is there any doubt ming must be the offensive focus?

Second smartest post I have read in a while .

 

I said Rudy wouldn't go for it in the regular season.

With his vertical leap and first step, that's about every day...

He did. It took Brown 4 min. and Tito 2 min. to show they couldn't handle the back court pressure... Maybe he should have tried Torres, oops he was cut, or Mickeal, oops he was injured...

My reply: "Not to say Yao Ming, Boki, Cato, Hawkins, Tito, Collier et al can't score, but it would have been nice to have MT, KT, Mooch and TMo. Yao is a known scorer but he's fresh off the boat, and still getting his land legs... "

I agree, much in the way the offense started with that other foreign center we had, Yao Ming should get a big portion of the O through him. He is still wet behind the ears. Granted he looked real good last night and improved as the game progressed. I think we agree on this!

 

My statement was based on the possibility that the Rockets wont run the offense through Ming. Even though I wish they would. If they don't, can Francis bring this team to greatness at the 1 or would he better serve this team at the 2?

I would agree that if the offense is run through Ming, then it wont matter where Francis plays.

By the way, no way do I want Moochie at the 1 if Francis is ever moved to the 2. Id assume we would have to bring someone in from outside the team to fill that role.

 

Verse, I see where you are coming from; however, it is too early for various reasons to switch to Yao. Rudy simply has to take the ball out of Wink's hand. Play him some more at the 2. When he is playing the point he has to think of himself last. A game has various stages. To me by midway through the first quarter he should have spent his time getting all starters to touch the ball and get involved. Of all the people on the floor he is the last one we need to get going offensively. Ultimately things would be that much easier for him if the defense now is paying attention to all the other starters.

I agree with HP and welcome his frustration which matches mine from last year. I actually called, many times, for Wink to spend the summer just looking at video tapes of Stockton, Jackson, Kidd, Johnson and even Bibby. The game is so much easier when you run the PNR. That play is so old but so effective. Ming, Cato, EG, Collier and MoT are all adept at setting picks. Steve just has to stick to the play and run it properly.

Steve has 25 pts a game available to him but he has to get that on 45% FG% or better. To be frank, I cannot see Rice, MoT, EG, Ming, Mobley, KT, and Nachbar on this team and Steve carrying on this one-and-one bullshet.

I would not burden Ming with those responsibilties. The team and Ming can flourish if he simply becomes another major contributor. Rebound, rebound, rebound. Defense, defense, defense. Be his usually high percentage self on offense with that touch, shooting and passing.

 

Have Yao Ming as the focal point of the offense and they have the potential to be the beast of the league while playing in front of home sellout crowds every game.


Have Francis and Mobley as the focal point of the offense and they have the potetnial to be an 8th seed playoff team while playing in a home arena that seems empty every game.

 

Maybe Francis can talk Mugly Bogues, Michael Adams and Spud Webb out of retirement.

 

Good question, Codell. However no big moves are needed just subtle one like just playing him more at the 2 and see what that does to our overall potency.

 

You summed it up well.

 

The last two games Steve has been playing more two with Cat bringing the ball up...

 

Im not jumping to conclusions, but if what we have seen in the preseason and the last few seasons hold true in our current compaign, Mobley seems to be the odd fit on this team.

 

Codell, slow down, you'll start a trade "XXX" for "YYY" with that talk... Then we'll all have to FART...

Hey, we're 0-0 right now, there have been many positives this year, and we are full of talent now, and potentially have the best playoff team in years.

Where are those playoff tickets Codell?

 

Hey like Verse said. If Ming develops like we hope he can, and we run the offense through him instead of Steve and Cuttino, then the FARTS can stay in the bowels in which they reside cause no trades would be necessary.

Agreed. At the end of this season, we should have a better idea of what this team is capable of.

I'd be more morried about your new sig/tag than my playoff tickets. Hey I havent seen any Taylor starting over Griffin smack from you lately? You backin off or what?

 

I think hes an odd fit in the current system that Rudy is preaching because he doesn't like to pass the ball when he should. Francis' passing is a problem also, but not as much as Mobley's. Like you said, if the offense is run through Ming, then having two guards who like to shoot it alot and not pass could be a benefit (see Vernon Maxwell). lol

 

codell, have you seen the pre-season games, or are you speaking from the past. Mobley is filling a new role, so far.

Francis' passing is a problem. I don't care about assists...Bibby's assists were cut in half last year, but he was more effective.. If he gets all his assists on drives and dishes or drives and kick outs, he's still dominating the ball, too much. It is fine to do that, but that shouldn't be his first option. He should be doing that only after the defense stops other things. It will make it much easier for him to do those things when the defense was forced to worry about something else, first.

Is it too much to ask to see a few PnR assists, or to see Francis give up the ball immediately and go set a pick for someone, like Mobley is showing the willingness to do this year.

 

I have to admit EG looks damn good with Yao Ming so far. What a potentially powerful force those two are. Being wrong on this one would be a good thing...

I still think MT brings it better as a starter at this point. I'm not opposed to EG coming in right away. Just like Rice and KT, they bring different looks and talents. How about Yao Ming to Rice for the three. Where were all you Rice haters on that play?

GLEN RICE

On Yao Ming:
"The big guy is exciting! Defensively, he is always changing shots. He’s having fun and that is what it is all about. Once he gets some rest and starts to get rolling it will be exciting. He is going to force people to double down low and his passing ability will allow him to throw passes and get everyone else involved."


Yao Ming is the centerpiece (!) that can draw defenders in and get these guys some space. Back to the future. Mark my words, Rudy is going back to the bank. Kick it in, kick it out, kick it in kick it out...repeat championships...

 

How I hope this is true. Guard oriented offensed don't work unless you have MJ.

 

great post partner.. you da man!

 

It goes back to the whole motion=iso and our desire to get away from so many ISOs. Im speaking from the past and this pre-season. Mobley has shown flashes of fitting in at times, but to me, hes still reverting back to his old habits at times, and last night was a good example. Perhaps Im picking on him just based on last nights game, but what I saw last night and what Ive seen in seasons past supports the theory that old habits are hard to break.

Steve has his problems passing like you said. But can you really see Mobley sticking to the new offensive philosophy for a full season and not reverting back to his ISO habits?

It does not appear that Francis or Mobley effectively use the pick and roll like they should. With Griff last year, they were so use to the man setting the pick, popping out to the 3 point line and getting out of their way than they were with how Ming did it last night, which was going to the basket. Francis instinct seems to pop away from the pick that was being set and then dribble towards the basket. Id like to see if Steve will have the patience to make more of a lateral or backwards movement when the pick is set and use Yao's height to his advantage by throwing a lob pass when Yao rolls towards the hoop. Its apparent that when both the player with the ball and the player setting the pick both go towards the basket instead of creating separation space, then its just a mess of a play sometimes.