ClutchFans Game Thread: Magic @ Rockets 12/19/2007

But you originally were saying they need more intensity to make jump shots.

There is naturally a certain amount of intensity required to do anything athletic but shooting is probably the one area where the least intensity is needed.

Rebounding, defense, etc... are areas that require great intensity.

I actually think that increasing intensity can often lead to poor shooting for the typical player.

 

"everything is good in moderation"....the same goes for intensity....when tmac is lacking intensity he hoists up flat jump shots and doesn't look to take it to the hole aggressively.....

 

Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are two of the better players in the league.

Having two players that talented will earn you a share of wins over better teams.

To win on a consistent basis, the Rockets need a more talented supporting cast.

I don't think intensity is the problem.

Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier and Luis Scola are some of the more intense players in the league but that hasn't done much for us.

Intensity is important but a lack of intensity is not the biggest problem the Rockets are facing.

I think the defensive lapses and offensive slumps we have seen during almost every game this season are mostly due to confusion stemming from a new coach and a new system as opposed to a lack of intensity.

Confusion and a lack of intensity can be hard to differentiate unless you are truly keen to what is going on with this team.

 

when tmac is lacking CONCENTRATION he hoists up flat jump shots and doesn't look to take it to the hole aggressively

when tmac is lacking A HEALTHY KNEE TO ELEVATE OFF OF he hoists up flat jump shots and doesn't look to take it to the hole aggressively

 

it is when the lack of intensity is coming from your "leader" and in some cases your role players (Bonzi, James, etc.).......we have work horses like Chuck, Scola, and Battier, but we also have some quitters on this team also....unfortunately those quitters are some of our best players that we rely on every night.........

I'm just not buying that one right now.....even when learning a new system it's possible to still play good, "competitive" basketball.....the rockets aren't doing that right now.......

 

now you're just trying to argue over petty semantics, while giving excuses for tracy, because of his knee..........the funny thing is that minus the "limp" I can't tell the difference in tmacs game from when she's healthy or hurt, lol.......

 

I hate to go all TEMPLE on you but
these guys need to become GOONS!
They need to BANG and ROUGH UP
the other teams players
they need to become INTIMIDATING
they need to push folx out of their rhythm
become pests
they need to give 6 fouls every night

If we cannot out talent you . . we will out hustle you

Rocket River
GOON SQUADS!!

 

I'm not buying your theory on greater intensity = better shooting either.

I definitely feel that several players are having difficulty adapting to Adelman's expectations.

Many of those guys that you cited who are shooting worse this year, especially Head and Battier, were used to running JVG's half court sets and taking most of their shots when they were wide open on the perimeter last year.

Say all you want, but if you have been watching the games, there is no way that Shane and Luther are getting as many open looks as last year. The defenders are closing out on these guys a lot faster, especially when Yao is on the high post.

Beyond that, T-Mac, Yao and Rafer are shooting on par with previous years percentage-wise. In fact, T-Mac and Rafer's %s are up from last year.

It is guy's like Luther and Shane that aren't getting as many easy looks in the new system with Yao not spending all of his time in the low post.

 

Thank You Brooksball. Now this is a post with some real understanding of basketball.

That intensity crap is a copout.

 

they've been wide open this year also, lol......I can't count the number of times last night where guys missed wide ass open shots....you act like Adleman is doing something differently offensively...it's the same thing....dump it into Yao, pick and roll with She-Mac......there isn't any running, cutting, etc. going on.....the system that they are trying to learn is non-existent.......this team is still a half court team........I think one difference is that JVG made up for some of his teams softness, while Adleman doesn't make it any better.

 

of course a she-mac supporter would say this.............

 

They pretty much to that.

Those 3 guys are as much hustle guys as any others around the league.

Chuck Hayes and Shane Battier will never become any more intimidating than they already are.

Hayes is too small to be a dominant physical presence and he can't increase his intensity any more than he already does.

