. But against the better teams, they actually show up on the defensive side.

    But the reason Alston and Hayes are in the line-up is because they are familiar with the team's play last year. Look at our rotation at the moment:

    Yao, Mac, Battier, Hayes, Alston ..... James, Bonzi, Scola, Francis, Head, Mutumbo, Snyder

    Of all those players, only the five starters plus Head and Mutumbo got significant playing minutes. This season, Mutumbo is just getting too old while Head at PG is just a disaster. So what are Aldeman's alternatives?

    1. Put the players that know each other best on the floor while we going through the learning pains.

    2. Break up the line-up and just throw out a new line-up, but like we have seen during stretches this year, this leads to players looking confused on the court. We are stilling going to experience the learning pains because neither Francis nor James nor Scola have played under Aldeman's system.

    So its obvious that the better of the two options is the first one. At least that allows us to go to the plays from last year when players get confused or the shot clock is running low.
     
    #5 OGKashMoney, Dec 2, 2007
  6. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    This is exactly what I said in a thread earlier this year, that he wanted to maintain some consistency and comfort while he learned his team.

    DD
     
    #6 DaDakota, Dec 2, 2007
  7. rhino17

    rhino17 Member

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    chuck isnt the problem. hes doing his job. no one else can hit a shot, thats why theyare suckin
     
    #7 rhino17, Dec 2, 2007
  8. hermbob

    hermbob Rookie

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    Can somebody tell me what training camp is for?
     
    #8 hermbob, Dec 2, 2007
  9. Seth

    Seth Member

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    I can respond from Scola because both in the Tau and Argentina NT played Moving Offense also called Flex Offense which is a very similar offense of yours Princeton.
     
    #9 Seth, Dec 2, 2007
  10. Seth

    Seth Member

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    I cannot edit my post but i just wanted to point that, and to say that I agree with everything else you (OGKashMoney) said.
     
    #10 Seth, Dec 2, 2007
  11. MayoRocket

    MayoRocket Member

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    Stop it! You're making too much sense!
     
    #11 MayoRocket, Dec 2, 2007
  12. heavy

    heavy Rookie

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    I would use your points to explain why the starting lineup is not going to ever change. JVG used this lineup, with no bench, and still had a great season. From everyones perspective, the team has definitely improved its roster since JVG, so there is absolutely no excuse for doing worse than last year. Adelman knows what he can get out of the starting lineup, namely that he can get into the playoffs. More than that, the starting lineup has the most experience working together. I'm sure TMac and Yao like working with Hayes and Alston, and let Rick know that. From Ricks perspective, all he has to do is learn to use the bench effectively so that come playoff time, it can be used to overcome that first round hurdle. But then again, I really don't have a clue what Adelman is doing. It just seems like a HUGE risk for a coach to change a starting lineup that made the playoffs and lost the 7th game against a very good team without a bench. Especially when the new players haven't shown that they would do so much better without doubt.
     
    #12 heavy, Dec 2, 2007
  13. OGKashMoney

    OGKashMoney Member

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    Training camp isn't for mastering a new system. If it wasn't meant to serva as time to allow the teams to jell together, then we would just have pre-playoffs and playoffs.

    A lot of teams use the season to figure out rotations, plays, etc. The only two teams I can think of this season that don't need the season are Phoenix and San Antonio, both of whom have had the same players for 3+ seasons and the same system.
     
    #13 OGKashMoney, Dec 3, 2007
  14. OGKashMoney

    OGKashMoney Member

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    I would disagree with your point here because Aldeman has already shown that he is willing and at times has seen eager to try different players out on the floor. If you had posted a poll on here at season's start, more than 70% of the people would have said Francis is not going to play and will be moved. But Aldeman has shown he is working out rotations.

    So if Rafer or Hayes don't fit into what he is trying to accomplish, then I'm sure he won't hesitate to change things up.
     
    #14 OGKashMoney, Dec 3, 2007
  15. solid

    solid Member

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    I believe he thinks this lineup won 52 games. Wrong, TMac and Yao won 52 games dragging their teammates along the way. By the playoffs, our stars were spent. The Rockets desperately needed a better supporting cast. The starters should be the bench and the bench should be the starters. Three of our current starters would likely not start for any other team in the West. Battier was not a starter for the Grizzlies. Every time the starting lineups are announced before games, I think, there is more talent against us than for us. Maybe that is why we are .500. Whatever Adelman was thinking, it is time to change.
     
    #15 solid, Dec 3, 2007
  16. kaleidosky

    kaleidosky Member

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    I think Chuck is only useful with TMac on the floor. Even moreso with Yao.

    If we started Scola, our starting 5 would be better.. but Chuck would be completely useless off the bench imo. Scola's energy and scoring punch when the starters are in a slump is huge..
     
    #16 kaleidosky, Dec 3, 2007
  17. Pass 1st shoot 2nd

    Pass 1st shoot 2nd Member

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    I don't think that anybody is calling for Adelman's head. I am glad that he's our coach. BUT (isn't there always a "but"?) Adelman is another "system" coach (not unlike JVG) and might prove to be inflexible in terms of forcing his system on a group of players who aren't suited for it.
     
    #17 Pass 1st shoot 2nd, Dec 3, 2007
  18. Aloe

    Aloe Member

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    I thought his job was to be a defensive stopper and a very good rebounder. He's not doing either of those jobs. If he were grabbing 10 boards a game and shutting his man down I would agree with you maybe.
     
    #18 Aloe, Dec 3, 2007
  19. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    adelman said in the paper today that rafer is much better than francis defensively. take that you rafer bashers. :cool:
     
    #19 rofflesaurus, Dec 3, 2007
  20. Winrockets

    Winrockets Member

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    Yeah...but he also says Steve is getting better and better.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5346614.html
     
    #20 Winrockets, Dec 3, 2007
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