It is hard to imagine that Rockets the best defense team was blew out by Suns. Although Suns is one of the best offense team, the game should not have gone like this. However, watching Rockets all season long and this game, it is not hard to notice that Rockets defense is all about defending the paint. The paint! The most clear example is that Battier and Hayes took charges. Without doubt, it is the best paint defense, and you have to give JVG the credit for it. It works very well against most NBA teams because they are not as deadly as Suns on perimeter shooting. Rockets current defense just does not work against Suns, regardless how hard our players rotate and defend. It does not means however Suns offense can not be stopped. Suns offense highly relies on quick ball movement and smart passing, and thus highly relies on its engine -- PG Nash (most of the time). Shutting down this engine shuts down Suns offense (just like shutting down T-Mac shutted down Rockets offense during Yao's absence). The time JLIII in this game was the worst time for Suns offense. The difference was large, and I though it's the best move by JVG in this game. Unfortunately he didn't put JLIII in during the 2nd half. Now Barbosa. What the hell could not JVG just put Synder or VSpan on him? It may hurt the team defense on paint, but don't worry Yao is in the paint. Should JVG have adjusted his defense strategy during the game? No. He should have figured out even before the game and in the practice. But he didn't. Why? He just lacks the strategy of perimeter defense. Perimeter defense! Now offense. What can I say besides that JVG was schooled again. What the hell can not you combine the best 1-2 punch in the NBA??? Rockets management, please hire a good offense assistant coach! Rockets won't pass Suns in the playoff if the perimeter defense is not be improved and offense power in Yao and T-Mac is not fully explored.
Barbosa ripped us apart tonight. JVG contained Nash finally. But rafer was completely ineffective against both Nash, and Barbosa. Once again, we got ripped apart by opposing pg's. The suns are the oppositve of us. Ultra-quick, atheltic, and pass-first. We have too many guys who still try to create shots for themselves off the dribble. Penetrating and dishing is a rare thing to see. Guys like yao can't just be a post-up player. How about getting Yao a few easy jump shots. How about getting Shane more then 2 shots?
No, but it needs as many responses as possible. The fact is, we match up poorly against the Suns. Einstein could be coaching the Rockets and we would still be outgunned on defense and too slow on offense.
JVG's scheme assumes a hurried 3 is a bad shot. This is true for most teams in the NBA, except the Suns. You'd think he'd adjust seeing as the SUns never go cold with jumpshots
Do you ever get the feeling that Van Gundy just isn't going to pull all the rabbits out of the hat until the playoffs? Case in point, tonight's game. It was begging for an infusion of Kirk Snyder, a player who will cut to the basket and would have been a much better matchup against the tall, rangy Barbosa than poor Rafer or Luther. Those two were just totally outclassed by Barbosa. But we don't see Snyder. It was obvious our littles weren't going to be able to stop him. Van Gundy leaves him riding the pine. And then the Nash-Lucas matchup too. I agree with you Queeni, this is the best Lucas has looked defensively when he was dogging Nash. But Van Gundy gets a look at it, and then sits Lucas for the whole 2nd half. And keeps running Rafe and Luther out there to get toasted? What the Suns did defensively was very simple. They were fronting the post on Yao and they were defending out high, trying to force the Rox off the 3 point line or make us rush our 3 point shots, which we obliged them very well. This is exactly what I have harped on before. When you get to the upper echelon teams, those teams know how to rotate and cut off the perimeter jumper, or force you to hurry up that shot. So, that 40% from 3 point line goes out the window against them. That's why we aren't going to beat Phoenix relying on the 3 ball. You've got to have penetration to the basket and finishes first. You have to force them to collapse from the perimeter before you throw it back out. That's why I say, this game was begging for Kirk Snyder to be put in it. But he never saw the floor. I can only imagine the damage he would have caused against a defense that was just asking for cutters to go back door on them by overplaying the perimeter passing lanes so much. Van Gundy is too smart a coach not to know this stuff. He knows it. That is why I am suggesting Van Gundy doesn't give use all the weapons until the playoffs. I think his theory is you save the best for the playoffs and then you get in and surprise the heck out of teams. There was absolutely no way that we could get the ball to Yao tonight with all the fronting defense. Why not just have Yao come out mid-high and become a screener for a penetrator? Van Gundy knows too much basketball not to see this. But he was content to just let Yao bang around down there against 2 and 3 defenders and let Rafe and Luther play around with the ball on the perimeter. The only, and I mean only, man we had going to the rim any at all was McGrady from the perimeter. Once again, why not bring Yao out to the top and bring in some cutters and tear them a new one until they go away from all that fronting crap? Yao is a 90% FT shooter. I think he can knock down that 17 footer with ease. Then you draw Stoudamire out of the lower circle and you let our athleticism work for us. Where is the high post offense from Yao? We're not using 30% of Yao's skill set....yet. Defensively, we needed a constant rotation of Battier, Hayes, McGrady, Snyder on the floor to match up the size and quickness of Phoenix's swingmen and power forwards. Juwan should have been subbing for Yao when Yao needed a blow and then when Hayes needed a blow, you've got to get Deke in there with Battier, McGrady, Snyder and somebody else. In the case of tonight's game, the somebody else was Lucas. He was the only player we had (besides VSpan, who isn't going to get minutes) that has the quickness to give Nash trouble. It was just blatently obvious tonight that we needed less of Rafer, Luther, and more of Lucas and Snyder (and Spanoulis) to have a chance. What are Snyder and VSpan gonna do? They are going to attack the rim and finish, draw fouls, and in the case of Spanoulis, dish.
