I was glad to see Novak get some PT but why leave him out there to get burned time and time again on defense... especially when you're doing nothing on the offensive end to get him shots? (Hint.. Running Pick 'n Rolls with TMac isn't a play. It wasn't hard for the defender to roll with Novak to the 3 pt line) Why is TMac taking 3 pointers? 33 percent or under isn't good and that's what TMac has been with the Rockets. TMac can get an 18 footer any time he wants. Why do we keep running pick and rolls with TMac at the 3 pt line? I've watched this for 5 yrs. The defender almost always traps TMac and he's forced to make a low percentage pass. You take the ball out of the hands of your best scorer. Is this smart basketball? Morey needs to look at the numbers on how low pct this is. It's ridiculous that we keep going to that... especially with the Chuckwagon. (Hint.. The side pick 'n roll with Yao is much more effective) Why is Yao taking 18 foot jumpers? I don't have the shot chart in front of me but I'm guessing he's about 2 for 50 this year. I know he makes them in practice but Chuck makes free throws, too. Why is Snyder glued to the bench? He takes the same ill-advised outside jumpers that Bonzi does but he actually finishes around the basket, plays with much more energy and consistency on defense, and doesn't commit turnovers that lead to easy fastbreak baskets. Don't tell me Snyder really alienated his 4th straight coach? Does anybody in this organization really believe you can win a championship with Rafer? This team has stunk in the 4th quarter for 3 yrs now. I'm not a genius but I can figure out the one common denominator. Rafer is about as un-Clutch as it gets. Name an NBA champion with a pt guard as weak as Rafer. You can't. You did a lot of nice things in the offseason Daryl but did you really think Mike James or Steve Francis had the head to be a championship pt guard? They were rejects from the Twolves, Blazers, and Knicks!!! Landry, Brooks, and Scola were fantastic off-season pickups. They're all rotation players but we still need a consistent wing scorer and defender (Bonzi and Luther aren't the answer) and we must get a legit point guard before Yao is in a rocker. (Hint... If there's a firesale at the Clip joint, we better be in on the bidding for Maggette and Cassell) For all you intelligent Rocket Fans, I'm stating the obvious. Why isn't it obvious to management?
I wan't to know why we are playing Yao 40 minutes and more. I also want to know why when Yao sits down why doesn't Deke come in and play? Isn't that why we got him?
Mr. Adelman, Could you please step down today so a short balding man can come back and the rockets can go back to being a top 4 team in the west? Thanks.
I also want to know why you left Novak on the floor when he can't cover anyone defensively and he wasn't shooting?
Question for Morey? How can you be so off statistically on Alston, Battier, Scola, Mike James, Steve Francis, and everyone else on shooting percentages. Didn't your analysis show that those guys were going to help the teams with their scoring? What happened to those fantastic shooting numbers we were supposed to see? What changed? All these guys were shooting and playing better somewhere else? Why can't they do it here?
Novac who is intelligent was playing so poor on defence that I wonder what instructions did Coach A give him? My thoughts are no instruction!
I think matchups played a part in keeping Novak on the floor. Utah went small ... Okur really didn't play down the stretch, I don't think. So Adelman preferred not to use two bigs. Some say Mutombo should have played ... I don't really see what good it would have done. He would have to guard Boozer, and we did a pretty good job containing Boozer anyways. Also, Boozer typically cleared out of the low post to give more space for their cutters. Mutombo would be lured away from the paint anyways, so I don't know how much we'd benefit from that defensive presence. You could argue that we'd have been better off with another wing defender instead of Novak. Defending 3-point shooters and guys who run off picks really isn't Chuck's strength, so he probably wouldn't have helped you much. I would have preferred Bonzi or Luther in there instead of Novak. They are at least a little more competent on defense, and they move better on offense.
I disagree, Mutumbo would have stayed back just like Yao. Defensively, Adleman is using his bigs differently than JVG. If you want to put a better wing defender on Korver almost anyone would be better than Novak. In fact, I'd make a case that Landry should have been on Korver. I'd rather have Landry in at crunch time anyways instead of Novak.
Championship with Rafer? I don't think they can win a playoff series with him. I am not sure they can get to the playoffs with him. Somebody or bodys are obviously clueless. Obvious? Guess not. The starting lineup, wow. I agree, I am amazed as well.
first of all you're all whining like always after a loss....Novak was a good coaching move, but yes he was out there too long and hurt us defensively but because of him we made a run.... I don't think anyone is to blame tonite except that McLazy showed up instead of McGrady...during fast breaks he was the last to come up the court and he did not run the freaking offense....screw him man does good a couple of games running the offense then goes back to being a pansy...He pissed me off and he's the one to blame for our loss against utah.
Believe me, I'd make the same observations after a win. It's the losses that get me mad enough to post something. Morey's made some great moves which I pointed out. I'm very confident in Morey's abilities. I liked CD personally but I thought he made some really bad decisions that set the franchise back for years. I know Morey's out there trying to make moves. He's said as much. I liked the Adelman hire. I haven't given up on Adelman quite yet. I thought JVG was never going to put together an offense that could win a championship in the West. JVG taught great defensive fundamentals. He's the perfect coach for a team that's young and learning defense. He could turn Memphis into a playoff team next yr. As for Adelman, I'm starting to wonder if his genius offensively was a guy named Pete Carrill. However, Adelman lets the rookies play. Landry and Brooks wouldn't have seen the court with JVG. From what I'm seeing, Landry is one of the 4 or 5 most talented players we have right now. For you JVG lovers, he babied TMac as much as anyone. He always said you have to let TMac take bad shots at times because that's who he is. Did you JVG backers agree with that?
