Now that JVG is gone, I'm a bit worried about who are next coach will be. I did question some of JVG's move, but now that he's gone I do really wonder if his style was not best for the Rockets. I love Yao, but he's possibly the slowest starting center in the league. Granted he might be the best, but it might not be the worst thing to be a team that rarely runs on the break when one of your best players if 7'6". Also, our most athletic player (T-Mac) is not a fast breaking type of player anymore. He's more athletic than most players in the league, but he's probably more comfortable in the half-court than running on the break. That's just how it is. Look at KG, Duncan, etc. Great players, but not guys that you picture runnin on the break. I do think JVG did a heck of a job and if we won game 7 we probably would not even be having this discussion.
Who do you envision running the break? I can picture some teams like Nash/Barbosa/Marion/Stoudamire. I don't really see it with the Rockets. Like I said our most athletic player, T-Mac, seems to be better in the half-court.
I guess if Yao can trigger the fast break with better defensive rebounds and a good outlet pass and maybe become a better trailer it could work with a better conditioning program, but assuming Adleman is the new coach, Yao still isn't even as good of a passing center as Adleman's former centers in Divac and Sabonis who were a couple of the best passing 5's (along with Bill Walton who of course Adleman didn't coach) to have played the game. Adleman could develop Yao's ability to hit the slashers with timely passes in the half court offense much like Vlade did in Sac and the team's motion as a whole would probably be a lot more fluid, but Yao could become very effective in the halfcourt sets. Sac and Portland under Adleman ran very impressive half court sets with back door traps ran to precision but the Rockets IMO would have to run with Luther, Rafer, Battier, a more mobile backup center after Mutombo retires when Yao is out of the game and a more athletic 4/5 which the team would have to address to change their tempo. After Mutombo retires in another year or two I hope (I like his rebounding and shot blocking) they'd have to rely on the more athletic 4/5 for the rebounds, getting out on the breaks and shot blocking. Maybe Deke's minutes could be reduced to allow the Rocks to cop that athletic 4/5 now and allow a faster tempo immediately and keep the shot blocking and rebounding that Deke renders but in a reduced role.
From the looks of it.. Tmac won't really be all that "athletic" as we'd like for him to be anymore. He's about 2-3 times slower when he makes a move to the basket this season. Occasionally he'll make those freak shots under the basket, but seems like one of those could cost him some stamina. It's like when you're playing NBA Live, one of those freak layups or dunks could cost Tmac half of the green bar.
So most people agree that 1) JVG should be gone because he didn't run a fast tempo offense and 2) the Rockets can't run a fast tempo offense. This off- season is off to a good start.
I dont think the perceived problem is a need of a "fast tempo" offense. The problem was Van Gundy's notorious scoring droughts and lack of creativity on offense. It got stagnant, repetitive and ugly. We need something more dynamic than Van Gundy. "Fast paced" offense is one end of the spectrum, JVG is on the complete opposite. We need more balance. Yao and McGrady arent dominant enough to carry the team solo, and the role players are too inconsistent. Something must be done.
I agree with #2. Ziggy pretty much summed it up well for #1. JVG focuses on defense and pretty much defense only, and we've seen where that got us this year. I don't necessarily think an uptempo style really fit this team's bill, we just don't have the right personnel, but we do need more variety. We know what defense can do for our team, now lets see where offense will take us.
I don't expect Yao to be able to play an up-tempo style. I'd just settle for him playing whole game without looking like he's going to cough up a lung by the fourth quarter.
JVG was pretty much an 8 man rotation coach who had a problem trusting rookies and was quick to put any underacheiving veteran in his doghouse instead of trying to develop them to learn from their mistakes on the fly. He was not a very patient coach when it came to rookies and was veteran oriented which left several players on the bench that didn't have the ability to contribute in the crunch because of a lack of playing time which was probably demoralizing to the players Also, the younger players had to earn their playing time by playing decent defense where a flexible coach would recognize that some players will never play a lick of defense but can still have a very significant impact in several games as specialists (like a Matt Bullard). If Les wants a Phoenix style team then one can foresee players who don't play defense at an all NBA level but have other talents signed by a more open minded and patient coach like Adelman who almost always had an abundance of shooters with range on his teams. One thing JVG wasn't given credit for and maybe it should go to CD is that the Rocks were a horrible outside shooting team last year and in one season the team was 2nd to Phoenix in 3 point shots made for much of the year and the team averaged a sick amount of 3 pointers made per game, which showed JVG's attention to the offensive side of the game. He actually encouraged Battier and certain players to take the trey if they had a good look and not to pass it up. The Rockets made tremendous strides in that aspect of their offense under JVG and although Rafer's shooting percentage was woeful, he improved his shot beyond the arc in impressive fashion and generally upgraded his game by playing under control most of the time, but his improvement, however noted, doesn't qualify him to be a starting PG IMO, and he should not start at the PG spot next November.
