I think we can all agree that the Surs and Pistons are the elite of the NBA and from listening to and following JVG that style of basketball is exactly what JVG would like to see being played, tough D, mostly ball control half-court O with oppurtunistic fast breaks and balanced scoring. What I'm wondering here though is whether this Rox team even fully healthy can play like that? Yao is more talented a big man than anyone on the Pistons and I think isn't that far behind Duncan. T-Mac is a greater individual talent than anyone on either team beyond that though the talent level drops off. Many of the Rox players lack the athleticism to play like the Spurs or the Pistons or the basketball smarts. Further with this Rox team it doesn't look like JVG is scheming to have them play that way. These problems mean that the Rox get beat by ball movement since their D rotations aren't fast enough and they don't move that well without the ball and rely on Yao kicking it out to set shooters or T-Mac creating and finding a set shooter to open up the offense. Rather than the type of movement you see that the Spurs and Pistons do leading to layups. The other thing this year's Rox do is rarely running on the fast break, this may be to the absence of Sura, but even without him T-Mac, Head and Swift are certainly capable of playing open court ball. Even though the Spurs or Pistons aren't known primarily for open court play it is an important part of their offense and both teams do it well. It seems to me that the Rox team of the 2005-2006 season is built much more and plays like the Rox teams of 1993-1996 with focus on a big man, complemented by an outside shooter who can also occasionally cut and then a lot of jump shooters. As we saw with the championship Rox teams that isn't a bad arrangement but there are a couple of problems with that style of play. While T-Mac is as good (if not better) than Clyde Yao isn't Hakeem, Wesley isn't knocking down outside shots like Smith and Bowen isn't even in the same offensive class as Horry. The other bigger problem is that with zone D its much harder to run the type of throw it into the post type plays that the old Rox ran since its much easier to deny the entry pass by doubling or tripling the center even before they have the ball. The type of game that the Spurs and Pistons play though works very well against zone D and they are athletic enough and smart enough to play tenacious D themselves. So what I'm wondering is that since the Spurs and Pistons are the class of the NBA can the current Rox play like that or should they even try?
The Rockets can't play that way. They don't have the skills at guard positions or the passing talent all across the board. You mention Yao and TMac being our studs, but you're forgetting the Pistons have some very very good players on their team : Rasheed is a good defender and can score when needed, Billups is one of the best G's in the game this season, Hamilton can score in bunches and is a designated gunner, Ben is an absolute force in the post. We have 2 guys and maybe a Juwan. Outside of that we haven't had much of anything consistent this season. I know people like to say the Pistons really don't have any stars, and technically they don't have "mega stars", but they have some very good players at just about every position. The Spurs. Again, people like to say it's Duncan and some scrubs, but it's more than that. Manu and Parker are solid players. Both are tough guards for any team on the perimeter and both are among the best penetrators in the NBA. We have nothing that remotely compares to either of those guys other than Tracy and well, he's only one man. Even with a healthy and good-shooting Wesley and Sura we weren't on their level, but we played well enough to maybe make a run with them. What's interesting about our team is that until recently our defense has always been solid - it is championship caliber defense (for the most part anyway). It's our offense that's been lacking or inconsistent and can't begin to compare with the Spurs or Pistons. The main thing we are missing beyond all-around offense is the fact that the Spurs and Pistons are great passing teams and both have great basketball IQ and are fairly young at their main positions.
Dr, thats the truth. The Rox when healthy need Ming to be consistent night in and night out. They need quickness on the perimeter thats why i liked Gerald Wallace type who is young and getting better. He's a really good defender and getting better offensively. thats the kind of athelete they need. Other than McGrady, they dont have a 6'6,6'7 atheletic type of guy. Even a guy like Ronald Dupree or Jumaine Jones would work with the Rox.
I haven't watched Gerald Wallace play much, but it seems that the best teams have good athletes who make great decisions. I've never put Wallace into that league, but like I said, I haven't watched him play much. People like Swift who rely purely on athleticschism (hehe) don't a champion make. Offenses and defenses that think when playing and make all the right decisions at the right time do. Who are the athletes with brains out there? That's who I want to go after...
This summer i wanted the Rox to spend the mle on him instead of swift. I thought the rox could have did a sign and trade maybe for SAR or Swift or just stick with Howard and draft Simien. I'm telling you Dr, he's a more atheletic version of Artest and his offense is coming around like that also. Defensively, he's very,very good now and will get better. At 6'7 he blks shots and gets steals which are rare. He's only 22 or 23 i beleive, but a guy like that would have made this team much better from the perimeter.
Great analysis DoD and I agree that the Rox personel can't play like the Spurs or Pistons. What I notice about this and last year's Rox team is when they have success it has more to do with their offense than their defense. If we look at their winning streaks opponents seem to be regulary scoring into the 90's but the Rox are also able to score into the 90's and above. The Rox in the past two years don't seem to win many of the low scoring grind it out games that people figure are the hallmark of the JVG teams. To me it seems like the Rox of two years ago with Francis, Mobley and Cato played more like the Spurs or Pistons with grind it out games and more balanced scoring. That's why I'm wondering if this Rox team is simply put together wrong and should instead be going to a more open style that seems to work instead of trying to play like the Spurs, Pistons or the Rox of Dream Championship years.
No, we're nowhere near the Spurs' or the Pistons' consistency, depth, and talent -- even when fully healthy. I like to think of us as more or less at/near the level of solid teams like Dallas and Phoenix, but still a few notches below the best of the best (Pistons and Spurs). Those two teams are definitely the standard by which NBA teams should be judged.
Not to turn this into a bash JVG thread then how could the Rox become an elite team like those? I believe JVG would like the Rox to play like those teams, strong D and ball control O, but so far they can't. Is this a problem of the personnel or the coaching or both? And if so how should the Rox play to become successful?
