Many people have been putting our defense on a pedestal this season, while I have been crying foul. Our defense sucks and the last two games are glaring examples of how bad it is. We are one of the worst teams at creating turnovers and stealing the ball, both of which directly affect our offense, particularly on the fast break side. Blocking shots is nice, but it doesn't always give us scoring opportunities. The theme for the rest of the season should be defensive intesity because this squad is going nowhere fast while relying on their offense to get the job done.
How can our defense be the problem? Sure, we don't create opponent turnovers -- fewest in the league at 12.617 per game. And we don't get too many steals -- last in the league at 6.83 per game. But the bottom line is we're sixth in the league in points allowed (90.9) and second in the league in opponent FG% (.423). Even in this era of crappy hoops, that's stingy defense. Our problem still is the offense. At just 92.4 PPG we're 21st in the league, and we're 17th in the league in FG% (.437). But you don't need numbers to see the problem. We're basically in the top fifth of the league defensively, and the bottom third offensively. Sure, turnovers and steals lead to fast break opportunities. But given our ineptitude at running the break and/or early offense plays, I don't see how we really would convert many of those opportunities. We don't get easy baskets period -- on the break, off of turnovers, in half court sets.
Our defense is obviously good enough to win games. Our defensive FG% was #2 the last time I looked. Steals, shmeals. The fact is there isn't much difference in the number of steals NBA Teams get on a per game basis. At least not to be some great barometer of how a team is playing. Sacramento is considered a good defensive team. Well, they're ranked #3 in the NBA in steals per game. The Rockets are Ranked #26. Only 2.4 steals per game separate us. The difference between Sacramento and #18 team is less than 2 steals a game. We are indeed one of the worst teams at creating turnovers and there seems to be a correlation between creating turnovers and wins. We suck. That being said, the spread isn't that much here either. From the #5 to the #25 team we're talking about a difference of about 2 turnovers per game. We talk about our assists being down, but we're one of the best teams at stopping other teams from getting assists (we rank #7). We talk about not having shooters, but we are the 2nd best team in the NBA in defensive FG%. Opposing teams do not shoot well against us. The Rockets are the 6th best team in defense if you look at the opposition's points per game. As far as I'm concerned before the last couple of games we really were a good, if not great, defensive team. I still say our problem isn't the defense as much as how boneheaded we tend to be with shot selection and deciding on Plan B when Plan A fails. When they stop our first option, I swear our IQ's drop about 50 points. So what makes the good teams good? As obvious as it may seem, you'll find the best teams in the league are consistently ranked in the top of those stats mentioned above. We have had a good enough defense to be ranked among the top 10 teams in the league, but our offensive execution has been horrible. Well, duh. I still think our offense is the worst part of our game. Not our defense.
True. But playing defense is tiring. And it's not fun. Plus, it's not very cool to the ladies to play defense. Most of the time, ESPN wont show defensive plays. Playing defense might require getting some floor burns. And that might scratch the knees of some of the players. So, we can't let that happen. No way... So, you see, it's not in the best interest of the Rockets to play defense.
GOD. I WILL PLAY DEFENSE. If Mo Taylor and Yao can score like they have proved, and Francis and Mobley are feeling well....WE CAN BE UNSTOPPABLE. All four of them can score. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THAT DAY WHEN THEY ARE ALL ON FIRE AND THEY TAKE TURNS MAKING SHOTS LIKE THE MAVERICKS. We can even put Hawkins in for defense. Okay. Yes. You're right. Our defense is terrible. Our offense was not that great either, but it wasn't horrible. BUT THEY HAD TOO MANY OPEN SHOTS. EASY ONES TOO. We have a big gap. We have so many shotblockers. We are the best shotblocking team in the league. But our defense can be very easily broken down. There is a big gap between our big men and guards. AND THEY HAVE FOUND OUT...the other teams that is...that if they get a good center that Yao has to defend......the lane to the basket is Heaven. Yao can't guard everyone at once. Also...once the opposing team's players get past our guards...there is a lot of space for them to shoot. Our big men are too slow and do not want to come out. Our defense has been great. But the past two games, it has not been well. We better improve. BETTER.
Our interior defense is fine (evident by our blocks numbers) but our perimeter defense is average at best bar James Posey (see our forced TOs and steals). Francis is simply a terrible defender. Every PG scores more than his season average against us. And Mobley's defense is inconsistent at best. Of course playing defense won't get you on Sportscenter. Why not save energy on defense so that you can do fancy stuff on offense?
Obviously it's not good enough to win games against the worst teams in the league. Yes, our offense leaves alot to be desivred, but defensive FG percentages don't show the true picture. Bad shooting nights for the opponent does not always translate into good defense on the Rockets part. An uncontested miss does not equal good defense.
