Not enough penetration, to many long shots. Lowry is the only one on the team that can penetrate and make something happen besides trying to be a hero from the three. We need T-Mac. Rockets are just an average team and just lack someone who can get them over the top. Its simple, healthy t-mac= contender no healthy t-mac= average team Its not that complicated. The Rockets are a good team but good isn't enough in the nba. We need someone who can drive to the basket and finish around the rim.
The Rockets showed some signs of improvement in this game. I counted 8, yes, 8 mid-range shots attempted: 2 for Budinger, 2 for Landry, 2 for Scola and 2 for Ariza. However, I remember only Budinger making a mid-range shot. But if the Rockets continue to practice the shot they may get better. Battier and Brooks had open looks the whole night from mid-range but teams will not respect them because everyone knows Battier's game and Brooks has abandoned the mid-range since Alston left town. I did see Brooks hit what I would call a really long 2 with his foot on the line. I don't know if it is Brooks' shot selection or Adleman's coaching. Brooks needs to find a way to bring back his mid-range jumper by either being benched or firing Adleman, but I think both are too extreme at this point in the season. Oh, did anyone watch Denver blow LA out of the water in the second half tonight? Carmelo is the best player in the league right now (hint: he has a top 5 mid-range jumper). I think LA is seeking some retaliation for tonights loss. If we work on that mid-range jumper we may have a chance to beat them in games 3 or 4.
If we don't hit 3pters teams will pack the paint...and it kills our small guards penetration game. Got to hit those 3s boys.....GOT TO ! DD
They're doing it regardless, pack the lane control the glass and make us have to hit the 3 ball. Aaron's been overpenetrating IMO, theres always a 12-15 footer available off the PnR and the drive. I'm not feeling the "all the way to the basket or a 3" thing he has going on.
I agree on this. He used to pull up after scola/hayes sets a pick for the mid range jumper but now its either 3 ball or get blocked in the lane. His mid range jumper is pretty good so I don't understand why he is going away from it.
Rockets won't be ready for the Lakers on Sunday, but I still have to watch it and go to work pissed off on Monday.
He was disapointing tonight. In the first quarter he was being doubled and even tripled at one point. RA refused to use that to the Rockets advantage. Ariza had a wide open 3 that he made off of Landry's triple and after that RA went away from it. Just like the mid-range shots off the screen we saw from Budinger twice, none for Ariza and none Brooks.
It was absolutely difficult to watch our guys get badly out-rebounded today. We didn't really play that bad, it was just the Kings played outstanding today. Our defence, like some people have mentioned, has taken a big step backwards.
I think people need to realize that although this team competes and plays together, they do have major weaknesses which will show up quite often over the course of the year and especially in the post season if we get that far. You don't lose an elite center 7 foot 6 wall of a man with scoring ability and replace him with a 6ft 6 guy who cant dunk and has never made a basket outside of 5 feet his entire career and expect it to not matter. Some people seem to think that losing Yao "allows us" to play a faster paced game and score easier buckets, but I think that losing Yao "forces us" into playing uptempo style because we have no efficient goto guy in the half court now. Most of our most efficient scorers are better when they play off the people and are allowed to move without the ball and crash the offensive boards. Without a go to guy, we have to run through those guys in the half court and their simply not consistant enough in that area. Scola is a guy who is not nearly effective when we have to depend on him to post up every play. He CAN do it, but I rather see him finding openings, setting picks, crashing the boards. Same with Landry.
Playing uptempo the way we are is going to increase the amount of possesions in a game, and its going to give teams with more scoring options than us to outscore us. Playing uptempo is putting an added burden on our defense and we're not rebounding well enough on that end to maintain previous years levels on D. On the offensive side we're just going to have to depend on shooting lights out every night because if we don't, theres no one there to bail us out. Its such a luxury to have a low post guy who can score on single coverage at will and pass so well out of double teams. I think that's something thats underappreciate about yao. He always made the right pass out of the post and he also found a way to get to the line when we needed him to. He was such an efficient offensive player. It will be nice to get mcgrady back so that he can create easy opportunities for other people, but he's not nearly as efficient as yao.
Carl had 4 20+ games inarow prior to toights debacle. he has been the most consistent bench player for us thus far. jesuse give him a break.
The Kings are enjoying what we are also, they are becoming a greater team due to their volume shooter falling appart. It was expected to me that we might loose. I expect this to end the Scola vs Landry threads.
i don't care if we're missing yao and mac, this was a game i was expecting to win. i guess we suck more than i thought.
No, he didn't 20+ 4 nights in a row. You are right though. He is consistent. He's been consistent at getting 2-4 rebounds for the week.
