The Rockets are 4th in the league in points allowed and 6th in FG% defense. The problem is certain players refuse to push the ball (Disgracy) and constantly settle for bad long-range shots (McLady), or refuse to play at all when Alston isn't there.
Yeah, because T-Mac is definitely not injury prone. C'mon, this McGrady hate is getting a little bit out of hand. Now, people are even questioning his injuries. What's next? T-Mac quit on the team during Rock Band? He must have been smiling too much for a drummer.
If you look at it from an average point of view, you can say the defense hasn't been too bad. The problem is this number comes from a few very good games and some very bad ones. Overall, there has been a modest regression on the defensive end: 101 points per 100 possession last year to 103 this year. 43% opponent FG% to 44.5% this year. 46.6% opponent eFG to 47.7% this year. 24.4 FTA per game by opponent to 25.8 this year. The difference is fairly subtle if you look at it this way. But they result from games like the one vs. Detroit (great D) and the one vs. Philly (horrible horrible D). And we have had too many of the latter type, and that's how the Rockets have been a .500 team. I'll bet if you just look at their numbers in the 12 losses, there is a huge dropoff on the defensive end. By the way, given Rafer Alston addressed the D, here's how the D looked with and without him: With: 101.3 points per 100 possession. Without: 107.2 points per 100 possession. This number has been signifcantly inflated during the 3 recent games in which Rafer was absent and the team looke horrible.
I'm not hating. I gave you the options to choose from...he's either an idiot for playing on it, or it's not true. Obviously you're choosing the former. Maybe the hate of the McGrady hate is getting out of hand? Especially when it's not warranted.
the lakers have been playing together for 3-4 years now so they know the triangle inside and out. they just have great chemistry. this is the same lakers team that took the 3rd seeded Suns to 7 games two years ago, and they have a very underrated suporting cast with Odom, Fisher, Farmar, Critteton, Walton, Turiaf, and Bynum who's coming into his own. the Rockets could only dream of having the ball movement and chemistry the Lakers have. the Hornets are also a good team. they were going strong last year until injuries took their toll. Chris Paul, Bobby Jax, Peja, Chandler...hmm this is just a hunch but i'm thinking Adelman could take the Hornets farther than he could take us.
It's times like these where you have to wonder what exactly does Adelman preach during film sessions and practice? I'm all for giving him a chance to lead this team, because his track record says he deserves it, but there's times where I feel like his complacency (at least it appears he's complacent) is translating over to the team. I just feel like the last thing a player like Tracy McGrady needs is a coach who will let him coast through games every now and then. With that being said, I still think that Adelman will figure things out, and that come the second half of the season, this team will be clicking.
Using poss = .976*(fga + .44*fta - or + to), I get the following for opponents: Code: [B]EFF EFG%[/B] 06/07 99.9 44.8% 07/08 (first 7) 98.6 43.8% 07/08 (last 17) 105.3 47.0%
Blazers are a sweet team in my opinion...they have hard nosed guards that can make buckets and guards that can drive and dish...a sweet PF in lamarcus aldridge and they all are athletic...if we had guards like they do that go out and do their job we'd be an excellent group.. I'm telling you the only person that runs the offense is Tmac and that needs to change right away...you dont' see anyone on the Blazers saying "this is my team" it's their team and they share the ball well except for that webster guy which is equivalent to mike james
Like I've pointed out before, the stats indicate that McGrady is the main culprit. He actually has a negative +/- (which is something I've never seen from him as a Rocket) because of his complete lack of effort on the defensive end (worst defensive rtg +/- on the team, >5pts), and unwillingness to get out in transition (has anyone actually seen T-Mac run a fast break this year?). The knee is one thing and a legitimate cause for concern, but what is going on? Is T-Mac secretly sulking because he misses JVG? Whatever is going on inside that head of his, it's hurting the team and he needs to deal with it.
it's Adelman, offensively he doesn't have a clue what the Rockets are doing. I haven't seen offense this bad in forever, at least last year Van Gundy had a system going on.
The Reason all this has happened is because LES ALEXANDER instituted the WIN NOW SCENRIO. Resulting in the fact that we have not tried to build our team by developing players and a few trades. We have rushed out into the market place and gambled on other teams rejects without using our heads and thinking of how this will help the team in the future.Just the opposite to the way the Blazers have developed their team! First of all we gave a way too much for Mc Grady! Secondly we loved Swift based upon one huge dunk he made over Yao Ming, so we got him, not thinking how his play would benifit the team and its current players. Next we make a major blunder and traded Swift and our pick for Battier. It was ok for the moment under JVG, but anyone with savy would have known that JVG would never work out here because he was never going to build the team with Yao at it's center piece. Next just look how we have failed to develop our Rookies and all the mistakes we made in the drafts of recent years. Les needs to get a coach who can develop players and one who also can develop team chemistry.WE now need some strong willed players like Artest and Brooks to give this lame duck team of ours a kick in the butt.
We we take the "Win Now Approach" Les had better be prepared to be the NY Yankees of the south and get ready to open up his wallet.
Thanks for bringing up the Blazers... I blame our current malaise on them. The Rockets came out playing well and with passion. However, I think they... as a collective team psyche thing... started believing their hype a little. When they played Portland early in the year, they seemed to think they could coast to the win... and they did. The Rockets had many chances to blow the doors off, but never put together a run that would have won the game by 20 or 30. In the second half, nobody cared about guarding Roy and he went off... a telling development. The Rockets then went to Dallas and played SA... both games that demanded attention and effort. Likewise, the hype around the Yi game was something beyond the normal NBA affair. After that, they were sitting pretty at 5-1. They then play the Bobcats and revert back to the Portland second half thinking and barely end up winning against a vastly inferior team. They go into Memphis probably thinking about 7-1 and get their hat handed to them. If you think things should be going a certain way, and they don't, it's hard to adjust to the new reality. Injuries and snowballing doubt lead to six straight losses and the haphazard play we've seen lately. A little intensity and a little more determination to crush people will go a long way towards righting the ship. Still, I blame Portland.
umm, don't forget that Portland has been playing without LaMarcus Aldridge, too (plantar fasciatis). homeboy was tearing it up before he went down, making this streak all the more impressive.
I hate to sound like a broken record but the drop-off in defensive performance proves my point that the "system" isn't the problem. It's effort. The chemistry of this team (which includes the coach's relationship with the players) broke down sometime after the season started. If everyone ever gets back on the same page, the defense will get better and the shooting percentage will improve.