This may be a dumb question but I got to ask.Why is it so hard to get Yao Ming the ball? I know he is being doubled and to pass the ball to him would not be the "right" thing to do but he is 7-6 tall for GODS sake! The wrong thing to do with another player doesnt necessarily mean its the wrong thing to do with a player like Yao.
The only problem I see with that line of reasoning is that JVG stresses consistency in his rotation. He always talks about how important it is that his players are familiar with their roles and know what to expect.
How is this game surprising at all? We are pathetic against teams who can slash, drive and shoot from all positions (primarily the wing and backcourt). Our defense is geared towards stopping the paint, but any team with good shooters can rain 3s all day long and drive by our guards at ease. There's no help in the midrange area. This is why teams like Dallas, Phoenix, Golden State and Toronto give us trouble. They're versatile, can shoot and drive, and make smart decisions with the ball.
jopatmc, I had already thought about what you posted and hope it's true. It sure seemed JVG wasn't trying his best to win the game. If he was, uh oh!
Your theories sound good to me, jopatmc. But are you just imaging the theories or you have some connection to Rockets (knows the inside)? Theories need practices and test out because they may not work as you expect. Then you can figure out new theories to reach the great level until no one can beat you in the finals. The hidden weapons might work for one or two games in playoff, but won't last long in effect. The sort of hidden weapon in 2004 Rockets playoff was Bowen. He frustrated Dirk for one and half a game maybe, but Rockets lost. Rockets really need to improve perimeter defense and overall offense during the regular season.
I don't think JVG was just holding onto his trump card by not playing Snyder. Our problem with Pheonix is their penetration -- particularly by Nash and Barbosa. Snyder is athletic and big, but is he quick enough to contain Barbosa? I'm not so sure about that. Barbosa didn't beat us with size or strength, he beat us with his quickness. Also, if you want to guard Phoenix, your defense has to be disciplined and totally in-sync. Mental lapses on the defensive end will bury you against them. Kirk Snyder -- he makes some impressive looking defensive plays now and then, but I don't think JVG is very impressed with his defensive awareness. Just based on his quotes and what Feigen has said, that's the impression I get.
NO, Snyder couldn't even handle Wade. Barbosa is quicker than Wade. But could he have done better than Rafer? Maybe a bit better
Just observation. Under Van Gundy, we seem to ramp everything up come playoff time. I can't imagine in a 7 game playoff series against Phoenix, Van Gundy continuing to run Luther and Rafer out there when they are so obviously overmatched against Barbosa. I think Van Gundy makes adjustments in the playoffs and he makes in game adjustments. And I have to feel that he wants us to win these games, but he wants us to win the hard way, without putting our best matchups, best strategies out there so that teams can study them and adjust to them before the playoffs. How in the world else do you explain no minutes for Snyder when Rafer and Luther are getting killed? How else do you explain not seeing Lucas in the 2nd half when he was the only effective defender against Nash? How else do you explain leaving Yao bouncing around in the lane like a pinball against 3 and 4 defenders and allowing our opponents to clog the interior up? How else to you explain giving Rafer the 2nd most minutes in the game? How else do you explain not isolating Yao on Amare after Amare picked up the early foul on Yao? Dont' tell me Van Gundy doesn't have another play up his sleeve that we could have run to get Yao the ball early and draw the 2nd foul out of Amare? Don't tell me the guys didn't play hard enough tonight. It was not a matter of effort tonight. The effort was there. The in game strategy and the matchups was not. We will not beat Phoenix if we face them with Rafer and Luther getting 35-40 minutes every game.
JVG SUX... He just cannot figure out the way to play against the Suns. How many times we win over the Suns within his coaching. He just cannot be the champion coach, I am sorry, I have to say so.
Theories need practices and test out because they may not work as you expect. Then you can figure out new theories to reach the great level until no one can beat you in the finals. The hidden weapons might work for one or two games in playoff, but won't last long in effect. The sort of hidden weapon in 2004 Rockets playoff was Bowen. He frustrated Dirk for one and half a game maybe, but Rockets lost. Rockets really need to improve perimeter defense and overall offense during the regular season.