It's not the defense. Although we are second to last in steals, we are second in blocks, I think these cancel each other out. Then you look at our PPG and FG% allowed and we are pretty strong. Although the PPG avg has been suffering lately. I still don't understand why Posey left Jones open for three straight 3's last night, the defense could use some fine tuning for sure. I still think that they underestimate teams, especially on the road. They look like a different team, I relaly hope that is a "youth thing". The base of the problem is the offense. We have tooooooo many turnovers especially in clutch situations (see last night's game with 13 seconds to go). Even though they were outshooting (48.7% to 45.5%) Cleveland last night, they were not passing (17 assist, most of those came in the 4th quarter rally) and had 15 TO's. That isn't going to cut it. Add to that 12 OReb's that CLE had and that is just too many chances for them to score. The offense needs work, especially on the road.
The Great Doctor of Dunk If our defense is not the problem then why do I see people like Finley, Davis, Troy Hudson etc make wide open jump shots? The problem is this: Our guards do not play defense. They just merely float around the perimeter not doing anything. That is why you always find a player open even when we are not double teaming them
We don't play efficient offense. That's it, that's our only problem. I don't think anyone on our team but Ming and Cato is shooting 50% from the field. We need some consistency. Consistent scoring. Too often, our players think to themselves "I need to get mine now" Steve and Yao are great. In the future, we will replace anyone and everyone who doesn't play consistent, hardworking basketball. We need F's like the Sixers had when they went to the finals. Ty Hill and George Lynch. We have Posey, and he needs to improve his shooting. But we need one more. Maybe PJ Brown.
Well, defense takes a lot energy. It will result in lower field goal percentage and less points, especially in 4th quarter. If a player's mentality is to get good offensive stats or to "save" his team in the 4th quarter, then it's understandable he's not playing hard defense in first 3 quarters.
One of the major problem is the DEFENSE. This team was a bad defensive team the last couple years. The defense is better this year mainly because of Yao's inside intimidation. People shoot more jump shots than risking go inside & get blocked. Remember the LA game? After 3 quick blocks on Shaq, Kobe didn't even try going inside. When Yao was tired & slow to react, this team is just as bad as the previous years. Another evidence is when they play a team with a center who has a reliable midrange jump shot, Yao had to go outside, which left lanes open for penetrations. How many points did the Cavs score on drives? I'm not saying defense is the only problem, but it's the biggest problem the Rockets have. Yao is too slow to keep up with any quick center who has a good outside shot; Francis is a below average on-ball defender; Mobley is very inconsistent on both end; EG is just as bad as Francis other than the blocks he collected when came to help from weak side; Posey is an okay defender, but he often got caught on PnR, didn't know what to do. I don't even want to get to the bench. The Rockets do have a lot of problem with their offense, but they won't win any thing big if they keep playing defense like this. Every bball fan knows that defense wins games in this league. All it takes to be a good defender is hard work and effort. I just don't see the consistent effort from the Rockets players. It's sad!
"All it takes to be a good defender is hard work and effort." That's a false statement. Steve Francis works hard on defense, he's just no good at it. Learning defense is just like learning how to perfect your jumpshot. There are angles, strategies, footwork, etc... It's not just working hard, it's actually knowing how.
Actually, defensive fg% IS the best indicator of how well a team plays defense. Turnover and shot-blocking are not good indicators because they depend on the STYLE of the defense. The ultimate goal of defense is to make it difficult for the opponents to shoot well. In other words, lowering the probability of the opponent's shot making through the basket is the goal. You can say that the team is just lucky to have opponents shooting bad after a few games. But we are talking about 40+ games. If that's just luck, then, well, we are a heck of a lucky team. Might as well go into the lottery this year and surely we'll win the Lebron sweepstake.
No, he doesn't work hard on defense as you portrayed. He maybe did for a few possessions, but most of time, he didn't. Of course, you need technique to be a good defender, but everyone makes to NBA definitely has enough skill to be an average defender. He is a terrible defender after 4 years in the league, now you are telling me he still need time to learn to be an average defender? I was a pretty good defensive player in my play days, I know what it takes to be a good defensive player. I watched him closely for an entire game early this season after someone made the same claim as you just did. Try yourself, you'll agree with me. I've followed the old Bulls almost every of their games during the glory days, the defensive intensity MJ & S. Pippen put forward is called effort. I wouldn't call Francis defensive work as effort.
No way he brings the effort the Bulls did, that's for sure. What I'm saying is that, he gives a **** about defense, and tries. No, I'm not saying he's been here 4 years and still needs time. I'm saying, he's never had a defensive PG or an assistant coach tutor him on how to play D. I'm sorry, I disagree. Not everyone in the NBA has the ability to be a good defender. Decent is a different story. But a GOOD defender? No way. You have to study it. I've watched Francis play for the very same purpose you're talking about. He does try to play D, he just doesn't know how. He doesn't know the tricks. One thing we DO agree on though, is that he's a horrible defender. It's uncanny how so many PG's have highscoring games against Francis, and how many have low or zero turnover games against him. The only way to effectively use Francis defensively is full court pressure.
So you agreed that he didn't try hard enough Everyone knows that in NBA, majority players cannot be guarded 1on1. So how can defenders keep most of them in check? The trick is be physical. That takes a lot of effort and dedication. Can you honestly tell me Francis did any grapping, holding, bumping to other PG?
