Chron: Rockets say they're close to finally turning corner

If guys play together for enough time, no matter how little talent they have, they'll start finding a groove. That's what this article is saying.

Sura, T-Mac and Yao... the guys who play the most minutes... are the only ones who really have to click, and I think they have (save Sura hitting wide open 3's.).

I REALLY like the Yao/T-Mac pick and roll around the 3 point line. Once Yao comes off that pick, and is rumbling to the basket... he either takes the entire defense with him, leaving Tracy for the jumper, or he provides T-Mac with a HUGE target to find when the defense traps him.

 

TMac must hate Yao...

 

I've really liked the team lately, I even started playing with them on NBA Live even with Juwon, the defense has always been there and the offense is coming around. Tough stretch of games coming up but I don't see any reason why they can't come out of it looking stronger than ever, and I still think that anything can happen come playoff time. Also, I think Tracy McGrady is playing better than he ever has and by the end of the season it's going to show up on his stat sheet and in the Rocket's win loss record.

All they gotta do is stay healthy and this season will turn around, all the Rockets have to do is keep improving the team in years to come and we'll see a lot of playoff success.

 

I said this earlier in the season. Yao and T-Mac, as you're two best players, need(ed) to find more situations where they were both being used in the same play. Either one should be able to score against a double team, so, potentially, you have 4 defenders very concerned about 2 guys or you have Yao or T-Mac in good positions to score.

You don't want this all the time, as it is good to seperate them, too so that each of them can get some easy shots off the spacing, etc.

But in addition to the corner pick-n-roll, I'd like to see T-Mac as the entry passer into Yao in the post. This way T-Mac can make the pass and cut in for a layup, stay where he is for an open shot/pass back, or, if Yao is fronted, Yao can come out and set a pick.

 

i agree 100% too many times it's either yao's show or tmac's show.

IMO it lets the defense off the hook when they know one or the other isn't in that play. then they only have to double the one who is being used. if both were being used in the same play such as a PnR then that leaves one of them wide open or at least one of our shooters wide open.


....thats right! we have shooters now

 

Now, let's just see it on the court.

 

Tmac and Yao are still feeling it. I think by now Tmac should
have realized "bullet pass" is not the best for a bigman. Maybe
they should watch the Shaq/Kobe tapes to learn how to play
together.

 

The pick and roll is more effective inside the 3 point line near low block outside the paint. After the roll, Yao is already close to the basket ready to dunk. Yao is a huge screen, the biggest in the court. After the pick, easy Yao or T-Mac will wide open. I have no idea why we didn't set up this play from the first game of the season.

But I am sure glad that we are doing that. Both T-Mac and Yao are unstoppable in the pick and roll!

 

My sentiments exactly.

 

Not that I try to be negative, but we have heard this too many times before.

 

Yeah, that pick and roll has been pretty effective. Tmac is very unselfish, so the roll part is there, unlike with cat or Steve it's merely a pick. Keep miliking it.

 

I'm with you on this too daoshi. Plus, the Rockets can score all the points they want, but unless they also couple that play with good D, it will all be for nothing IMO.

 

yea right...you....be negative?...say it isnt so....

if you cant see the improvement on the floor...you gotta be blind.

this team will continue to improve....and they will be dangerous..

the proof is there for all to see....

but the one aspect that still concerns me is the inconsistency...but as they see what they can do when the effort is there...I have no doubt that will not happen as often.

 

The two loss against Suns and Lakers, we played actually pretty ok. Lakers isnt a push over by any means, especially at staples center. So take the postive from the 3 game strech, offensively we are clicking. The other important thing, this team seems to find a way to get bucket, instead of forcing shots, well if you take out the first half of laker's game out of equation. The next 10 game or so is critical, if we can manage to get 7 of them, I will say we have a chance this season. It's still tough to compete with Griz, Lakers, and Wolves for that playoff berth. Too bad Griz finally wakes up, that is a real good team.

 

I disagree slightly. On the pick and roll, Yao can catch the bullet pass just fine as long as he is gonna take it straight up and not try to dribble and move. TMac hit him in the hands on one of those plays the other night and he put it in with the foul.

 

We are scoring much more easily recently. The key is to keep the opponents score in bunches.

BTW, Yao is doing better with TMac's bullet passes. I have seen several thunderous dunks from Yao after receiving a lightening quick pass from TMac.

 

That's exactly the problem, consistency.

Any team in NBA can play over their head for a few games, but to do that over 82 games is a different story. That's what separate a good team from a bad one.

What surprised me here is that all the posts I've read so far are talking about the improvement on OFFENSE. If you guys recall, in almost all of the interviews, post game conferences, JVG has repeatly said that our major problem is defense and rebounding. Yes, we did run more, made more shots in the last few games, but I don't see the improvement on rebounding, nor on defense, especially premeter defense. We have been shooting a very respectable % during last few games, I'm not sure we can sustain that. Eventually, our defense has to step up to help us down the road, and I'm holding my breathe for that. Let's see how they play in the next few games before jump into any conclusion.

To borrow what you said, "if you cant see the problem on the floor...you gotta be blind."

 

We're Turning the Corner

That's what I see.

From a personnel standpoint, these new pickups in Wesley and Barry fit very nicely. We're now a more athletic team and a better shooting team too. On the former, we should also be a better defensive team. To date, we've yet to show great consistency in this department. Last year's team was arguably a better defensive team than this year's team. However, our offense is more potent this year than last.

If we can tighten up on the D and get our opponent's avg PPG down to the mid 80s, then we'll be in great shape. Offense has a way of coming and going but D is something that comes down to energy and effort. It's possible that the over-emphasis on D and the fear of making mistakes hurt our team earlier in the season. But it seems to me, from game quotes, that JVG seems to be lightening his tone a bit. Less criticism is resulting in a more fluid and less hesitant offense. Less emphasis on feeding Yao is also a good thing b/c Yao can create his own offense better than any other Rocket player short of T-Mac. (Over-feeding Yao made us too predictable and Yao seems to play better off strong defensive efforts on his part first.)

IMHO, we're still missing that key FOUR to help secure rebounds. Neither MoT nor JH seem to cut it. However, perimeter shooting is definitely looking much better.

My hopes for this 2nd half of the season would be:

1. Picking up a legit PF before the trade deadline
2. Giving more minutes to Barrett and
3. Seeing more distributed scoring with a 3rd option



theSAGE

 

is it just me or isn't it amazing how T mac can play both great D and great offense in long stretches.... he really is one of the top five players in the leagues