Feigen's article is interesting. Rockets getting in passing gear By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle SEATTLE -- The Rockets were not in the mood to talk about their shooting. The way they have shot the ball this season, that is understandable. But when asked about their two finest offensive showings of the season, they did not point to shooting. The key, they said, was passing. "That's what we have to do to get better," guard Steve Francis said. "In the games that we lost, the passing was terrible. A prime example is the Sacramento game. Our passing was horrendous. When we open our offense and start passing the ball, that's when other teams have to play us honest. "Dallas and Portland are two prime examples of us playing open basketball. It helps us get the ball to whoever is open." The Rockets, who visit Seattle tonight, had 26 assists in their win in Portland on Tuesday, their most of the season. Assist totals tend to increase with more accurate shooting. But the Rockets had an assist on more than two-thirds of their field goals Tuesday, compared to getting assists on roughly half their field goals this season. And many of the field goals came after a string of two or three passes found the most open shooter. "We were breaking the defense down and just swinging it," said Walt Williams, who scored 31 points against the Trail Blazers. "They were doing a good job rotating on the strong side. But we talked about it and said to swing the ball around real quick, playing unselfish basketball. I was the recipient of it. Guys were swinging the ball real fast, and they enjoyed seeing me score." The Rockets were also making those passes with enough time left on the shot clock to make another. Shooters got the ball with time left to pump-fake and make a move. And with several passes leading to shots, shooters could feel the plays develop, anticipate the last pass and catch the ball ready to shoot. "That really helps your rhythm," Williams said. There were times when the primary triggers of the Rockets' offense -- Francis, Moochie Norris and Cuttino Mobley -- looked to create before exploring all the scoring options, rather than as a last resort. But as helpful as having plays develop more quickly can be, coach Rudy Tomjanovich said getting into a play more rapidly is not as simple as deciding it might be a good idea. Teams that zone or double-team quickly will inspire earlier passes. The Blazers rotated rapidly on the strong side and even tried to play a zone. The SuperSonics still double-team, if not quite as often as when they were coached by George Karl. "A lot of ... different defenses slow down the game," Tomjanovich said. "You've got to adjust to some of the things they can do now. You have to take time to do it the right way. There are going to be slower-developing plays. "People are going to take away those earlier options. You're not going to make one move there, and that's great. Everybody would do that if they could. We usually say the second pass is probably going to be open. And then, the third pass might be a layup or really open." The key for the Rockets is still for playmakers to use shooters and shooters to open room for playmakers. "A lot of it is we've got to keep faith when we do make the pass and the guy doesn't make the shot," Tomjanovich said. "We had some of those games where we made passes, we didn't get the assist, we didn't get the basket, but we got a good shot. We had a lot of games like that." But Tuesday, unlike in their hot-shooting run through the Mavericks, the Rockets started the game shooting poorly but kept passing until they found their touch. When defenders were forced to come out to the Rockets' shooters, room was opened to penetrate or cut, and the Rockets found more reason to believe. "We moved the ball around," forward Glen Rice said. "When we go out and we're more of a motion team, we have a lot more success. You don't have guys standing around watching one another. We have too much talent to stand around. When you have more movement, more things are open." What do you guys think? People have pointed out that blind, purposeless passing doesn't an efficient offense maketh. Someone noted that Willis got a lot of open shots in one of the games (maybe the Lakers one) because the defense recognized that he was the worst shooter on the floor and Willis rewarded their strategy by fulfilling it. What do you guys think about Feigen's analysis of the Rockets' offense and the extent to which the guys came out of this tape session with something positive and useful to use in the game against Seattle? Is our offense really okay and we're just missing good shots that will eventually start falling (i.e. - like Walt, last game), or is there something more seriously wrong than Feigen is letting on?
