Wednesday, March 3, 2004 ESPN: LAKERS@ROCKETS Wed., 9:00 PM ET ABC: MAVERICKS@ROCKETS Sun., 1:00 PM ET _ By Tom Tolbert Special to ESPN.com _ With new coach Jeff Van Gundy at the helm, it's been a season of transition for the Houston Rockets. Van Gundy brought not only a new offensive system but also an entirely different philosophy. Van Gundy is all about defense, and his offense focuses on deliberate half-court sets. It's no secret that I prefer an up-and-down style of basketball. So how difficult is it for me to watch the Rockets play? Yao Shaq It isn't difficult at all -- I just don't watch. That makes it easy ... just click and move on! But I will watch the Rockets when they play the Los Angeles Lakers, as they do Wednesday at home (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET). It's fun to watch centers Yao Ming and Shaquille O'Neal go at it. I'll also watch the Rockets when they play the Sacramento Kings or Dallas Mavericks, to see the contrasting styles of play. What's going to win, defense or offense? It's intriguing to watch the best at one end of the spectrum go against the best at the other end. Houston leads the NBA in field-goal percentage by opponents (.400), while the Kings and Mavs are 1-2 in scoring (yes, Houston is next-to-last in scoring). It's fun to watch the Kings and Mavs anytime. They play a fun style of basketball. I don't enjoy a grind-it-out, 81-80 game. Of course, I don't expect Van Gundy to care at all what I (or anyone else) would rather watch. His job is to win games, and he's committed to winning the way he knows best. But as a consumer, those games have about as much flavor as tofu. Playoff upset possible Last year, the Rockets just missed the eighth playoff spot. They had a 43-39 record, while Phoenix was 44-38. This year, Houston stands at 34-25 heading into its showdown with the Lakers. If the season ended today, the Rockets would be the seventh seed vs. the No. 2 seed, the Minnesota Timberwolves. Which begs the question: Since the playoffs tend to favor defense and a conservative style, how would Van Gundy's system serve Houston in the playoffs? Well, the Rockets would be prohibitive underdogs against any team they face, but it wouldn't shock me to see them pull off a first-round upset against Minnesota or another of the West's Big Five (the other four being Sacramento, Dallas, San Antonio and the Lakers). But I can't see Houston beating two or three of those teams to get to the NBA Finals. The Rockets' defense is great, but to get to the Finals you need some offense to go with it (although you wouldn't know that by watching last year's NBA Finals). Yao and guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley form a solid threesome. Forward Maurice Taylor and guard Jim Jackson can score, so they have the components to pull off an upset. But they don't have enough firepower to make a real playoff run. Adjustment for Francis Francis has faced the biggest adjustment related to Van Gundy's style. The change has been harder for Francis to accept than for any of his teammates, because he likes to get out in the open court. Francis is an athletic, open-court scorer. So this is a different style than he's used to playing. Francis Even in college at Maryland, Francis played an up-and-down style. But Van Gundy has slowed the tempo down and run the ball through Yao much more, so Francis has had to defer to Yao. And when it's tough on your point guard, it's tough on your team. The transition has also been hard on Mobley, who likes more creative freedom, too. For Yao, though, it's been a good change, because Van Gundy wants to get him the ball as much as possible. Speaking of Yao, fans need to remember that he's only in his second season. Because he played better than expected last year as a rookie, some observers thought he'd make a quantum leap this season. Like Yao, Van Gundy's Rockets are a work in progress. Tom Tolbert, who played in the NBA for seven seasons, is an NBA analyst for ESPN.
Not bad for Tolbert. But for proof he hasn't watched us much this year, he talks about us upetting the Mavs of the Spurs in the first round. Thats funny. But I agree. We're a good team. We have some very strong talent on our squad. Once Stevie gets settled down, which will be sometime next season, we'll play an inside out game that will get Yao his touches, Steve will get his points, and more shooters (possibly Ron Mercer) along with Jim Jackson and Pike, and Steve will get his assists also. His rebounds will go down, so will Cato's and Mo's when Yao comes back next year hustling after every brick that gets shot. We'll make the playoffs this year, and we'll make some noise. We will be heard in this years playoffs.
I think his point is that you never know what will happen when you play the same team in a 7 game series. I think the best chances would be agains the Mavs or the Wolves. They are both teams that mostly rely on the outside shot and they could go cold 4 times out of 7. I'm not at all a fan of Tolbert. This seemed to be the most coherent that he has ever been when it comes to the Rockets.
i just cant see us all of a sudden beating the Mavs in the playoffs. we just suck it up against those guys.... and i consider the Mavs the weakest of the "Big 5" in the west. BTW.... awesome sig.
He probably knows that we having a losing record against the spurs and mavs, but the reason he thought why we could upset a team is our style of play which is the slow it down half court set since most teams clamp down on defense and dont allow that many fast breaks(i think) or to conserve energy since they basically play everyother day.
If he thinks we can beat any of the Big Five (or Four) in the first round, what makes him think we can't do the same in the second round, or third?
good point. i don't like him because he knows nothing. his writing contains all kinds of contradictions.
Rudy won because of adjustments. It'll be less about style and more about adjustments once the playoffs start. We'll see what Van Gundy gives us. He'll need to tinker in order to pull the upset.
Where did Tolbert come up with this little nugget: I think Mobley has adjusted to the JVG style as well as anyone and has really shined this year.
Generally, some refreshing comments by Tolbert! I also hear frequently that defense wins playoff series, I'll buy that. But like someone else asked, why can't they pull off the upset in the 2nd and 3rd rounds?
Come on, Tolbert's even more of an idiot now... What, you first say "I don't watch team X at all." Then proceed to give your opinion all about team X and how they'll do???? I don't need Jeff to tell me Tolbert FAILS Remedial Journalism 101. His op is worth crap.
