...at least that's how it's presented. I say 'cough *bull___* cough,' but I have no trouble with Rudy not talking about it in the media. Nov. 29, 2002, 12:49AM Tomjanovich tinkers with Rockets' rotation Busting zone defenses among objectives By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle SEATTLE -- A master plan did not exist. There was not even a little plan when it came to moving Eddie Griffin from the starting lineup and, in two games, to a spot at the end of the bench where he need not bother to unbutton his warm-ups. Eventually, Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich supposed, he would have to decide exactly what hand he had been dealt and go with that. But for now, he just didn't know. He would continue to experiment, to "feel" his way through games and let the evidence on the court provide clues and perhaps eventually a solution. "I'm still trying to find out who this team is," Tomjanovich said. "You just have to wait and see. You can't make that judgment until things happen. It happens out there (on the court)." The Rockets broke up their first losing streak of the season with a win at Golden State on Wednesday but did not look particularly good in doing it. But that was not what had Tomjanovich searching. The Rockets were a pair of last-minute free throws in Los Angeles and maybe a jumper or two in Portland from sweeping the first three games of the road trip. But Tomjanovich knew a 3-0 start to the trip would not have meant the Rockets' offense had been healed. The Rockets' improving defense had kept them in games. But the offense was still struggling. The rotation was still changing. The latest starting lineup, together for two games, was the Rockets' eighth in 14 games. Mostly, Tomjanovich knew he still did not know enough about his charges. To find out, he said he might have to continue to experiment and hope some mix will ignite. For now, the Rockets have made their way through the first month of the season without finding a rotation to rely on offensively. With two more games on the road trip against presumed Western Conference playoff teams -- tonight in Seattle and Sunday in Sacramento -- the Rockets' 8-6 record keeps them in that company. But they have not shot nearly well enough to be satisfied with their play or position in the standings. On the first three games of the trip, the Rockets made 41.5 percent of their shots and were unable to get anything going with any consistency on the perimeter. With the Rockets misfiring when they can't get inside, teams are falling into tight zones around the paint, forcing the Rockets to shoot more from outside and limiting opportunities for Yao Ming, the league's most accurate shooter, and other big men in the paint. The zones have contributed to the problems. But the Rockets have been increasingly effective at passing their way around zones and getting open shots. The problem has been in making those shots. "We don't have a feel for it," Tomjanovich said. "We haven't lived it. I haven't played zone since college. I've studied a lot of it. Now we have (to face) numerous different looks. People use it just to surprise people. You get used to doing one thing, and then they move you to different spots." Steve Francis had been able to burn defenses twisted to stop his penetration. He went six games into the season making at least half his shots. But in the past eight games, he has made just 38.7 percent, shooting far worse on the perimeter. With Francis unable to shoot teams out of their zones, the Rockets' next most prolific scorer, Cuttino Mobley, is not around to do it either because of ankle sprains. His replacement at shooting guard, Juaquin Hawkins, cannot be considered a consistent outside threat. Griffin is making just 38.4 percent of his shots, earning his reassignment Wednesday to the end of the bench. Maurice Taylor has made just 37 percent of his attempts, Moochie Norris 34.9 percent. And the bulk of Kenny Thomas' 43 percent shooting has come in the paint, rather than from outside, where the Rockets have struggled. With Griffin's benching, Tomjanovich seemed to have shortened his 10-deep rotation by one to try to get the offense going. But he said he did not plan not to play Griffin and stuck with his lineup on the court because of its defensive play. "I didn't have a decision," Tomjanovich said. "I didn't consciously think of it. I was just going on how the game was going. It sort of happened. It wasn't, `This is what I'm going to do.' I was thinking defensively. I liked the way we sort of controlled the defensive end." Tomjanovich said he did not necessarily believe he needed to eventually arrive at a set rotation. A month into the season, only Francis is certain to start and finish games. "I've heard it both ways," Tomjanovich said. "When it's preplanned, I've heard some guys say, `What if I get it going. Do I come out?' I just try to go by the feel of the game. "But for guys coming off the bench, that's always a hard situation. There are so many factors involved -- what's going on in the game, what's going on with the guy who did start, what the combinations are, how the game's going. There's a whole bunch of different factors." Tomjanovich said there is no timetable for setting a rotation and going with it. But when the time is right, he'll know. "What you've got to do," forward Glen Rice said, "is when you're playing great basketball, you do what you have to to keep it going. When you're playing mediocre basketball, you keep looking and changing and see what it gets you. "We have a deep roster, a lot of good talent. We realize that on any given night, anybody can be in the starting lineup. The most important thing is you have to be ready to play hard no matter what you're doing. "But I don't think there is one certain time, one certain point in the season, you say this is when we have to get down to just eight guys." Unable to plan that point in the season, Tomjanovich will keep looking, hoping that it -- along with the Rockets' shooting touch -- is out there somewhere.
