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Chron: McGrady endorses offense, Adleman still believes in duo

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by rocketshopeful, Dec 25, 2007.

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  1. rocketshopeful

    rocketshopeful Member

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    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5402891.html

    Dec. 25, 2007, 12:52AM
    Rockets learn on the road
    Despite 1-2 trip, team has reason to see positives

    By JONATHAN FEIGEN


    In many ways, it was not just another trip, the latest of two months crowded with them.

    To the Rockets, it was a process, a test, another chance.

    It ended with the Rockets looking as they did before they left, save the cuts, swelling and bandages over Yao Ming's and Shane Battier's left eyes.

    They seemed unable to compete with a contender — Dallas before they left, Detroit before they returned — and had Tracy McGrady limping and unsure if he would play in the Rockets' next game because of a sore left knee.

    Yet, in a measure of how far the Rockets thought they had to go, they believe that beneath those appearances they have changed.

    "I think you're tested in our new mentality, a four-games-in-five-nighter, against really good teams," Battier said when the trip began. "Stay with the plan. Move the ball. Attack early. If we do that through this, we'll really be making strides."

    When it ended, he said: "We take from this road trip the positives. It could have been a great road trip if we get one more stop in Denver. Then we go 2-1 and we're talking about the momentum we have. Now we have to look at the momentum from understanding what's good for us."

    Four of five games lost
    The stretch began with a home loss to Dallas followed by a double-overtime loss the next night in Denver. The Rockets whipped the similarly weary Bulls with by far their best offensive game of the season before crumbling in the second half and falling behind by 20 in a loss to Detroit.

    They have lost four of five games and have not won consecutive games since Dec. 7. Yet, they had become so lost before last week's retooling, they said they return home a better team than they were a week before.

    But there is no doubt about what they need next.

    "I think they're buying in," coach Rick Adelman said. "Sooner or later, you have to have results. That's what we need. We need results.

    "We really took a step, buying in. I have to keep pushing them that this is the way we have to get it done."

    Of course, they would not have minded getting the results when they were walking the ball up, standing around and leaning too heavily on McGrady and Yao.

    That worked in the 6-1 start but since has proved to have been misleading. It crashed badly in the weeks that followed, so Adelman made a promise to himself.

    He said he would tinker with the offense a bit, then make sure that one way or another the Rockets ran it. He spent two practice days talking about the Rockets moving the ball and themselves quickly and aggressively and then was ready to live with the results.

    In the first game out, the Rockets had their worst shooting game of the season against the Mavericks. But they ran the offense, and for two games after that it clicked.

    McGrady played just a half against Dallas, not at all against Denver and a little more than a half against Detroit. But in the time he did play, he seemed to fit in the offense more willingly.

    "The offense is fine; we were just not making shots," McGrady said. "The offense is great. Great ball movement. A lot of movement, a lot of openings where I can get easy buckets. It's great. We were just not making shots. That's all it boils down to."

    When the shooters around him misfired, falling to 28th in the NBA in 3-point accuracy, McGrady seemed to lose confidence in them. Adelman said they played as if they lost confidence in themselves, leading to a stagnant offense and all those early McGrady shots.

    "If he gives it up and nothing happens, you have a tendency as a human being to revert to what's comfortable for you," Adelman said. "That's what our team has done. Everybody stood around and watched."

    Now, the Rockets said, they have McGrady moving without the ball, Yao moving his low-post position and everyone moving more quickly.

    "We tinkered with it," Adelman said. "I moved Yao to the low post from a lot of areas, not just coming down and throwing it to him but coming to him from the weak side. It was 50-50 elbow-post. It's got to be more 75-25 at the post for him. I still like him at the elbow as he learns to do things. He can still roll to the box and find different ways to get there.

    "I think it's going to be helpful for Tracy, too, if we can run our offense and he makes cuts and he's coming off picks from people rather than just catching it when everybody sees him standing there."

    Big-time combo will stay
    He brushed aside the suggestion the Rockets need to break up the Yao-McGrady tandem.

    "I have two great players, a perimeter and an inside (player)," Adelman said. "I have to make it work with them. We have to keep at it. People can have their opinion. When you have two great players like this, you have to make it work."

    Still, a few good signs are not a winning streak. The Rockets have a long way to go to climb from the hole they have dug for themselves. But now, they insist they know the way.

    "We're going to keep pushing it," Adelman said. "We're going to keep talking about it and talking about it. We can do things. We can do this."

    jonathan.feigen@chron.com
     
    #1 rocketshopeful, Dec 25, 2007
  2. Patience

    Patience Member

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    Good to hear The Rockets and Adelman haven't given up like so many on this board. Lets see where we are at the end of the year and then make some decisions. I, for one, think we should wait to see how this pans out.

    We are ony 25 some odd games removed from a 52 win season. I think it will come around.

    Merry Christmas, everyone!
     
    #2 Patience, Dec 25, 2007
  3. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    who here thought t-mac and yao would give up on adelman? you dont give up on a coach with that kind of track record. if anything, we should be happy adelman hasn't given up on t-mac and yao.
     
    #3 rofflesaurus, Dec 25, 2007
  4. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    I don't like the way Adelman sounds less than I liked the way JVG sounded. I was all for getting rid of Jeff, since he had not desire to bring in an offensive coach to help him on that end; and I am not like those that want JVG back.

    I am willing to give Adelman more time, the rest of this season, but my gut tells me that he is not the man for this job. I will be happy to eat my words down the line if he causes me to do that. Maybe Morey and Les can help him with a magnificent trade, but I am not betting on that.

