It's close. The West is so tightly packed right now that if one team goes crazy it could really make some noise. I don't think the Rockets are there yet. But they do have a bunch of patsies this month they can use to hone the offense on. Then in March they can go nuts. Hopefully.
it's luxury to have chemistry. that means somebody has to sacrifice himself to glue the team. i doubt he is present in the team now.
Yeah, we're a tight group. But it's the understanding of who fit in where and more experience with playing under new system that contributing to winning. That's we're seeing better ball movement, Tmac not jacking up random shots and lower TO. We cracking the code of winning basketball.
It is not about individual talent, it is about team talent. I believe the Rockets are discovering just how good they can be. And IMHO, they can win it all if they play as a team. DD
Ya, I really think our team can take it to anybody right now. Even the Celtics in the East and the Suns in the West. Team chemistry is better than any individual talent. If we play well as a team, we can beat anybody.
Last night's game against Atlanta was a thing of beauty and exactly what I am talking about. Everyone performs their role to perfection and the team dominates. Tmac has finally taken a backseat to Yao, and takes over when they need him.... And Scola as the starter means the team gets off to much better starts. I wonder what their PPG average is since Luis was put in as a starter? DD
let's see how we play in march when we face new orleans, suns, lakers, mavs a few more times. if they win more than half of the games v. those teams, then we can start talking. but right now, we're improving. i just care about how the team does. if we were winning the same way last yr (tmac and yao doing everything), i wouldn't be as optimistic. but we're improving in areas we lacked before and those are great signs.
Not counting the Utah game since Scola started for Yao, the Rockets are averaging 100 ppg with Scola as the starter.
I concur. Our Archilis tendon is PG. Rafer is ok for now, bring T-mac to PG in the playoff. Can we do that?
Good points, DaDa in the initial post of this thread. Early on ... looks like Gasol and the Lakers have benefited the most with the least problems in transitioning from the Griz. On the other hand, Phoenix could REALLY be in trouble trying to keep the top spot in the Pacific. Spurs though still a good team are not near as dangerous as they have been. Finley and Bowen have dropped in their proficiency and Mighty Mouse can't stop the leak from dripping while Tony P is out! Manu and Timmy can only do so much. Horry may not be able to rescue them this time! They look OLD! Good news for us. One thing I really like about the last few games is how well we're sharing the ball. 32 assists/14 TO and 29/9 respectively vs ATL and CLEV. We're getting easy baskets, people! That hardly EVER happened last year! Couple this with balanced scoring and an attack mode type front court yet also unselfish with Scola and Landry and all the sudden this team looks very dangerous. All the sudden, the Rockets are able to rest their starters for significant minutes and this will pay dividends for the team as a whole come playoff time! What a difference a few weeks makes! For those who STILL think Adelman is a horrible coach and cannot hold JVG's jock, please continue smoking the crack. We have started to see some beautifully played basketball by the Rockets and amazingly we're starting to win and win A LOT!
I have to give Adelman credit for doing something very important- 1. He stopped messing with Yao in the post. Yao is the most dominant offensive player in the low post in the league. 2. He let them play 1/2 court tempo. This fits Yao to a T. 3. He saw Rafer as the steady influence for the 1/2 court game, but also someone who can push it. 4. He started Scola and plays Landry and he is giving Brooks very important minutes to develop. 5. He has not let the offense take away from the defense. Right now I really like what Adelman is doing. They are running the break much better with finishers like Scola and Bonzi. They have multiple options on offense. They have played very tough defense, especially in the paint. Things are coming together. I give alot of credit to Adelman, at the beginning of the season he told me he wanted Yao to develop more like Vladi Divacs playing away from the basket more. That left me discouraged. I would say the ghost of Vladi is gone. If we can play mentally tough and avoid turnovers and defensive lapses against the top tier teams we can be a very dangerous team in the playoffs.
I don't think Chuck will be totally pushed out of the rotation. But he will be moved into the roll which he should have in the NBA as a utility defense player who can come off the bench to provide, hustle and rebounding. Luis Scola fits the mold of a starting PF and he makes everyone else play better by giving Yao more room to operate, another assist opportunity for Alston and the woefully needed third scoring option. Even Shane is playing better because of Scola.
The chemistry of the Rockets seem to be getting better with each game. However, I'm still waiting to see how the team does when it gets into a dogfight, when it really gets tested. Will they keep trusting the Adelman formula of getting everyone involved or will they panic and go back to dumping the ball to one of their two stars? Another words, when they get hit, how will they hit back?
Tmac needs to play that point forward role more often. I love when he looks to pass first than shoot. If he scores than i rather see him drive it in. Getting everyone involved early builds the teams confidence.
IMHO I believe you're dead on with this assessment. Look at the ease the Rockets ran their offense for all but 8 minutes of garbage time last night? Don't laugh this Atlanta team is becoming respectable at the very least. They had the Blazers on the ropes a week ago and down double digits before Portland rallied in the closing minutes. So, this was a pretty good win. If the Rockets can continue buying into this Adelman philosophy, this could be a very fun ending to the season and a DEEP run into the playoffs.
