If only it were that simple O-dawg. Granted, the Mavs tightened up the defense on Yao. But then again, there were no adjustments made by the Rocks, and they did a poor job of taking advantage of the over-play on Yao. (They better get used to it, teams will be playing Yao this way for the rest of his career.) I would bet that a few made Js on the weakside off ball reversal, instead of the dribble, would have brought the Mavs out of that D pretty quick. Instead, certain players continue to attack the zone with the dribble versus the pass. You're right though, with the way the Mavs shot the ball, there was little the Rocks could do defensively. But the lack of offensive execution had as much to do with immaturity and a lack of mental toughness (i.e. lack of experience) as the Mavs defensive adjustments (which were excellent, BTW). Once again, Yao's touches are secondary. The primary concern for me is the overall offensive effeciency. I tell myself that these are "Growing Pains", it keeps me calm and "grounded."
What your failing to realize is 6 freaking whole possesions isnt a whole lot at all. Hell if for evey 6 times Mobes or Francis touched the ball they accounted for only 1 miss or even for 3 points we would score 190 points. The only stat that looks bad in that line is the two turnovers. But Both of those turnovers from what I remember were times cutters to the lane dropped passes where he set them up for sure layups. If you think scoring 3 points off of 6 touches, a foul charged to the other team, doesnt warrant those 6 touches than we should cut the league leader in turnovers and his partner who is about to dip under 40 percent FG percentage for the season.
Well , this isn't the first or 2nd yr in whcih Rudy has seen a zone. Rememeber when we used to play Seattle? Their zone used to severely limit Hakeem. Why? Because Rudy would run him to the same spot every play. How did we wind up beating that zone? Rudy never figured it out, instead he traded for Barkley. Now if they wanted to zone Hakeem , the ball was swung and Barkley would pin a smaller guy for a easy shot. Rudy never adjust, he just trades. If we had another low post threat, then that zone would have been useless. A penetrating pass is the best offense against the zone.After the pass penetrates the zone and is kicked out opposite, the the zone shifts and someone is pinned. Simple high school basketball.
Exactly. Yao seems to very effective mostly when he's right near the basket. Of course, when you give him the ball when he's not, and since he's not as strong a center as we'd like him to be, the play either results in 1) a failed shot or 2)a turnover from the weak ball handling. Why doesn't Rudy see this?
This nails it. Desperate last minute pass through the traffic of Mavs defenders is not a TOUCH. Who's foolish hur? I watched the game on ESPN.
IMO, the problem was a combination of Mavs hot shooting, and the Rockets' inability to make the adjustment. It's true the Mavs shot the lights out in the 2nd half, but the Rockets' backcourt inconsistant defense contributed largely to that. We did saw some increadible shots by Dirk, but MOST of Finley's shots were wide open with Mobley 5fts away. The Rockets's defensive strength is their inside shot blocking ability, not their backcourt. The Mavs just exposed the Rox weakness. The other part is the lack of making adjustment on offense. The Rockets played well in stregtch in many games early in the season, but failed miserably when the other teams made some adjustment. Yesterday night was a demostration of that. In the 1st half, Yao was guarded 1on1 mainly, and the Rockets was able to feed him a few times in the post. When the Mavs made the change in the 2nd half, had the defender front Yao, Dirk came from the weak side to prevent the lobe pass, the Rockets failed to make any adjustment. There were several turnovers when the guard tried to force the ball into Yao. Yao should share some blame for the 2nd half results. I thought he was frustraded after missed couple shots, rushed his move with the ball. He need to learn that you don't have to make a move the minute you get the ball. You can hold the ball for a couple seconds, wait for the defender to commit before make any move. I fully expect this will come with time. I don't have any problem with their up & down, sometime erratic plays, as long as they show the improvement over the season. Let's just be a little more patient, wait until the end of the season.
well...i can't put too much blame on yao, since he was very effective during the first half and up until the Mavs started to double team him. but here's a question...do you think that yao was playing well because rudy finally realized that he needed to utilize him? basically...IMHO, it doesn't seem to me like the rox know exactly what they're doing wrong. it's like they're totally oblivious to what commentators/fans are saying about them. i wonder how the gameplay might be affected if rudy visited clutchcity.net and took a long, hard look at every post in all of the past 6 or so game threads here. whaddya think?
