I know I have been very hard on JVG all year long. Tonight was the first time I saw him lower his ego and actually adapted and changed. First, it was good to see the pick & roll actually working tonight especially in the first half. Second, it was good to see the Rockets in transition a lot more than we have normally been seeing. Finally, it took a lot of coaching guts to sit Yao out the final 7 minutes of the 4th quarter(despite being in foul trouble). But hey, I give JVG credit, he recognized what he had on the floor was working and didn't resort to dumping the ball to the low post in the final minutes of the fourth. More importantly of the win which I thoroughly enjoyed, in my opinion it looked like JVG actually let Steve play his game. As I've been saying all year, if JVG can learn to adapt, inspire, and re-invent himself, I think this team can win some games. Great win tonight and what a Christmas gift indeed!
Even I know the pick and roll works well against the Lakers. Luckily our guys made the shots and seemed calm. JVG's gameplan or script worked well! Steve was into it too!
His gameplan was really superb. I've been saying to friends that I wasn't really fond of his style of coaching. I wasn't really thrilled with the hire. But, he really planned out this game well and it went according to plan. Nice going, JVG.
I give him credit today. The team ran a very good offense the first half with ball movement and using Yao away from the basket, like I had mentioned in my post after the Indiana game, was a large part of it. The 2nd half was a lot more ragged but the 1st half was really encouraging to watch. They should try to build off that from here on out, and as Yao gains stamina, the team's overall offense will improve. He still gets winded quite easily, but he will adjust in time. If Van Gundy keeps an offensive gameplan similar to the one in tonight's first half, the rockets will be a tough team to play the rest of the way. The team just needs to stick with it.
I give him credit today. The team ran a very good offense the first half with ball movement and using Yao away from the basket, like I had mentioned in my post after the Indiana game, was a large part of it. The 2nd half was a lot more ragged but the 1st half was really encouraging to watch. They should try to build off that from here on out, and as Yao gains stamina, the team's overall offense will improve. He still gets winded quite easily, but he will adjust in time. If Van Gundy keeps an offensive gameplan similar to the one in tonight's first half, the rockets will be a tough team to play the rest of the way. The team just needs to stick with it.
I give JVG credit as well- and today the commentators made a comment about how he wasn't sure if the Rockets really believed in Van Gundy's philosophy and that it would take them a while to realize that his tactics do work. I think tonight is a great example to the team how to execute a coach's strategy and see positive results at the end! It is great that they did this on national tv for the fans to see what potential the rockets have. I think Cato honestly was HUGE in this game and really helped provide amazing interior defense. I am so happy!!
Me too. OF course, the Lakers had no forwards. Forwards seem to pose a particular problem for us. It was nice to play a team with a center, ballhog 2 and slow combo 1. I hope it builds good habits. If we check back when the Lake show has Karl Malone and Ric Fox in there, I think the game might look different. OK, that aside, I was very happy to see pick and rolls work. Cat and Taylor should be a very effective combo. I LOVED seeing Yao fire from outside. Shaq couldn't get close. The skyhook at the top of the key was brilliant. AND I loved seeing Steve cutting through the middle for that putback. NOW, just think if that was a play, with Steve cutting through the middle after Yao or Taylor spreads the floor with a jumper fake and hits an airborne Francis. Steve and Cat should be brilliant cutters. Hope to see more. All in all, a much more watchable game! Not cold molasses again!
JVG did prove that his philosophy of defense works when the Rox offense holds. The Lakers were looking downright demoralized in the last 5 minutes of the game when the Rox offense didn't fold and they kept on putting a hand in the face of shooters.
I don't realy know where to put this because I just didn't want to start another thread.I wonder why JVG has Yao Ming so involved in the first half of the Lakers Game.In the second half has him making picks at the three point line,then getting out of the way for a different kind of Game. During this time his activities got him into foul trouble.He was just great in the frst half then looked silly or incompetent. Why is this ?
The difference in the Lakers game was the execution, not so much the plan. 1) We hit the open shots, especially JJ. 2) Low TOs, only 3 in the 1st half when we built the lead. When we did turnover in the 3rd, we were outscored. 3) PnR, PnR, PnR. Against Shaq, it was the best play to run. He did not like to defend it. Never came out of the paint. Our guards were smart to feed Yao on these plays more than they ever did. 4) Everyone played smart 90% of the time. Moved the ball, took the right shots and knocked enough down. (I watched the Pacers game again and we didn't play that bad. We just did not hit our shots). 5) And of course, our defense was outstanding. It has been like this all year long. Some other mis-conceptions about this game: 6) Someone said we should use Yao outside more. While that is true, don't expect the same results. We were successful only because it was against Shaq. Other centers guard against the PnR much better. It was also the right thing to not go inside all the time agaisnt Shaq. Against smaller centers, Yao should still go inside more. 7) We scored 0 fast break points against the Lakers. The 2 baskets that were counted as fast breaks came off steals by Steve and MoT. 8) JJ did not play point forward. He brought up the ball on occasions only to help ease the full court pressure. He handed off to our guards once he crossed mid-court every time.
Rocket Rich NYC praised JVG?!?! It reminds me of when Frodo destroyed the ring and all of Sauron's creations crumbled into ruin. 'T'is the apocalypse!
I was pleasantly surprised by the Rockets performance last night...but let's not get too optimistic. Does anybody else realize that this recent rash of Laker losses is coinciding with the Mailman's absence? Good win, but turnovers almost blew the game again and they still have 7 minute stretches without scoring (not even no FG's no pts.)
He was. There were a couple of shots of Yao running the floor and REALLY sucking wind. One of the things the Rockets staff has really wanted is to moderate Yao's minutes. They'd like for him to be out there 35 minutes, but he hasn't been able to handle that much on a consistent basis. Until his conditioning is to the point he can play 35 minutes every game, I think we'll see the offense go away from Yao for stretches just to allow him time to rest.
Just when you think the Rocket’s suck and the season is in a downward spiral, they beat the Lakers [AWAY]. Is the NBA the WWF???? I am back on the bandwagon!!!!
Good post. I agree with what you said. Sure seems to me that a big key to our offense is getting the 3 to hit their shots. JJ was on tonight. It took the pressure off Steve and Yao and opened up the game for them. But I do think that Van Gundy needs to use Yao more up top. Until the center goes out on him. And then when he does, it open up the middle and makes it easier for everybody else. And then Yao can drop down in the low post himself. Our pick and roll looked better tonight then I've ever seen it, although we still need to improve our use of the screens. But the play was much improved. The guards did a good job of reading what the defense was playing on that pick and roll and changing it up to create with it. P.S. Tom Tolbert is an idiot!
It was a good win, but a very lucky win. If you think Francis ball is going to work all the time, then you need a reality check cause opposing teams aren't going to consistently go 6 mins in the 4th quarter without making a FG.
