Defense.. and it starts with the core in the middle Rockets have the talent, maybe a superstar away from being real contenders but they are definately better than a 1-6 team. The reason for this poor start is lack of identity. Trades have been suggested, coaching and staff to be fired but those things can't just happen immediately. Rockets were dealt with the cards of a part time Center and there's nothing that can be done until December. They need to do what is possible now so maybe Adelman should make small adjustments by trimming his rotations. Houston Rockets are going to get NOWHERE, I repeat NOWHERE having Hayes, a 6'6 center to start for the team. Sure, there will be days that are sunny and bright, but don't expect any miracles. There is a reason a 6'6 center doesn't exist in this league and if Rockets are trying to make some headlines, expect the L next to them more than often. A very simple formula, NEVER play Chuck Hayes at center. Start playing Brad Miller, yes the 7ft "soft" guy or Hill when Yao is out. Hill being the guy to rotate from PF/C since we are short in depth at C. Size being present in the paint is very important to our interior defense. 6'6 is not size. Hayes would only go in when Scola is struggling and getting torched the other end. If Scola struggles but his man isn't lighting him up, Scola stays in or is substituted by Hill or even Jefferies. They are at least taller, play adequate defense and have better offense than Hayes. Why Hill or Jefferies? Well.. we dont have anyone better unfortunately. We desperately need size up front. I honestly think this team would be better off without Chuck since Rick is using him so blindly. I would play Hill or Jefferies at PF before Hayes and absolutely never at center because thats a recipe that will never succeed. Hayes rebounding relies on him being in the right position at the right spot. This will not always happen. He will not out jump the taller man to grab a board in most cases let alone an athletic C. Adelman wants consistency than he needs to stop this 6'6 center madness that he considers a temporary fix or even worse permenant! I'm not saying all of our problems is due to Chuck Hayes. The team is suffering its share of injuries and there are problems in other parts of the rotation. Just saying this may probably make the biggest impact for our recent defensive woes. The man has all the heart and hustle you got to love that but you can't defy physics. He's too short for his position and not talented enough to play the position his height is ideal for. Houston has a deep front court with good size but Adelman choose the smallest guy to do the job. I don't know what he sees in this. When your center is shorter than your SG Kevin Martin, It's counterpoductive to say the least.
Hayes didn't start today. And he's only started one game, our first back-to-back And Adelman has no intention of starting him, anyway. Your problem is you are in denial about Yao. next thread nothing to see here
I disagree with you. First of all, I don't think Adelman has ever considered starting Hayes as a permanent solution to the center position when Yao is out. The reason Adelman sends him to the center position often is simply because he is one of the best post defenders of the team that having him on court can greatly increase the intensity of our post defense which would otherwise be atrocious. As Hill continues to develop it is very likely that Hayes will be sent back to his original position. On the other hand Miller is old, soft and slow, I would never consider him more than a bench player to give the starters a breath and someone to suddenly come in to disturb the opponent's defense flow. Our defense is already crap even with Hayes is on the court, and you talk about starting Miller just to bring that bit extra of "offensive"? It's a big NO NO for me.
The bigger problem is, if we pick up more bigs, they will just be sitting on the bench during the end of games, since the coach is going senile.
rockets have no wing scoring from the bench right now. either budinger or lee need to sit. it's time for taylor to show what he can do.
He may not be starting him all the time but he sure is being used too much. Hayes is becoming Adelman's "comfort food" He is a situational PF at best. Can't play him at center effectively I don't care how you cut it with his leading x amount of rebounds, x amount of steals etc. He may have better stats against his counterparts but his may be due to the ridiculous amount of time he gets on the floor compared to our "real" bigs. It's a double edge sword with him. He's giving up as much as he's producing. Like I said, if Scola's man is having a hot night, having Brad Miller just stand in the paint with Hayes as PF would be more effective. Hayes is not a C
I would agree Hayes is a situational player at best, However: Hayes is a player who specializes in defense, it is the one and only thing that keeps him in the NBA. When he is on the court, he brings instant post defense to the team that only a relatively small proportion of it can be recorded on paper. He is not big, but he is strong for his size. He is good at putting a hand up on the shooter, and is strong enough to defend many of today's post players, including centers (there isn't too many real centers left in the league). He alters tonnes of shots in the paint, and when he fouls, he fouls hard. Besides, why would you want Brad Miller to stand in the paint with Hayes when Scola is having a hot night?
Guys, the Rockets roster was built to take advantage of Aaron Brooks speed and shot making, and Yao Ming's size and abilities. If you take those guys away, you are left with a team that doesn't fit together. That is where the team is right now.....no heirarchy at all. DD
Exactly. One of the foundations that the Rockets roster was built upon was to take advantage of Yao's ability to draw defense and open up shooters and slashers. The key in this system is Yao's performance. I hate to say it but, we need a healthy team to play together first to see if it really works, which we for the love of God did not have the luck to see last year, and will continue hoping we'll be able to see it this year.
I agree we need a different direction. Lets bring McGrady back. Then we can potentially field the following lineup - G - Courtney Lee G - Tracy McGrady F - Chase Buddinger F - Pat Patterson C - Jordan Hill We could have the first starting five with sexually ambiguous first names. League history baby!
LOL this is a hard reality to face and all fingers point to Morey. If we are not getting the athletes we need under the rim right now who was supposed to recognize that first? Your GM. I recognized this more as soon as we traded Landry away and plus when Mutombo and Yao went down. I know Morey knew about it but was Chris Bosh going to answer any "Why aren't we tough under the basket questions?" Scola is tough but not athletic so all we really need is one guy to put next to him that is like Landry but hopefully taller if not then the same height. Is that really hard to get right now for someone as hyped up as Morey? Honestly it would be cool if we can put Bosh next to Scola... I would take that but who wouldn't I mean that's a pipe dream. In the beginning of the training camp Adelman said his focus was defense for this team and that was the identity but when you don't have the personeel then what do you expect him to do? Can Adelman suit up and go out there and block shots and get rebounds?
our identity has always been...out working the next man....this year guys have just kinda took a back seat waiting for the next man to do it. just got to get back to players stop being so nice and start stealing stats...if bigs dont wanna rebound guards got to go get them, got to go back to winning the 50/50 pts....right now we just have played very soft. i think there is toughness on the bench we saw what Ish brought--he is out there playing like hes hungry which is exactly what we need. cant care about feelings of opponents, we just have to get mean...Scola and Ish i love! Shane intensity has picked up since the injuries...Hill has to become more active and flat out do more (he is our J.Noah OR CAN BE should i say). chase plays hard he just got to go have fun and play. tired of hearing bout his confidence, man just play. we have some DOGs sitting on the bench that we may need to find time for, i dont care about experience....need to put guys on the floor who are willing to flat out COMPETE with Ish & Scola (J.Taylor, C.Lee)
The problem is they have an identity already. Outscore opponent and then fade in the fourth quarter. Soft players who get injured alot. A big guy you cant count on ever for a full season. Coach who doesnt do matchups well and a large roster of matchups that have to be made to work.
I don't know.....wouldn't it be better if teams didn't know what the F we are about, which would make scouting us much harder?
