Yeah, I'm beating a dead horse here. But the series in Utah seems to me to be eerily reminiscent of the loss to Utah last year as well as the early part of this season. The problem the Rockets have had for a while now is that Yao and T-Mac have dominated the offense and the rest of the Rockets have been unable to put down open shots. Think back to the early part of this season. There were games there where the role players simply couldn't convert on open shots, whether they were jumpers 12 to 15 feet away from the basket or layups. Then for a while it seemed like once they started sharing the ball they started scoring more efficiently. A commenter on the Chronicle's web site nailed it I think: he wrote that getting everybody touches reduced the pressure on them to make shots when they did get the ball and allowed them to work into the flow of the offense. If you don't even get to touch the ball except once every three or four possessions how are you supposed to get any rhythm offensively? Then the playoffs rolled around and in the series against Utah the same old problem reared its ugly head. No passing, and when the role players did get an open shot they usually missed it. Once the Rockets stop moving the ball they're usually shark bait. My concern is that they'll make some more progress in implementing the offense next year and then come playoff time they'll chuck everything out the window in favor of dribble, dribble, dribble, whoops there's two seconds left on the shot clock, chuck one up.
There is no need to worry. Afterall the Rockets actually adapted to RA's system fictionallly (lol). The system sucked earlier, but the rockets quickly adapted to it with Chemistry. I don't think there ever was a newly hired coach outta nowhere who could win a championship. Pat Riley was the assistent coach before kicking JVG's dear brother off the throne. In the playoffs, I think we saw what most rookies face. The playoff pressure wall. Besides Scola, we rely on a few rookies and low playoff experience players to win. These players are gonna have to take at least a year to gain good playoff experiences. Playoff is different afterall, and the Rockets style of play relies on strong chemistry. Pressure breaks Chemistry. The next season, Adelman's offense should be fully in motion. He will have the necessary time to work out his rotation and offense, and the rookies should now have enough experience. Btw, JVG FOR ASSISTANT COACH.
The motion offense is predicated on .... motion. You can't have standstill shooters like Battier camping out on one side or the other .... waiting. That's the big reason Battier has to go. He doesn't fit into Adelman's offense. If that were the case Novak would be an all-star.
So far, the main obstacle to implementing Adelman's offense is Tracy. Once he gets the ball, he usually hangs on to it and stands still. Adelman's offense is predicated on motion AND ball-movement. What Tracy needs to do is instead of waiting for the double-team, he has to be aggressive and make his move quickly. But his instincts are to hold the ball and let the defense react first. Another major problem is Tracy moves without the ball maybe 25% of the time. Usually he stands on the perimeter watches when he isn't actively involved in the play. This has to stop. He and Adelman should sit down and talk about it. Tracy has to get more with the program for the Rockets to be all they can be. I agree Shane doesn't fit the motion concept either, but they shouldn't trade him unless it improves the team. Getting rid of their best 3-point shooter and defender would be very risky (or maybe even stupid).
Funny you mention that, but when I was at the game sitting courtside, I was watching Battier, and he literally did nothing BUT camp on offense for the 3 ball. His defender turned his head and I screamed out "Make that cut now Shane" and he stood there....I then yelled "JJ would have made that cut" and he turned and smiled. Got to have cutters to make it work...got to . DD
I'm sure shane was thinking "thanks coach DD" Shane hits those Rip hamilton off-the-screen shots REALLY well. Why the hell didn't he do more of that in the playoffs? i don't think he did it even once! but seriously, got through all the clips of the games during the streak and some before, and he had a play where he cut, rolled off the pick, pulled up and hit a 15 fter. it was nice.
i absolutely agree that tracy holds the ball too long when he gets ball pressure. we were at our best (22 wins) when the ball movement was crisp. however, i can't really blame tracy for reverting in the playoffs, because nobody else could buy a bucket and it was clear the pressure was too much for many of our players (head, brooks). and when you're in the win or die situation that the playoffs present, its hard to make that commitment to ball movement while you watch the game slip away. so its a chicken-egg situation, players aren't stepping up and performing and tracy loses trust in his teammates so he holds the ball longer and his teammates get even worse. ideally you'd like role players who have the mental toughness to be able to step up and hit shots regardless of how many touches they get but i understand its not easy, basketball is a game of rhythm. so over the offseason and throughout next year we need two things: a commitment from tracy to move the ball quickly, and a supporting cast that can do something with the ball when he gets it to them.
