Story Rockets contemplate backcourt changes Adelman seeks someone to ignite lethargic fast break By MOISEKAPENDA BOWER Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle Rockets coach Rick Adelman openly discussed the possibility of throwing rookie point guard Aaron Brooks into the fray on Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks, a move that would have signaled Adelman's latest attempt to ignite his team's sluggish backcourt. With starting point guard Rafer Alston, who has had his own issues shifting the Rockets' offense out of neutral, set to miss his third game with a sore groin, perhaps the quicksilver Brooks could provide some sizzle to a lethargic offense. Brooks produced the Rockets' lone fast-break basket of the second half after being summoned from the bench during garbage time. On the bottom The Rockets began the night last in the NBA in fast-break points, so when their swiftest player bumped their total against Dallas to seven points with 44.7 seconds left, it exemplified the Rockets' struggles to earn easy baskets in transition. "I did not expect it to be as difficult as it has been," Adelman said. "We don't get a lot of easy baskets. Guys get used to playing a certain way sometimes, and it takes awhile to break that. And frankly, we've shot it so poorly as a group that it's even more glaring. "But I think the more opportunities you get to push the ball and get an easy basket here or there just helps you in the long run. It's something that we have to keep working at." But who will spearhead the Rockets' push to improve upon their average of 7.5 fast-break points per game? Alston is their best pace-setter and distributor in the open court, and since Brooks has yet to gain Adelman's trust, getting the Rockets running falls on Steve Francis, Mike James and Luther Head. "We don't really focus on that," Francis said of creating transition opportunities. "That's something that we need to do: try to get some easy baskets." Given the limitations of his options, Adelman keeps pushing buttons, seeking a solution. "You have to find people that are going to step up and give you something," Adelman said. "It's everybody on the team accepting that responsibility; it's just not the guys you put in. From Tracy (McGrady) to Yao (Ming), we all have to look at ourselves and figure out what can we do better, and that's my job: to try and figure that out." Consistency fleeting But the accumulation of changes, from the offseason roster overhaul to the Alston injury that initiated a shuffle in the backcourt rotation, has made establishing consistency the Rockets' most arduous task. Before that day when the Rockets feel confident enough to accelerate tempo and aggressively pursue transition baskets, they have to discover a means to consistently execute in their halfcourt sets. "We're trying to find some consistency right now," forward Shane Battier said. "We can't get caught up in trying to compare to other teams right now. We're trying to establish ourselves and figure out who we are."
Ditto to that. One of the main problems with the Rockets guards is that they're all old and slowing down. Brooks is very quick and can help push the offense. He may be young, but none of the other Rockets pgs have been worth squat this season.
i like the sound of this. is rafer going to be available for wednesday's game against the magic? if not, or even if he is, i would love to see brooks start or play backup pg.
I would love for him to start, I think he's gonna be great....but just one question, how many times has Rafer got downcourt faster than anyone else and then has to pull out and wait for the rest of rockets to show up. It doesn't happen all the time, but about half the time. Maybe its just habit for the players. I guess we'll see how it goes.
I missed the Mavs game. Was SF really as bad as his boxscore? If so, Adelman should give Brooks the start just to try something different. MJ clearly won't start and how much worse can AB do than 1/8 with 5 TOs?
Brooks is not going to start. if Rafer is good to go then he'll start, and hopefully Brooks gets limited minutes.
RA got to explore a possibility of getting the back court guard into the right mix. I hope Brooks is the answer!
if Adelman is going to give Brooks some time, he's not going to throw him to the wolves right away. he'll develop him slowly, give him limited backup minutes until he feels hes ready. he's defintely not starting anytime soon though.
He started out really well, 3 assists in the first quarter. Then he started missing shots, blowing lay-ups, the defense played off of him, and he turned the ball over. After the first quarter, Luther Head played better PG than Stevie.
Start him...why the hell not? I think he could turn out to be quite a spark plug, as long as he plays under control.
i like the idea of sf and mj having competition.maybe it will actually make them work harder,though i do not believe ab as a starter for long is the answer we are looking for.maybe a game or two... that being said, i really think one of the biggest problems in our fast break(or lack thereof), is not our pgs nor yao, but tracy mcgrady. i see him slow the offence down so many times when guards at least appear to be getting ready for a fast break. and even if we are running down on maybe a 3-on-3 break, its not tmac running. i love tmac.i have never bashed him nor called for him to be traded. but i think a lot of the fast break woes need to be placed squarely on him.
Who do we have that can run a fast break with Brooks with Rafer out? Can Head and Brooks actually start and play together or would that be to big of a defensive liability?
Seems as if Francis should play the 2 here on out. He didn't look too comfortable in the 2nd half of the game playing the PG spot. I think Steve's game will only be effective when he's going towards the basket as a 2 guard at this stage of his career.