Shane Battier is a pretty darn aggressive player but he is just equally darn unathletic. He is already giving it 100% whenever he is on the floor.

Both of these guys just have limitations. They can't bang or become any tougher than they already are.

In Scola's case, he was a goon from day one. He is wildly intense on almost every possession. There is no room for increased intensity on his part either. What Scola needs is more time to adjust to this league and this team.

 

LOL, giggle, giggle, giggle.

WRONG!

Adelman is actually doing something VASTLY different offensively that is directly relevant to this discussion: Pulling Yao out to the high post!

Your comment: dump it into Yao, pick and roll with She-Mac......

The Correction: this still happens but much less than it did last year... you totally omitted the other half of the time that Yao is getting the ball 15-20 ft from the basket... this change has directly resulted in less wide open shots for perimeter shooters... you just don't get it... i am not saying they don't get any wide open looks... every team does... it is just that Luther and Shane are getting FAR LESS wide open looks than last season because Yao is not camped out down low on every possession pulling perimeter defenders all the way under the basket allowing for a wide open kick out shot
I am calling you out big time on this point. I have watched every game this year and I will bet you one of my nuts that Luther and Shane are not NEARLY as wide open as last year AS OFTEN as last year.

With Yao in the high post so often, help defenders are much quicker to collapse on perimeter shooters. This is a FACT. Many of the shots Battier has hit from the corner are more rushed than last year because there is less space between Yao and the 3pt line. Battier has had to catch and shoot much quicker this year. He has had SOME wide open looks but not like last year.

You are DEAD WRONG on this point.

Meanwhile, Luther is rarely getting wide open looks like last season. Same goes for Rafer.

IF you watched enough games last year and this year, you would know CLEARLY that Rafer, Luther and Shane were getting unbelievable wide open shots last season because of JVGs half court play with Yao down deep almost every single play.

 

You are calling Tracy a girl. Would you do that to his face?

More importantly, do you do anything in your life as good as Tracy plays basketball.

I doubt it, so I guess that would make you a midget transvestite if Tracy is a girl.

 

What did the ref call when Howard dropped Yao and the refs called it the other way? I was really pissed about that.

 

look man the majority of Yao's touches come in the paint and our shooters have been getting good looks they just haven't been making their freaking shots......did you watch the game last night?....even Bill and Clyde said "the rockets are getting good looks they just can't make any thing"......

are She-mac's personal butt buddy? (I hear she has a lot of them)....yes I would say to her face that she's a softee...as a matter of fact I would love to get the chance to do so.......and the way tmac has been playing ball his entire career (uninspired, soft, quitting, blaming others, etc.) would make me believe that I am more talented than him in a lot of areas in a real world setting...............

 

Same clowns, same circus and somehow we expect better results? I don't get it.

 

Um, an offensive foul. Maybe the ref doesn't like tall Asian dudes. Maybe the ref thought he saw Yao sucker punch Howard. Maybe the ref thought the people on ClutchFans were giving Yao too a hard time for being soft so he whistled Yao for being too tough and cause us to lay off.

 

Nobody is arguing that intensity is not a good thing. It helps on defense, it helps on transition, it even help on offense (by getting more open looks and sometimes higher percentage shots). Think MJ (the real one) who was one of the most intense players that ever played the game....

 

Do you agree that Yao is playing in the high post much more than ever previously in his career? Not that there is really more than one correct answer.

How do you think those possessions were Yao is in the high would logically change spacing for perimeter shooters? I'm trying to make this easy for you.

#1. You wouldn't say it to his face.
#2. You aren't looking forward to that opportunity because you wouldn't do it. It doesn't count if you shout it from 50 feet away in a crowded room.
#3. I am glad you believe you are more talented at something than Tracy is at basketball, but I don't believe it. Tracy is a premier player in the best league in the world no matter how much of a girl you think he is. Again, if Tracy is among the elite of his profession and he is a girl, what does that make you and me for that matter.