I completely agree with the comments about Tracy standing around with the ball in his hands. I HATE watching that. In the 22 streak, the Rockets (most of the time) were really moving the ball well, sharing the touches, and yes, it really got them all going. I just don't understand why it is acceptable for TMac to bog down the offense like that. And hear me out, TMac's been my boy since early Raptors, so I'm not just doggin' him. BUT, he needs to stop bringing up the ball so much...and especially holding on to it for so long. Pass it off, make a cut, get it back...even if nothing develops, at least he'd be passing. The "stop bringing up the ball" brings up another point--we HAVE to get a solid PG backup. HAVE TO. I really like Aaron Brooks and Bobby J., but if we're talking about winning it all, we have to find a PG that can handle the offense if Rafer goes down. And, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd even be willing to give Rafer another shot if we found a solid backup. Otherwise, find another point guard. Finally, we HAVE to find a pure shooter than can play the game. I love watching Novak nail the three, but he needs to learn how to play defense. And can he hit inside the line? He hasn't shot 12 footers, 15 footers enough to know, but I'd find it hard to believe if he couldn't. Nonetheless, we desperately need a pure shooter that can START on this team and knock down shots consistently. Unfortunately, Novak is the best we have, and he's not ready. For such a great offensive look in the 22 game streak, the playoffs were in incredibly frustrating.
lol remember when we had the black hole known as Mike James? Ball would go to him and immediately, he'd chuck it up or drive into the lane and miss the shot? Wow have times changed.
I don't agree that Battier is just a standstill shooter. He didn't camp out at Memphis. This is just leftover habit from playing under Van Gundy. The way I see it, this is year one, and everybody is making the adjustment, including Tracy, Shane, and Yao. We saw little peeks at what this offense can become, but just brief glimpses, not the whole package. There is a lot more work for these guys to do to become true Adelman offensive players. And yes, Tracy does handle the ball a lot and does run the shot clock down a lot. This is where the rub is, not Shane. Shane will do whatever he is asked to do, if coached and given the time to make the adjustment. What has to change is Tracy being handed the ball 35 feet from the basket and attempting to manage the game from the top. That leads right to the pick and roll and 3 guys standing around doing nothing. Not that the pick and roll is a bad play. It isn't. But the pick and roll should be incorporated into the offense so that it is dynamic and not so much a stop/start thing where you have to wait for everybody to get in position, then the picker comes up from down low, etc., in typical sluggish Van Gundy style. That is too slow developing. The pick and roll should be used at the end of transition as the team is setting up in combination with everything else that players can do. That is to say, when players find themselves in the position to run it without having to go through a whole big elaborate set. We have to get a whole lot better at going from transition straight into the passing/cutting offense. The Princeton offense works best when the players just naturally flow into it off transition and it becomes just like an extended fast break, where, if you come down in transition and the first break isn't there, you automatically go right into one guy cutting right behind the ball being brought back out to the perimeter, forcing the defense to have to continue to chase. And somewhere in all that Tracy can come loping up the court, run underneath, if he's open throw it to him for the layup, but if not, then he simply circles back and receives the ball in the high post position, approximately 18 feet out, back to basket, where he can turn, see the floor, and make a QUICK decision to either shoot it, dribble drive, or pass to an open cutter who was already moving when TMac received the ball. The key to it all is everybody already in motion and McGrady making QUICKER decisions. McGrady is already a GREAT decision maker as far as whether to shoot, drive, pass, etc. He is a very good playmaker. The whole process has to speed up, not necessarily guys running faster, but guys thinking faster and going into their cuts without hesitation. You can speed up by just eliminating the hesitation. It's just guys continuing to adjust and exercise their freedom on the court to be productive offensive players.