If there never was a JVG...does anyone really think the Rockets would be starting Battier, Alston and Hayes? I'm cautiously optimistic Morey will tailor the personnel for Adelman uptempo and shed the remnants of Gundy-ball. Hell, if Morey didn't do anything and Wells decides he wants to play for Adelman in the manner he did in SAC, it would be a huge offensive improvement.
Adelman is a good offensive coach but not neccessarily uptempo. I dont remember the kings running a whole lot.
you forgot 3) fast tempo offenses got their asses pwned in the second round of the playoffs, and super-slow paced teams are going to win the title
Not the Rockets though. It's not even about fast pace, it's about balance. The Cavs, Spurs, Jazz, and the Pistons can all play transition basketball and half court basketball. The greatest part about that is, they don't all run the same exact 3 plays for 4 straight quarters.
I can tell you haven't watch the Cavs much. They don't even HAVE 3 plays to run. (I exaggerate for effect). Mike Brown is the worst offensive coach I have ever seen in 30+ years of watching NBA basketball. Big-time Cavs fan professorjay only hangs out in the NBA forum and he would back me up on this. The Spurs and Jazz do run the same plays all game, it's just that their execution is better than the defense that guards them. By a long shot, the Pistons have the most diversified offense of the remaining teams. This is because of Flip Saunders and because they always have 4 legit scoring threats on the floor at one time, many of whom can create their own shot. As you say, balance is the key. It isn't about "fast tempo" vs. "slow tempo". Fast works when you have the advantage.
How often you can fast break is determine by so many factors. Yao isn't going to be running on the break, which means he needs to be that much better as a defensive rebounder and outlet passer to give other players opportunities to leak out. It remains to be seen if he can excel in that role. Trying to play up tempo means you put more pressure on the perimeter and more focus on forcing turnovers and less focus on defending the paint. With out current team, can we play decent defense (including the getting the close out defensive board) while also trying to run? That's the crucial question.
That's not true. In the good days of Rick Adelman's coaching, his teams (Blazers & Kings) were up-tempo teams (high possesions). The Rockets are now about 89 possessions per game (4 years of JVG, the Rockets were in the bottom of possessions < 90). With Rick Adelman, the Rockets will probably increase to 91-92 possessions per game (that's because of Yao). I am confident RA is more than capable of coaching a half court offense centered on Yao - but with more varieties. Yao will still post up at the low blocks most of time. But when low blocks get tough, I'll see RA will put Yao at the foul line to face up and shoot jumpers and hit cutters. More ball movements, players movement, screen and roll. More fast breaks where Yao can rebound and throw a long outlet pass to initiate breaks. More layups and open mid-range jumpers instead of throwing up a 29% FGA as 3 pt bombs. An efficient offense center around Yao with more movements and varieties is what I am expecting.
i'm excited to see what rafer and billy can do under a coach like rick adleman. my guess is that they will flourish in that kind of system. they're great at pushing the ball, creating for others, and driving in on the defense. once the ball is in thier hands we will see a whole new set of pg's.
An uptempo offense is definitely not ideal for Yao, which is precisely why Yao should not be such a big focal point in our offense. Yao should be a distant second option, or ideally, a third option on offense. He should be playing less minutes per game, averaging around 18-20 points a game, while shooting a higher percentage (mid-upper 50%), like other second options around the league (Tony Parker, Amare Stoudamire). We’ve spent the past several years building an offense specifically suited for Yao, and it has looked like utter sh--. At this point, I don’t think we have any other option but to try something significantly different. Build the offense around Mcgrady, give him some more playmakers that can run with him and get him some easy baskets/open looks. Have Yao be more of a complementary star player. Kind a combination of what Mutombo and Juwan were while Yao was out with the injury. Make Yao adjust. I'm sure many people could look at Tony Parker and say "there's no way he'll fit in a slow half court offense. He can't shoot well enough. He's best suited in an uptempo game." Yet, he manages to make it work. You just have to try something different and have faith that Yao will make the proper adjustments. Let’s face it, there’s never going to be a perfect offense that perfectly fits both Yao and Mcgrady. How often this season did Yao have a great game, but Mcgrady struggled, or Mcgrady would have a great game and Yao struggled?
