I HATE this guy. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6460774 Rockets have questions to answer The plan was to use Houston's visit to Dallas as a touchstone to see if the Rockets were really a prime time ball club. On the basis of their 95-74 defeat, the answer has to be a resounding NO! Here's what went wrong: Devean George did a yeoman's job in defending Tracy McGrady — bodying up, attacking every shot, and denying him the ball. Of course George (and also Greg Buckner) got quite a bit of help from their teammates in the form of double-teams and excellent baseline rotations. T-Mac did manage to score 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting, but under such intense defensive attention he couldn't get into a groove. Tracy McGrady only took 16 shots in the loss to Dallas. Still, McGrady was totally unselfish — four assists and no turnovers — and didn't force any shots. He was devastating whenever he curled to the ball off a weak-side screen — he was 2-2 on this maneuver in the opening minutes of the game — but the Rockets tried the same play only one more time with McGrady missing a mid-range jumper. Hmmm. Two for three ain't bad. Four for six would be even better. How about 8 for 12? Overall, McGrady simply failed to get sufficient touches and sufficient shots. Especially since the Rockets were having so much trouble scoring. I mean the guy only took a single three-pointer — and made it. Hey, if he's the go-to guy, then go to him. McGrady played hard on defense. But George isn't much of a threat to light up a scoreboard. (He was 0-6 from the field and totaled only two points.) Rafer Alston was the only other Rocket who could find the hole in the basket with any degree of consistency — 6-13 for 14 points. Sure, Alston is a shoot-first point guard, and he over-handled on at least five possessions, while also forcing three shots. But since Jason Terry was unable to offer any defensive resistance, Alston's number should have been called more often, too. While Terry couldn't guard Alston, he returned the favor. JT continually blew by Alston (as did Devin Harris), or else stopped and popped at his leisure. Alston was also completely discombobulated when called upon to defend against a screen — any screen, anywhere, at any time. On one Dallas possession, Alston assumed the proper defensive position as Terry dribbled across the timeline. Alston then clapped his hands, as though encouraging Terry to bring it on. A heartbeat later, Alston was nailed by a high-screen and Terry pulled and buried a long jumper. The only passable defensive play made by Alston all game long was to steal Dirk Nowitzki's dribble on a fashionably late double-team. With Yao Ming or without Yao Ming, Alston's deficiencies at both ends of the floor limit the Rockets' postseason possibilities. Juwan Howard looked weary — 3 of 9, 11 points. The responsibility of being a big-time scorer while Yao's broken leg mends has apparently worn him down and almost out. He missed a bunch of unopposed short jumpers, and had a lazy jump hook blocked by Erick Dampier. With more than a little help from his friends, Howard did limit Nowitzki to 14 shots and 15 points. Howard is an old 34 and can't bring his A game every night. But any more D-minus games and the Rockets will be grounded in the first round of the playoffs. Shane Battier also looked tired — 1of 9, five points. On several occasions, Josh Howard sped around him as though Battier was nailed to the floor. Except for making a steal and drawing a charge, Howard simply tore Battier's vaunted defense to shreds. During the All-Star break, the prescription for both Juwan and Shane is a glass of hot milk before an early bed time, plus plenty of naps. Who's older? The Ancient Mariner, the old man, the sea, or Dikembe Mutombo? Luther Head's game is a throwback to World War II: Bomb's Away! His line score included 1 of 8, two assists, four turnovers, and two points. Head might also be the worst passer at the guard position in the entire NBA. One of his TOs came on a pass to nobody; one on a direct pass to Josh Howard's chest, and two on short-hop passes to Juwan Howard's ankles. Defense isn't Head's thing either. Give him credit for one accomplishment though: While the game was still somewhat close, Head was responsible for the only points (two) scored by a Houston scrub. (At the same time — the end of the third quarter — the Mavs' bench had contributed 24 points.) Chuck Hayes plays admirable defense, but couldn't shoot himself in the foot. His only two shots were identical — missed layups. Kirk Snyder — 1-7 — showed some bounce, but also plenty of rust as he tries regaining his chops after breaking a wrist. Houston's offense wasn't nearly as bad as the final score might indicate. Yes, they did shoot only 33 percent from the field, but they missed scads of layups and open jumpers. Their money play (besides the under-utilized weak-side screens for T-Mac) featured their wings making various cuts and curls around a pair of baseline screens, then (after his defender stepped out to help on the curl) having the strong-side screener duck unguarded into the lane. They generated five layups on this play alone — until Dallas finally squelched it and began intercepting the entry passes. Still, most of their baskets were the result of individual efforts and not coordinated teamwork. Their total of 26 baskets were aided by only 12 assists. The Mavs, on the other hand, had 36 hoops and 24 dimes. Houston's defense wasn't bad either. They concentrated on controlling Nowitzki with a steady diet of double-teams (usually on his first or second dribble). And their big men made such efficient shows that the Rockets simply negated the Mav's screen/rolls. The Rockets also did an admirable job of transitioning from offense to defense. However, they never did find an answer for Dallas' endless curls and cuts that frequently featured three players following each other around the same weak-side screen. Houston's chances were likewise severely hampered by their getting out-rebounded by 55-40. In a combined 44 minutes, DeSagna Diop and Dampier snared 25 rebounds between them — four more than the 21 rebounds captured by Houston's starters in a total of 150 minutes. What the game came down to, though, was Dallas' superior depth. The Mavs simply had too many weapons to throw into the breech, and the Rockets could only hang tough for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, without Yao and with only periodic (and minimal) contributions from Bonzi Wells, the Rockets have managed to win 31 (and lose only 18) ballgames. As much as I dislike Van Gundy's bogus nice-guy persona, I have to admit that he's doing a hell of a job. The only mitigating circumstance is that with Yao and Wells mostly unavailable, the pressure is off. Expectations are sure to increase when (and if) Wells ever stays whole (mentally and physically) long enough to recapture the form he exhibited with Sacramento in last year's playoffs. To say nothing of when (and if) Yao ever heals to the point where he can resume his domination in the paint. If their two absentee players can come back, if Battier and Howard can get a second (third?) wind, if Alston can see the floor instead of only the basket, if Head can complete half of his passes, if T-Mac can stay healthy and regain his former intensity … Then the Rockets have a chance to scare the daylights out of whichever team (or teams) they'll face in the postseason tournament. And, instead of possibly getting the boot, Van Gundy just might become a long-term fixture on Houston's bench. But there are simply too many "ifs" on the line for Houston to scare anybody except Van Gundy"
Van Gundy has a bogus nice guy persona? He seems like the most brutally honest guy in the league to me. I mean, sometimes he might be overly comlimentary to opponents, but that's just being respectful. And how is Yao and Wells not being available a "mitigating circumstance"? Somehow, it's easier to coach and win games without them? A lot of his criticisms were correct, in my view. Luther Head's game is just too frustrating. I know he's a young player, but still he makes some really boneheaded plays. I'm with Rosen (*shudder*), he might be one of the worst passing guards in the league. Certainly amongst those who play as many minutes at PG as him.
