Rockets defense relies too much on Chuck and Shane

No, they didn't.

With Hayes starting 82 games, they went from elite, 4th, to below average, 17th.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2009.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/HOU/2010.html

 

I thought this was already explained 3 or 5 times in the thread already, but what he meant was:

Lost in translation...

 

The defense sucked even for a team without Yao. Rockets defense is dependent on Hayes not playing.

 

hai guys! i wonder why the rox palyed noe d when scrubs benwch in d gamne?

 

Okay, now you're being completely ridiculous. Seriously, how can you justify saying something that stupid?

 

rebounding is just a small piece of great defense. The most important part of defense is forcing your opponent to take the most difficult shot you can make them take. If you can't do that, rebounding is moot.

Really the two things that make a team great defensively is the team defense aspect of the game and THEN the individual defenders. Yao's blocks help not because of the 2.5 blocks per game which alone rarely changes the game, but because it allows his teammates to play their men TIGHTER and more aggressively since if they get burned there is still a guy behind them to make a player take a difficult shot.

But you will notice that great defensive teams are constantly moving and shifting and recovering. They get beat on one side, another guy helps out and everyone rotates so no one is left undefended.

That's defense. That's the why JVG was so renowned for his defensive discipline and thats what this team will struggle with. One on one defense is great, but against a team that can pass you need everyone working together.

 

for the same reason some folks seem to think rebounding is a defining aspect of defense, some think if you dont block shots you cant defend.

not saying I agree, but that seems to be some folks mindset.

edit: what Lou said x100

 

That is the most idiotic, completely ass-backwards statement I've read in the GARM in a very, very long time. Replace Hayes' minutes last season with any of our other bigs not named Yao, and our defense would be bottom 10.

 

Hill and Patterson are not going to play. Jeffries is the next big man in the rotation, and he will help us A LOT defensively.

I think a lot of Rockets players are surely overrated in this forum, but maybe Jeffries is the most underrated. He is so big, I didn't think he was that big. Plus he's smart, knows the game, and is very very active... It is like having another Shane around the lane, helps a lot. Maybe one of the better team defenders in the game. His defensive presence next to a true center reminds me of the Lakers size.

 

So you're saying we led the game until Shane went to the bench? If I recall correctly, we led the game until sometime in the 4th quarter ... I'm pretty sure Shane didn't play the entirety of the first 3 quarters, so I can't see how your comment is accurate. All teams rely on their best defenders for defen's'e much the same way that all teams rely on their best scorers for points.

I do agree that we should not expect too much from Hill or Patterson ... they have great upside, but at this point neither has proven much solidarity and until they do, nobody will be expecting much from them.

 

Hill and Patterson wont be seeing much playtime once the season starts, well hill might get some minutes here and there but I wouldn't hold my breath for patterson.

Now, im not sayin that these guys suck or anything, just saying that patpat and even hill to some extent are rookies with some raw potential that needs to be developed.

Now, as far as defense is concerned, I wouldnt read too much into it if all youre looking at is last nights game. There were plenty of times that the spurs were on a run when adelman would've called a time out and settled our players down a bit had it been a regular season game. Our team defense is great and with the great wall playing in the post and with the addition of our bigs, we have the potential to go back to our defensive identity.

Tonights game against the mavholes is gonna be much more indicative of our rotation for the regular season though.

P.S. What's the update regarding kyle lowry? Seeing ish play extended minutes yesterday really made me realize his glaring lack of shooting skills, hopefully he develops a decent midrange game

 

In English the word that describes this comment is "misconception".

 

Shane Battier has to step it up. Regarding the Rockets defense is a team effort. Once they get the chemistry I believe you will see the effort more but the results not so sure.

 

Defense and defensive rebouding go hand in hand. If you have a great defense, say holding your opponent to 35% shooting, but allow them 20 extra shots a game due to poor rebounding...doesn't really matter. I'd rather hold them to 45% shooting and grab all the rebounds...or atleast I'm guessing on the math but you get the point.

I think Hill played fine, but Adleman's right...consistency is going to be his issue.

You could really dispute the arguement of Shane's impact on the defense. I'd say that he really helped out too much last night, letting his own man, Jefferson, go off. Honestly, I thought the Rockets were taking the exhibition much more seriously then the Spurs at first, and then that seemed to shift at the end of the game. I really don't think you could draw much from that game...other then giving Hill a last shot to prove he's worthy of solid minutes.

Speaking of that though, and maybe this is discussed elsewhere. I found Hill's start interesting. It could mean nothing, but I wonder if Adleman insteads to start Hill when Yao is out. That might not be a bad idea, that way Miller plays consistently with the 2nd unit, and Hill is the man who has to keep adjusting. As well, if we are targetting to have Yao sit out on the games where he is least needed, it's likely that those are the games where Hill is likely to be more effective then Miller.

 

Wow, really? I've always thought our defense relied on Yao...you know...falling from 5 years in a row of top 5 defense to..........below average...

 

we are the world we are the people :grin:

 

I think we played fine defense regardless of who was in the game up until the 4th quarter where we just stopped playing team defense altogether. Poor Jordan Hill was running around trying to guard everybody.

 

nice post, seems we saw the same game.

with Yao Ming out, starting Hill is a good approach. to be really successful its gonna require exactly the thing Hill lacks, consistency. luckily, Miller (& Chuck) should be able to cover Hill's lapses without chalking up major minutes. i really like the idea of keeping Brad's role clearly defined.

 

I disagree, there were some instances last year where even the scrubbiest players were getting uncontested layups in our paint. Made me wanna chuck my remote out of my TV....IMO last year our defense was "Makeshift" and not really built for success.

 

edited for truth.