Nap! I don't know the any of his family personally. But, one of my former teamates has been coaching in the CBA, I watched couple of games his team played the Sharks with Yao as the Sharks' center. At that time, I thought Yao would be a slightly better Bradley
Well, that's a tough question to answer, but I'll take my best shot. When evaluate how the Rockets are playing, one needs to look back at the path they have took. I just started following their game closely after Yao was drafted back in June, but I did do a lot of research on the team before the season. The Rockets have been a guard oriented team for the past several years, they still are this year. This is due to the personal they had in the past, so it's understandable. The team has changed dramatically this year due to Yao's arrival, but their style of play hasn't changed that much. As a former player myself, I know it takes a long time to change the way you have been playing. There are players who just cannot change at all. So it's the coaches' job to smooth the transition, figure out who can make the transition, who cannot. Do I believe Rudy T. can do that? I don't know the guy enough to say YES, but I'm hopeful because I feel the players respect him, which is not a given in this league. The Rockets is at a point where they are trying hard to figure out the right style for the team, at the same time they have to change the GUARD-ORIENTED style they have been playing for the past several years. Can they figure it out? Can they figure it out fast enough so the owner & fans don't lose the patience? Only time will tell. Back to your question about Yao's play relates to Rudy. Yao's minutes(25min+) and his physical ability(height & weight) should/would enable him to score 10/15pt a game without any set plays. His current physical condition only allowed him do to that occasinally. If you follow his games closely, you know that he scored most of his points off rebounds. I only can remember the Lakers' game that the guard had set their mind to feed him in the post, but that only lasted several minutes. What I'm saying is that it doesn't look like Rudy T. has a set of plays designed to get Yao close to the basket. I did saw some set plays with Yao setting some picks above the ft line, but that mostly results the guard shooting 17 fts. Is it because Rudy didn't call the plays, or the guards failed to execute it? Only the Rockets players/coaches know. I'm pretty sure the Rockets coaches know what's the problem the team is having, the tough part is how to address it in a right way. We'll know by the end of the season.
Well, Daoshi: As you are a player before and following Rockets closely, could you tell us what they think how good Yao is? Is he realy the 2nd best center as a lot of reporters ranked, or overhyped?
This is very hard to answer. The game has changed so much in the past decade, that you hardly have any centers being the focus of the offense any more. Shaq & T. Duncan (I consider him a 5 instead of 4) are clearly light years ahead of anyone else at the center position, and they are the focus of their respective teams. After those two, you have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, V. Divac, Pau Gasol (when he plays 5); then you have centers with special talent like Ben Wallece, Mutombo, and Theo Ratliff. I wouldn't put Yao ahead of any of those guys because of his playing time, and inconsistance. Right now, I think he is at the level with guys like Michael Olowokandi, Erick Dampier, and Brad Miller. Don't listen to the reporters, those are media people who say whatever to helps them sale paper/ads. Yao has the potential to be better than anyone other than Shaq & Duncan in a couple of years, but he is very inconsistant, and he only average 25+ minutes, which cannot qualify him to be evaluated against guys play 35+minutes nightly. He can play as good as anyone in one game (2nd vs the Spurs), but as bad as a 2nd round rookie in another (3rd vs the Spurs). Yes, he is overhypered based on his playing, but people look at his potential more than his current performance. He will never be as dominating as Shaq, but he will have a great career because of his height and bball smarts.
Sorry I misread your question. You meant what "They" think as "they" being the Rockets orgnization? Well, I don't think they believe he is in the top five at his position right now. This is evident by the number of plays the Rockets have been drawing for Yao.
daoshi: Thank you very much. Actually, I mean what youy opinion is. Sorry for spelling error (I intent to write you instead of they).
