What annoys me most about our offensive game is that we run a high pick off Francis or Moochie probably over 50% of every offensive position, but because our guards have yet to learn how to use them correctly, we are rarely successful. The contrast between the pick-and-rolls run by Dallas tonight and the ones run by us truly exposes a (in my opinion) tremendous flaw in our offense. How many times did you see a Rocket guard get completely picked off by Nowitski, resulting in him having to guard a much taller Nowitski. The Rockets should have been able to do the same, with a 6-10 Eddie Griffin setting picks for Steve or Moochie, yet it never happens! The reason is that our guards do not run close enough to the pick-setter, allowing the Maverick defender to slip through. When you watch the Mavs set picks, they set their big guy about 5 to 10 feet away from Nash. Then Nash dribbles at full speed by the pick-setter, so close that they probably actually touch each other, leaving no room for the Rocket defender to slither through. The Rockets had no stop for this. On the other hand, the Rockets run the pick and roll by having Moochie (or whoever) stand still and dribble for 10 seconds as Eddie comes up and stands right next to him. Not only does this allow Moochie's defender to get ready, but the lack of speed when Moochie runs through the pick lets his defender catch up sooner. To make things worse, Moochie usually runs a huge circle around Eddie, making the pick rather useless. We need serious work on our pick and roll. I can't believe Rudy has not improved this aspect of our offense. Just letting out some steam...
Gr8, Look at the record, the Rockets do stink, we have the most losses in the Western conference. We stink. DaDakota
Great analysis on the picks - I noticed the same thing - but I couldn't understand why we couldn't make it work.
We can't make it work until our guards learn HOW to make it work. Right now, Moochie is the best at running it by far. DaDakota
Could it be our guard are too conscious of getting our big men called for moving picks? If the defender is allowed to slip through, the refs won't call a moving pick (because the pick had little impact on the play). I think maybe our guards didn't allow the forwards to get set before making their moves early in their careers and now, maybe, they're shying away from it. Just a theory.
The Rocks use the picks for a different purpose than Dallas (or Utah). The Rocks use it to switch defenders and then go ISO. Most teams are dedicated to switching on the pick and roll. The Rocks take advantage of this by running a lame pick and no roll.