    Adelman said himself that the players are slowing buying into his system, which to me means that the players don't really trust or have faith in him as a coach. They players are probably willing to try almost anything now since they are sucking so bad and getting so much criticism, but that doesn't mean that they are buying into Adelman's system, or him as a coach. Rather it means that they are just desperate to win to get the heat off of them; and of course just for the sake of winning.

    Adleman just seems to have no control of the tempo of the game, the players attention, or an idea of how to take advantage of the other teams weaknesses. I think he has a lot to do to earn the players respect...and not just expect it from them because of his previous records.
     
    #4 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  5. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    adelman already has every player on the team's respect. u can't NOT respect someone with adelman's track record. like i said....adelman will lose confidence in the players before anyone loses confidence in adelman.
     
    #5 rofflesaurus, Dec 25, 2007
  6. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    What you are saying is logical and makes sense...but NOT the reality...for whatever reason that is.
     
    #6 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  7. michecon

    michecon Member

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    Does it matter though who lost confidence in whom?

    Are you suggesting Adelman will quit being a coach for Rockets before they fire him? Or trade either or both before himself goes?
     
    #7 michecon, Dec 25, 2007
  8. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    Yea thats exactly what im saying. So far we've had T-Mac and Yao for 4 years. They've played under a defensive coach and now an offensive coach. If they still can't get in done under a coach who's known for maximizing his team's potential, then what coach CAN coach these two guys? at some point you have to say, hmm maybe it's the players instead of the coaches. Adelman has proven himself to be a great coach, while T-Mac and Yao have proven themselves to be chokes. You decide who deserves to stay and who deserves to go. ;)
     
    #8 rofflesaurus, Dec 25, 2007
  9. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    When is the last time that Adelman had success in the NBA? What was his record his last season in the NBA? What were the reasons behind his departure with his last team? What kind of players did he have on that team? When was the last time Adelman took a team deep into the playoffs? How was the NBA then and how is it different now?

    Answer these questions and you may have your answer to the Adelman question. ;)
     
    #9 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  10. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    here's a better question: when was the last time T-Mac and Yao won a playoff series?

    answer that and you may have your answer ;)
     
    #10 rofflesaurus, Dec 25, 2007
  11. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    First, go back and try to answer my questions.

    Second we are not in the playoffs yet, this is still the regular season that we are sucking in.

    Third, who were the last to have 50 plus win regular season wins: Yao and Tmac or Adelman?

    Answer ALL of the questions, and you will have your answer! :rolleyes:
     
    #11 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  12. rofflesaurus

    rofflesaurus Member

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    you're just pulling random questions that are insignificant. i can do that too and ask: who was the last to make it out of the first round? T-Mac/Yao or Adelman?

    besides, that 50 win season is negated with a first round exit. a great regular season means nothing if u have nothing to show for it. playoff success is all that matters and adelman has tons of it.
     
    #12 rofflesaurus, Dec 25, 2007
  13. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    The point is that things and systems change over time. There was a time in the NFL that the run and shoot were popular and had great success. But just like the run and shoot, those coaches who ran it are no longer successful, although they were back then.

    The NBA has changed. The rules are different. The players are different. The game is different. If you have a coach trying to coach like he was back then and hasn't adapted to the changes, then it is no surprise that he is doing worse this year with a better team than we had last year. My point about the questions was that he was probably fired from Sacremento because of the owners realising this at that time. I could be wrong, so I asked the questions to support the assumption.
     
    #13 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  14. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    I wonder if Tmac is afraid of getting traded, and decided to stop sulking?

    DD
     
    #14 DaDakota, Dec 25, 2007
  15. daddy cool

    daddy cool Member

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    You beating them to the punch
     
    #15 daddy cool, Dec 25, 2007
  16. daddy cool

    daddy cool Member

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    Why don't you chill with the negativity and impatience
     
    #16 daddy cool, Dec 25, 2007
  17. oneonepyopyo

    oneonepyopyo Member

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    blastaway:

    he might be a AD Fun :) . According to his appeal, AD's record is good enough for the Rox to let both T-mac and Yao leave. I seriously doubt that.

    Are we missing the point that we are building the Rox around the duo? Put AD and the duo onto the scale, apparently, who is gonna be the winner. JVG leave is a good instance of that

    P.S.: I m not saying we will not break down the duo. When it's time, we might trade one of them. But kick both of them out. I m just not buying it.
     
    #17 oneonepyopyo, Dec 25, 2007
  18. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    What is it about opinions and discussion that you don't like to have on forums? :confused:

    Maybe you need a new forum with only kiss ass views about the Rockets.

    Im a very big Rockets fan, that gives me the right to like and dislike what I want to about the team.
     
    #18 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  19. blastaway

    blastaway Member

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    Im sorry...but can you explain what you mean here to me please? :confused:
     
    #19 blastaway, Dec 25, 2007
  20. daddy cool

    daddy cool Member

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    You can apply your same question here to Tracy and Yao ming if you want to stay negative.Maybe with new rules,new style in the NBA that Tracy and Yao's,shaq and Kobe thing doesn't work anymore. The two were looked at as a similar duo to Shaq and kobe.




    Furthermore you wanna talk about new rules and new playing style of the league.Rick is a pioneer in the way the league plays.Jason williams back in the early Sac king days was playing how steve nash play's today. Mike dantoni even admitted he borrrowed some of his Teams style of play from Rick.
     
    #20 daddy cool, Dec 25, 2007
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