one of the most difficult to deal with in the conference! http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/...s-understanding-new-yorks-draft-state-of-mind I just wanted to share cause I loved the sound of that!
I wouldn't be surprised if it was a Lakers Executive. They know exactly how annoying our frontline is,
Good find, but I think it's funny that a WC executive says our front line is tough, and the wrter says our defense should get better. At times our interior defense has been non-existant and most of that is because of our lack of size and sometimes quickness. There are always going to be breakdowns in execution, but it is great Chuck, Scola & Landry get some pub.
I'd guess it was a Portland exec considering they've had to deal with our bigs twice this season and in last years 1st round series and they've been frustrating the hell out of Portland.
Yeah, hate the fact that in this day and age major sports media still hasn't learned that points per game is not a good indicator of offensive or defensive efficiency. That said, the writer is still correct -- the Rockets are only average defensively so far, ranking 14th in the league at 105.5 points allowed per 100 possessions, and 15th in opposing eFG%.
Subjectively speaking, I have noticed a trend of the Rockets generally looking more lethargic [not all of them, but as a whole] on the defensive end in the first half of games and then picking it up a notch in the second. I'm not sure what Adelman says to them in the locker room, but it seems to work as they get a lot more aggressive, apply more pressure, and force more turnovers in the second half.
Perhaps the results are not surprising at all... Morey said Yao's absence was expected to hurt the D more than the O, and it seems to be what happened. Ariza, Brooks, Scola, Landry, Budinger and Lowry each took up a part of the offensive slack left by Yao. And remember, last year's offense spent part of the season with Tracy McGrady shooting inefficienctly, most of the year with Rafer Alston's typical shooting, and then there was Ron Artest doing well spotting up for 3s but doing drives not within the offense. Without these things, the offense so far have been statistically better than last season's numbers. On the other hand, not having a big man out there hurt the team defensively. Chuck is an elite defender, but the lack of size means when Chuck is helping, he can be out of rebounding position-- Yao on the other hand, simply had to be around the basket to make shots difficult and he was helpful on the defensive board still. Of course, it's early. We'll see if the trend holds up.
most likely it was a Laker exec. they said the same things about chuck hayes last year when he guarded Pau and Bynum.
No matter what you look at we aren't a good defense right now, closer to average. I said it before the season started, something would have to give. If we end up a good offense and a good defense then we would be a pretty good team. What would that say about Yao? He's too good for his absence to not have a sizable impact.
Best measure of defensive efficiency is points allowed per possession. If you allow your opponent 8 shot attempts on a defensive possession before they make one because you can't get a defensive rebound, you've given up 2 points. You may have limited them to 12.5% shooting from the field, but the result is the same as if they hit their first shot. That's not good defense. Similarly, if you have to foul a lot to keep your opponents from shooting a high FG%, that's not good defense either because you're putting them on the line.