Well I think its just GREAT motivation to get the guys playing well. I mean if they want major minutes, then they need to step up in games and prove they shouldn't be taken out. I mean people talk the talk, but when you can't back it up (shooting) then there is no point, its just gibberish. I think there are people (*cough* moochie) that should be on the bench for a while, so they will feel guilty about playing bad. No one likes feeling like they aren't needed. So the guys who don't get alot of minutes should want to do well so they can play more, and that will also keep the starters on their toes so they can keep their first string job. That means they need to be gym rats (like steve) and work hard in practice. I do think one thing is that rudy needs to stop fooling around and get some sort of lineup going.......there are too many rotations. I mean if you ask someone who the starting lineup is, they kinda trail off after mentioning steve's name. Its sorta ridiculous. I think rudy needs to stick it out with a lineup for a few games, and stop subbing too much. When they guys realize they aren't getting mintues, they will complain, then "hopefully" that complaining will turn into dedication and a good work ethic for the team so they can contribute out on the floor, instead of on the bench. I think some guys out there just know they are gonna get their minutes and expect them, but ummm NO, you should deserve minutes. You should have to prove that your a Rocket, that you are good enough to play on the squad. Im not just talking about stats and points (umm like KT), im talking about heart, finding the open man instead of just playing a "black hole, its a contract year, i need to pump up my stats" attitude. One thing is for sure, this isn't the blacktop anymore, streetball doesn't cut it. Team play and defense win games. Offense gets you there, but defense KEEPS you there. I think if people are struggling offensively, then Rudy needs to go with that defensive mind set and use that for a bit. Steve and Yao can handle the offense pretty well, but if everyone is just gonna shoot bad anyway, then why not leave Hawkins in for the stops. Oh and I'm a supporter of the trade moochie posts, but when you think about it.........who'd want him? I mean after missing those clutch freethrows, turning over the the ball in a crucial play, and generally playing bad, then he deserves to sit for a while. It would be good, he could reflect and try to work back into "the regular "rotation (if that EVER gets established). With a young team that is struggling to find itself, players better step up, before someone else does. Competition is good, even fair competition amongst your peers for playing time. This includes that ever important quality of basketball IQ (making the right moves at the right time) and not "needing" the ball in your hands to make a difference. And thats all I have to say about that.
I read that this morning and thought, " $%#@, that article said absolutely nothing in 500 words. What a load of $%^!." Thanks, Feigan. It's so comforting to know Rudy has no plan. Rudi the Zen master.
I think this is a good article. A lot of you guys think Rudy has no clue in who he should use on the floor. Well, he admits it himself. He says he doesn't know. And more importantly, Rice concurs. (I was so surprised by Rice's attitude in his comments.) This is not a weakness in Rudy. He is telling us he does and doesn't know what he is doing at the same time. Look at Isiah Thomas in the past two seasons. He'd been bashed because of his constant experiments on his rotation. Look at his team now. They are winning big. I see the Rockets situation very similar to the Pacers two years ago. When you have a young and talented team, you don't really know how you can mesh the talents into one cohesive team. I just hope that it'll take Rudy less time to get it work.
That is one of my problems with Rudy. He bases his rotations too much on feel. That, and he used to (I don't know if he still does) base his playcalling way too heavily on percentages. Not that I'm dissapointed with EG's benching - I think it should have been done purposely, though. I mean, when you're playing crappy, you get benched. Call me crazy here, but our two best bigmen right now are Kelvin Cato and Yao Ming. Neither has ever played the PF position, but given that we really don't run any plays that require the PF to do things all that differently from the C, I don't see why Rudy doesn't experiment with both Ming and Cato in the game.
I would atlest like to try Cato at PF, and I think he is to slow to play it. It is worth a shot though.
I thought the second "Most Intelligent Rockets Player" (Rice) backed up Rudy that player rotation isn't expected to ever be fixed right now on a growing team. explain to me please how you are supposed to have a plan regarding player rotation when: #1 Griffin is 20yrs old and showed up as a disappointment (btw: the benching was PLANNED, the DNP was not..is all). #2 Maurice coming back from major injury #3 Rice is always a question mark #4 Yao was a question mark, and who could have figured Cato. Tell me where a plan could have been, much less, should have been. That article shows me what we all know; Rudy has no ego, and will talk honestly about himself. Phil Jackson and Karl would have just blamed the players for not performing. give thanks As for plans, Rudy's plan includes improving defense, transition, general offense, Yao, and finding player rotation. Everything needed to be improved, all the while trying to figure out how to bring Yao along. It would be nice to be a perennial playoff team that doesn't have that many player question marks coming in to figure out, but we aren't. We don't know who is the best at new zone defense, new "zone busting" offenses, transition, or even now everything that Yao can do and Griff can. There is a LOT to figure out with this team. Rudy is progressing along at a reasonable pace in my book. I'm a firm believer in letting the players work out their own rotation by proving who should play. I hate just penciling in players based on speculation of what they can do. As JayZ pointed out, Rudy's "feel" is pragmatic in the sense that the numbers and performance are the determining factor. He will go with the best performer eventually, and that's why Griffin got benched. Rudy's plan did indeed bench Griffin. ps: this article also confirms why Kenny gets the minutes. Because he plays impeccable fundamental defense and his ability to run zones further makes that apparent.
What WILL you do when Kenny is traded, anyway? Back to cooking posts, I suppose . HP, if you love scrappy underdogs, why no multi-post love for Hawkins ? Do your favorites have to be ballhogs, or is that just a coincidence <>?
I am a little surprise, though, that Rudy openly admitted that he had no plan for the rotation and was still working on it (Was he motivating his players to fight the position??). I hope Rudy can figure it out smoothly before the all-star break and Rockets fan should be patience. There is just a little too many "Trade Someone" posts this day. KH
Not only that but who would come in and spell them for a few minutes. Now maybe Rudy could run their minutes over just a tad so we could see what it would look like, but really I am against it.
