Last night's game was really making a statement that we needed everyone to be healthy in order to win it all. Think about having Battier guarding Allen, Ron on Pierce and our PFs on KG. we protentially have them all 3 locked down. Celtics without posey couldn't keep up with us except for Yao. RA had alston in the last quarter was simply due to alston being a better passer, defender than AB. AB is still a liability on the D. However, i think in the last 2 minuates we should have AB instead of alston as all handling was done thru tmac and alston render useless as a shooter.
we can only field 5 players. battier, ron, t-mac, and our PFs wont all be on the court at once. if anything it'll be t-mac on ray, battier on pierce, and ron on KG.
But we could have had Battier and Artest on the court at the same time. Or Battier and McGrady Or Artest and McGray. Which means there is ALWAYS at least one lockdown defender (Artest or Battier) on the court, and when they get tired, the other one can come back in the game. Battier isn't just good at defending man to man - he's the best 'team defender' in the game. He talks well, helps on screens, calls back picks, switches at the right time and collapses to get blind side blocks on the drive. He's the total package defensively, and he makes his team mates better. Once he's back in uniform you'll be nodding your head in agreement --> try watching just him on a couple of possessions in a row and see the little things he does that won't show in the stat sheet next to his name, but give his team mates the freedom to play defense!
I agree with you!!! Not only was it an off night forYao but the coaching left something to be desired.
This is what happens when we lose. We start to find excuses like why wasn't Luther Head or Von Wafer in there, they could have made a difference. The Answer is NO. They are not in the normal rotation and won't be for some time.
No, it's not an excuse but if Rafer, Artest, Yao and Landry have off nights you got to look for other players to score. We already are small so playing with 3 guards + Hayes & Scola wouldn't hurt us more than it has. We could've used Head's shooting and maybe even Wafer's. Also, since you're the coach and know what the rotation will be like this for some time, why did Head play the first game ? Why did he shoot 60% in the pre-season, was one of our best mid-range shooters (which looked like he worked on in the off-season) and came in the best shape of all for training camp but NOW gets no playing time ?
First of all I'd like to point out that I don't think the Rockets have such a big problem at PG. I'm a big Magic fan, and in that team, Nelson is not the playmaker, Turkoglu is. And they have been ok. The situation with the Rockets is similar. The playmaker is TMac, not Rafer. Rafer has to do is get the ball to the offensive side, and hand it to TMac. Then, he has to get ready to hit open shots (he is not making them, but he will). He also has to defend hard. I have been lurking this forum for news of Barrera from the Rockets side, but could not find anything. From Uruguayan sites I've heard the Rockets where still interested, but many teams from Europe are interested as well. Especially Maccabi Tel Aviv, who sent their cheif scout here to see him play. I think he will be gone in a few months. Do you have any info from the Rockets perspective? He is the MVP of the Uruguayan league, and I've never seen him play like he is now. He would be a great addition as a backup PG in many teams in the NBA and a good starter in Europe.
Finally an answer to my question !! ****, why didn't I think of that. Still, strange Adelman is not using him but ow well.
