Yea i gota agree with AnotherBro. , for once , he's just doing this for fun if you wana say somthin else just say "I dont think its any of the becuase ect." Theres no reason for going off, chill out swilkins
I gotta go with Cuttino's play. I never would have guessed that he would be scoring as much as he is scoring. The guy's shot is something wicked right now. He is still taking some questionable shots, but the basket is an ocean for him right now. Milk it while you can baby! Cato deserves a write in, but I wouldn't call it a suprise. He showed signs last year of what could be. It's great that he is playing so well.
I don't think I'm seeing what everyone else is seeing. Francis seems to be playing much as he did last year. Mobley too, except that he's currently on a hell of a hot streak. I'm a little disappointed in Yao's performance, but it is similar to late last season when the defenses had learned to really concentrate on him. Van Gundy doesn't even seem to be running the team much differently than his predecessor(you see how many isos he ran for Mobley last night?) except that he has Yao trying to establish a low-post position more often -- which I'm not even sure is working to our benefit. The biggest difference is that we're winning, which makes everything sunnier. I suppose I'd have to write in Cato, who is performing as well as last year, but I didn't think he'd manage it in the power forward slot.
Francis is playing much better individual defense which is what I'm pleased with so far. It makes me wonder if Rudy would have required to Kenny Smith to play defense, could he have. The other major difference is that the guards do pass the ball right after crossing the half court line, which I'm extremely pleased with also. All three of them (Francis, Moochie, and Mobley) were guilty of holding the ball to long once crossing half court before either passing, or shooting. I totally agree that Van Gundy maybe ineffectively using Yao, requiring him to establish post position. Yao is too skilled to not let him catch the ball around the free throw line sometimes, and let the guards cut around the basket or let Yao shoot the 15 foot jumper which he is fully capable of making.
I'd have to go with the defense. I've been watching Rocket games for 25 years and I can't remember seeing a team play more aggressive team D. Every single shot is contested. Every one. It's amazing to watch. Six games into the season and only 2 teams have broken the 80 point barrier against us.
I am really surprised by JVG's impact on this team so far. Whatever he is doing seems to be working very well for us. Sure it's only 6 games into the season, but this 5-1 record is making me a JVG believer in a hurry.
I'm chilled and relaxed. You can take what I said the way you like. I've been called worse . If what I said caused a few to respond and voice they're true passions, I feel like I followed the true etiquite of what bbs is all about and am a better man because of it. Thanks
I am truly honored to have been a part of this great moment in American History. Be good to yourself, and others...
I like our bench given the fact that we pretty much have a bunch of nobodies and questionable players that are producing and filling in their role. I agree that there's not much change in the way JVG runs the offense in comparison to Rudy except that, we're dribbling less, getting into plays quicker, and actually have good perimeter shooting that will punish zone defenses when they collapse on Yao. I mean we have 5 (6 if you include Piatkowski) legit 3 point threats around the perimeter, 3 out on the floor at all times, and always two big hard nosed, hard working rebounders to wreak havoc around the paint. And all that can be attributed to JVG scouting and knowing what kind of players (shooters) he needs if defenses are going to stick with zone. You can't beat zone if you don't have consistent good outside threats around the perimeter, and unlike Rudy last year who basically scouted on potential and athleticism opposed to having a good J, JVG scouted guys who had a good jumper, are hard working, know their roles, but are probably full of less potential and athleticism than what Rudy's criteria was. In addition to not changing much in the way we run our offense, JVG went in a different direction of focusing on defense, which creates more fast break opportunities, and easier points. I think much like Rudy last year, JVG is waiting for Yao to demand the ball. Last night I saw a part of the game where Yao was benched and sat next to Ewing and appeared to be saying he wanted the ball. Ewing used his hand and said call for it then. I think he's just waiting for Yao's attitude to surface to where he says, "GIMME THAT ****ING BALL!" That's the attitude that JVG demands out of him, and when it happens, there's no doubt in my mind that's when his offensive schemes will really kick in, and that's when our offense will really get in gear. It's too early in the season to predict what our record will be, but it's always nice to know that with our defense, on most nights we should always be close in a game to have an opportunity to win it.
I've been presently surprised with everyone on the list, but the bench has surprised me the most. I didn't expect anything from them with Pike and both Griffins out and Taylor missing some games. Braggs, Padgette, and Boki were all pretty much no names before the season and Mooch was Mooch. Yet it seems like our 2nd team is consistently beating the other teams second team. The starters have struggled in the first quarter a couple of times and the bench has come in the second quarter and turned things around and the team never looks back. The past 4 games really stand out. The bench is outscoring the other teams bench 96 to 61. And in each of the 4 games someone has come in and made a big contribution. The Bulls game Boki nails all 4 of his 3-point attempts. The Nets game Mo Taylor scores 14 points off the bench. The Magic game Braggs grabs 10 rebs. The Heat game Padgette scores 13 off the bench.
I voted for JVG's coaching ability, but I feel this goes hand-in-hand with Cuttino Mobely's play. Cuttino has become our X-FACTOR... meaning, if he's EFFECTIVE, there's a good chance we're going to win. Notice I said "effective"... meaning, he's not forcing it, taking good shots, and playing within the flow of the game (like he's done all year) He's had good games in the past... but those were normally in losses... why? Because, for him to have had a good game back then, he pretty much tried to do EVERYTHING (dribble, back it in, iso, jack up fadeaways, etc.). He's much more effective NOW b/c of the way JVG utilizes him... he leaves him in to carry the second team, and then when the big boys are back in, he's so much more effective since the defense caters to them. IE... its JVG's coaching that = cuttino's success.
JVG. Not only are we the best defensive team in the league, we are one of the best shooting teams. Frankly, the latter was the one I was most worried about. All this in spite of injuries to or suspensions for arguably FOUR rotation players - A. Griffin, E. Griffin, Piatkowski and Taylor. On a NIGHTLY basis, you can see the adjustments the team makes. They are patient and play remarkably intellegent basketball. You can see how JVG has completely altered the attitude of the team. No more laziness. No more complaining or excuses. None of that has to do with X's and O's. In reality, much of what he has taught from a basketball standpoint is very similar to what Rudy taught. The adjustment has come on the mental side of the game more than anything. How quickly this team has absorbed his concepts and how well they adjust even from quarter to quarter is really surprising to me and that is all on JVG.
JVG ...the Rockets current record totally reflects this...last year the Rockets would've have lost half or more of those games.
The second squad was reallly good filling some time on the floor. Padgett, Boki and Braggs are among the best player from the bench.
