[FoxSports] Win streak proves Rockets firing on all cylinders

apparently he thinks none of our guys (save for Shane) play much, if any D.



i guess that's why we are one on the best rated defensive teams in the NBA.

 

Count every touch and every play, that is a lots of work!

I give some respect to this guy, even though told he usually wrote about Rockets after a loss.

Good analysis all over,

 

Well, if he wants to call TMac a talented but lackadaisacal player, I won't be the one to argue.

If anything, I do agree that TMac and Yao, while considerably talented, do not often mesh on the court. TMac is tall and can hit most anyone with a pass, so that happens on occasion.

Hell, tough to argue or complain when the Rox keep winning.

 

HAH....see yao can play from the High Post.....so many people have said "now that Adelman has moved him back to the low block where he belongs" ...lol that is just not true....

Yao is moving a LOT more this year than last and is receiving the ball from different angles and off secondary passes.

And he is starting in the high post a lot.....maybe about 40% of the time....something he NEVER did last year....just because you start there does not mean you finish there.

Glad someone finally tracked it....

The reason they are more efficient now is because of chemistry and familiarity....

DD

 

Somewhat contradicting article. Individually, it seems as if Battier was the only great defender, with Yao being only great for half the game. Everyone else apparently didn't care to play any.

Yet he said the defensive rotations were excellent.

It kind of weird that other than Battier, no one on this team gets any credit on defense. Yao is to slow, Bonzi's fat, T-Mac doesn't care, Scola can't move... Yet we're always among the leaders when it comes defense.

 

The way the Rox were switching on the P/R last night Scola was often past the top of the key and then had to run to the baseline or board to catch back up to his man. Compared to Landry doing the same switching he did look slower. How about Landry swithcing to guard Jared Jack and getting stuck with him but ends up blocking his moves to knock the ball out of his hands. Pretty sweet I thought.

 

He did not analyze Landry play. Guess he is not that observant

 

He actually did okay last night, generally. I don't think his quickness hurts him much on defense, because he has good instincts for man defense. His strength hurts him against stronger PFs, but Portland's aren't that strong.

My problem with Scola's defense, though, is that he seems to be unsure about rotations and defending the PNR. One of the worst defensive plays last night was when he was defending Aldridge who set a pick for Jarrett Jack. Scola showed out on Jack, started back toward Aldridge, and then went back toward Jack for a trap. The trap came way too late, and Jack hit Aldridge in the lane. Yao was there, but Aldridge still made the shot. Either returning to Aldridge or trapping Jack would have been an acceptable play, but the hesitation allowed the offensive play to develop.

 

This is what he would have said:

Carl Landry came off the bench and provided his usual burst of energetic, if not intelligent play. He scored one bucket and pulled down a carom but outside of that had no impact on the game. His hustle is obvious but he is prone to making mistakes on defense and is schooled by any player willing to throw a head or ball fake.

He reminds me of a Honduran fellow I played one on one against during my days in the merchant marines but that is a story for another day.

 

The scary thing is that the Rockets ARE NOT EVEN CLOSE to clicking on all cylinders......YET!

 

tmac MUST drive a lot more than he did last night. yesterday, he hung around the perimeter too much. in fact, the last 3 home games have been the case.

hopefully, he's just holding back (b/c c'mon 2 DRIVES THE WHOLE GAME???).

but we're winning w/ balanced offense in a way where we haven't seen them done before. tmac will be better. i have no doubt about it. we had these questions about him not driving and he stepped up his game for the most part in utah.

 

Carl was too quick for him to observe!!!!!!!!!

 

Exactly, he says all our defenders save Battier were either coasting, merely adequate, or lead footed on defense. And then he says all our defensive rotations were virtually flawless?

That's the trouble with evaluating individual defense. You get stuck in microanalyzing individual technique that you lose sight of the big picture -- which is you need to work as a team to get stops. And part of that is knowing the game plan, communicating on defense, knowing how to guide your man to the help defense, making rotations quickly and instinctively, etc. These aspects to defense are so vital, yet so underrated.

 

Well writers like Rosen are the reason why box score hoggers like Marcus Camby win DPOY every year while true team defenders like Battier get shafted over and over.

 

he points out faulty cylinders then decides to headline 'firing on all cylinders'?

maybe a lazy editor that didn't read the piece chose the headline.

 

The T-Mac/Yao Pick and Roll is our goto play. It's the best way to involve both star players into one play. Tough as nails to guard also. Hell, we almost knocked off the Mavs using that one play alone. Now, we have had good enough roleplayers that we don't have to rely on that one play anymore. The Stockton/Malone Pick and Roll ain't got nothing on the T-Mac/Yao Pick and Roll!

 

he received 15 touches in the high post - that doesn't mean he was playing out of the high post. And from the deep post he was 6-8. Anyone watching the game can see that he's getting the ball much deeper in the paint.

 

He's getting touches in the high post, but the Rockets are no longer asking him to make plays out of the high post. It's just a way to organize their offense early in the shot clock.

I think Fran Blinebury said it best in a recent chat:

[rquoter]
McGrady4Prez: Do you think the Rockets are finally understanding Adelman's offense for good or is this just an inevitable mid-season run?

Fran_Blinebury: First of all, they're not running the Adelman motion offense that was talked about all summer and through camp and the first month of the season. Adelman realized that he doesn't have the personnel with the mindset to do that. They've been much more your standard pick-and-roll team. The difference is that they're making the extra, they're moving the ball very and they've taken advantage of a soft stretch in the schedule. The fact that assists are way up of late and turnovers haven't been a problem is an indication that they're making those extra passes, not trying to force things.
[/rquoter]

The Rockets have moved Yao up to the high post to start some plays, but the offense is your standard PnR oriented offense with some wrinkles added in. We just have better offensive talent on the court this year, and the coaches have put more emphasis on ball movement and offensive balance. T-Mac is still doing most of his damage on PnR, and Yao is doing his damage in the low post.

 

I like Blinebury a lot, but I'd say he's overstating his case here. The Rockets' offense is not a standard pick and roll. Count the number of plays where everybody on the team touches the ball, or it swings from one side of the court to the other along the perimeter. It is very much a hybrid though rather than being a "true" motion offense. I think it took the Kings a while to get the offense down, so it's not surprising if elements will be rolled out next season.