During the TNT telecast of the Mami game, one of the TNT guys said the Rockets allows the least amount of points in the paint. I'm not great at bball research so I don't know where I can confirm that. Is that stat (or one similar to it involving, say, FG% in the paint) true? If it is true, is it due to: 1. JVG's system. 2. Yao and Deke and JH 3. The great hussle guys we have on our team. It is probably a combination of these. But if at least part of the credit goes to #2, then I think people should stop calling for Yao's head every time he has a off-game (which is often, I admit). Inside defense is what wins championships.
It's a little of everything. 99% of the time we have Yao or Mutombo in the game, and those are 2 impact interior defenders. Part of it is JVG philosophy. We don't exactly have a "no layup" rule like the 80s/90s Pistons, but we're pretty close. Along with that, our transition D is pretty excellent- having a supreme athlete like TMac helps. Usually every other game, it seems like TMac single handedly ruins an opponent's 3 on 1. The Rockets do it a pretty good job shutting down the paint, and work hard on the perimeter. If we're getting beat inside, it's usually when the team looks lazy. If I'm not mistaken, we beat Miami in points in the paint. Any time you do that to a team with Shaq, that's impressive.
From what I understand, we are very very good at limiting opposing guard's ability to drive into the lane. I think thats the most important aspect of limiting points in the paint.