Man, I thought this was the nicest Rosen could have done under the circumstances. I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with what he's saying. Luther has to improve his passing off the dribble. Juwan and Deke showed some of that 40 year old lack of energy. Rafer penetrated too much without a purpose. It's fine when you penetrate, but you have to give it up once in the paint. Rafer has to realize that he's not a good finisher. This was Rafer's first subpar game in terms of distributing the ball. He seemed too hyper. When he slows up a bit, he actually has a decent vision for making plays.
As much as I dislike Rose I think his thoughts on the game were pretty much right on. Of course I think he underestimates a full healthy Rockets team for the playoffs.
I'm not a fan of Rosen's, but I actually think he is pretty much on the beam here. Deke and Juwan are good enough with a healthy McGrady to push us past the lower tier teams. But when we go up against the big dogs, we are gonna suffer unless we get over the top shooting from everybody. Last night the whole thing caved in with the atrocious perimeter play from Head on both ends, Lucas on both ends, and Battier on the offensive end.
My big problem with Rafer when he goes to the basket is he doesn't try to get all the way to the rim. It's like he's afraid of contact. For a guy who penetrates into the paint as frequently as him, he rarely gets to the free throw line.
for the first time, and i mean really for the first time ever, i think he's right on most of his points. that's not a rockets bashing article. it's basically the summary of one game combined with some obvious points that apply to the rockets most of the time.
I didn't think he was bashing the Rockets that much. He gave a lot of credit to McGrady and seems to believe in his return to MVP caliber play. I don't think the thesis of the article was necessarily correct, but the stuff he talked about was all true. We lost badly, and it was because our whole team sucked except for McGrady and Alston. Nothing to praise the Rockets about. Now, let's see if he writes anything after next Thursday's game in Houston.
Except for the age argument, this reads exactly like my text messages back to H-town after the game. I hardly consider this to be a bashing article, if anything, it's something that can help us improve especially on the defensive end and in limiting costly turnovers!
I totally agree. You have to remember that guys like Tony Parker and Sam Cassell grew up playing the NBA game, so they are very crafty when they go to the basket to draw a foul if they think they can't finish over a big guy. Rafer has none of that in his game. What's more surprising is that most of our guys, except for Juwan and maybe Tracy are not very crafty in terms of drawing fouls which is a big part of winning in this league. You can't always win by sheer and pure basketball plays. You have to do some of those crafty/floppy plays on offense that help you win games. Josh Howard flopped a couple of times on offense and defense. So did Dirk. While Kirk Snyder goes in there full speed, he gets fouled on the arm and no foul. Same with Luther Referees are so concentrated on watching guys' footwork. Referees call a lot more body contact than they call if you're hit in the arms.
I agree, except that the "bogus nice guy persona" comment didn't make too much sense to me. If anything, it seems like the opposite - Gundy must be nicer than the persona he usually displays, because otherwise, his players wouldn't like him that much.
damn, i hate rosen. he's pretty funny and his articles always have some valid points, but i think he exaggerates a little too much. he waits this long to write about the rockets? as soon as the mavs started pulling away, i knew we were all in for a rosen article. i think he's underestimating how good the rockets can be when healthy...but he's right to be skeptical about it, given the health issues the last two years. damn this guy, he always finds time to dissect the on of the most inept games of the season for the rockets. i wish we had yao back oh well, the rockets can only learn from this. who know? they might go on a tear after this loss.
Let's see, if we have Yao and Bonzi playing, then take out Dirk and Stack, move the game to Houston yeah we lose by 21. People stop freaking out, dallas san antonio and phx are very, very good teams when we have all our guys, missing pieces makes it almost impossible to win these road games. If Bonzi plays Thursday we have a good shot to win, even if we don't there is no reason to think we can't beat dallas in a series when healthy.
Rosen is an idiot. He's the same guy who watched Yao light up the nets for 37 last year and called it an unimpressive 37 points.
I thought he only had issue with Yao, guess he just in general doesn't like Rockets as a team... or maybe his hatred toward Yao led him to further hate the whole team?
