Chron:Rockets want Yao to have ball at right time and place

Only Rudy and his roster can make a low post pass, Rocket science. This is Rudy and CD's hand picked collection of mental midgets.

I guess the "we are young" excuse is wearing thin. So now it becomes "the low post is like the Bermuda triangle and we have trouble navigating".

If all it takes is patience and practice, why didn't Rudy implement/practice a strategy against the way Seattle would play zone on the left block against Hakeem? Three guys would beat Hakeem to the left block and the Rockets never adjusted.

I know Rudy is trying, but I get tired of hearing excuses. In one year, Golden State implemented a system that has them tied with the Rockets.

The previous poster hit the nail on the head. If Cato didn't have to leave the team, how long would he have started over Yao?

 

This article convinced me that the rockets coach system doesn't know how to coach under the new rules. Yes the new rule brings more difficult. It makes the game especially harder for the rockets than for other teams because rockets is so bad at passing and moving after the ball is passed.

 

So stop dribbling and pass the ball as fast as you can. Don't wait untill two mean are around you or three men around Yao to pass the ball.

 

The other problem with our PNR is just that, we don't set hard picks. I would love to hear someone ask Rudy his philosophy on the pick. It seems we use the pick as a gimmick to get our player into the post without allowing the defense to set. On almost all our PNR, our big man will roll before allowing the contact. IMHO that is a flaw in Rudy's teaching and use of the PNR.

It is a conscious decision by our coaches to use the PNR in the above stated manner (as a gimmick). Plain and simple. I'm not sure if setting a hard pick would make our guards smarter, but it sure would help make decisions clearer for them.

 

It seems every time that they do the "shodow everybody except Ming" to show that he is open on ESPN, nobody notices that we are watching from an extremely high angle where we can see everything. Do you guys think the the other players have that same view down on the court? I'm sure there are plenty of times that they have not passed to him when they could have, but what I don't like is the talk about the guards only caring about their stats. That's the kind of talk that I think is total bs.

 

Also, what I've been noticing lately on the pick and rolls is that they don't give it to Yao on the roll, but Yao simply goes and posts up a smaller man, and we get him the ball. I think it's designed that way, and if so, good job.

 

It's funny that people probably think they weren't working on this type of thing in practice until this article appeared. I wonder if Feigen thinks he has to spoon-feed ignorant Rocket 'fans'.

 

Not a bad read.

However, these guys are supposed to be professionals, and they have had about 6 months to learn how to do it?

How long does it take for PROFESSIONAL basketball players to learn how to make a post entry pass?

The article sounds like typical Rudy excuses to me.


Rudy doesn't like to FORCE the issue with his players, and this is why Rudy's teams take longer to learn then other teams.

However, once they do learn, they are totally converted....so it is just a painful process to watch.

Also, I am sure that Magic and Larry Bird had no trouble learning how to make the post entry pass, but they were already real smart in the basketball IQ department. Our team has a collection of guys that have been one on one players and are just now learning how to play the game.

Time will tell....and Rudy may not be here when it all comes to fruition.

DD

 

This 30 touches/game thing is just for the backcourt to get a sense of how many time Yao should get it, and I'm pretty sure it will be forgotten soon.

It's like when you start a diet, you keep going to a sheet and keep reminding yourself what to eat and what not to eat. But then, after a while, it becomes a part of your life, and you do it without thinking about it.

 

DaDa,

Everytime the subject of post entry passes comes up, you completely neglect/ignore comments on how difficult it's gotten to make those passes with zones. Even Van Gundy said it, and he gets to watch like a spectator. He also got to go against it as a coach. What's your take on it? You think it's BS? Because I think it's very legit.

 

Although, in spirit I basically agree that Yao's been open on PnR's and the guards have missed the pass on several occasions, I think it's worth pointing out that just because Yao beats his man doesn't necessarily mean the pass is there. Sometimes even though Yao beats his man, there are 4 arms of defense the pass has to go through in order to hit him. Just food for thought.

 

How were the touches counted? If Yao gets a rebound, is that counted as a touch?

 

Sane,

I think it is not BS, but I also don't think it is as hard as Rudy is making it out to be.

If you work on something for 6 months as professionals you think they would have an understanding.

Frankly, it is not the post entry pass that is the problem, it is the teams lack of committment to sharing the ball that is the real issue.

They are not trying the post pass when Francis and Mobley drive into the teeth of the zone defense and toss up an off balanced brick.

Nor are they trying the post entry pass when Yao sets a high pick and rolls to the hole and is wide open and yet ignored.

Post entry pass is a small part of a larger problem, that being the lack of a committment by the team to share the basketball.

Smoke and mirrors in my opinion.

Yes the pass is harder but a 20 year old point guard in San Antonio is having no problems making that pass, why can't our 26 and 27 year old guards make the same pass?

It all comes down to a willingness to learn and to teach....I don't personally think Rudy T is forceful enough in his teaching, he should be DEMANDING that they do this...however, it is clear by the actions of his team that he is letting them feel their way.

Personally, Larry Brown would be a better coach for this team....if you don't like what he wants you to do...you sit.


That is what Rudy should do......IMHO.

DD

 

Agreed. Good post.

 

But they've not really been working on it for six months. For one thing, training camp started barely five months ago, and Yao didn't show up until two weeks after that. Depsite that fact, how many practices do they get a week? One, maybe two? You can work on them in the game some, but if it's not working out, then you've got to do what you think is best to win that game.

I've been frustrated as much as anyone this season, but articles like this helps put me back in reality just a little bit. That, and the obvious concerted effort they've made the last 5-6 games to get Yao the ball.

 

Yes, I do think the Rockets would have focused on that in training camp. Why wouldn't they?

 

Yeah, just because Cato was slated to be the starter doesn't mean that they were just going to totally ignore the #1 pick in the draft.

 

That article explains it all.

1) We spend so much time working on the low post game, that we don't work on executing the fast break, passing and defense.

2) We don't fast break because the other team has 5 guys on the floor.

3) In today's NBA, the opposing frontcourt guards the paint, so when Steve drives, the opposing center unexpectedly gets in the way and forces him to throw up an off balance shot.

4) We are last in assists because the other team plays the passing lanes and it is so hard to pass in today's NBA.

5) We don't have any motion in our offense because everyone is so fast in today's NBA. They would beat us to the spots.

6) Oh my! How can any team win in today's NBA

 

I don't keep a running tabulation but there are a great many dreamcasters here who propose that the answer for the Rockets is getting Elton Brand. Also, Griffin is criticized for having no low post game.

My question then becomes...if it's so dam* hard to get a pass into the low blocks because of zones then maybe Brand isn't as big an addition as some people think.

Or is it the opposite? The WC with more dominant low post players still dominates the EC in spite of zones. Hmmmm....

IMHO, post entry passes can't be that hard if everybody else is doing successfully. Or maybe the other teams have learned how to reverse the ball back to the weakside while the Rockets try to split double teams dribbling?

My apologies for being offensive but someone who has played basketball all of their lives and played against zones in HS and college and who currently plays for a living shouldn't need 5 months to learn post entry passing, attacking a zone or running an effective PnR.

 

Gater,

THANK YOU !!!!


Excuses are getting thick around Rudy...he must be feeling the pressure.

DD