early in the season i can see it being the brooks scola martin show as yao rounds into shape. but to me if this team stays as is? yao, brooks/martin (either depending on the matchup), #4 is scola
Adelman constantly preaches to his team to attack before the defense is set. If the Rockets were to be effective in this scenario, which they were not very good at last year, the ball handler, usually the pg, should always look for Scola at the outset. The reason for this is that Scola always runs to the front court all the time at just every offensive possession and always makes himself open and in scoring position. He is especially effective when the defense is not yet set and the ball is passed to him as soon as he gets to his open spaces. If this initial option is unavailable, Martin is also constantly moving so he should be open too if the defense focuses on shutting down Scola. If both are shut down and the defense is not yet set then it is the job of the pg or the ball handler to make a play for himself or to set up his team mates. If the defense is set before the shot, then it is Yao's turn to get in position at the post to receive the entry pass and the inside outside game could be exploited to the fullest. My point here is that the team would be foolish not to make it a point to look for Scola at the outset when the defense is not set. He is almost always open and ready to rip apart the opponent's developing defense. As to who is the first to third option, etc., Adelman would always say, read the defense.
Hopefully there is no trade until we see how the team works out as is. Then if it looks like we still need something we make a trade. I am not crazy about getting rid of anyone right now because we have a good TEAM that I believe can compete mainly because our opponents will not be able to double or tripple team Yao due to the abundance of scoring options on the floor.
Another good question: Who will be the fifth option? I don't think its gonna be Battier, so that player will be our sixth man. Courtney Lee? Chase Budinger? Patrick Patterson? Jordan Hill? I'm thinking Budinger (simply because his role will certainly be expanded next season), but I'm sure Lee will give him a run for his money.
1st option - Put the ball in the hoop 2nd option - If that doesnt work, get the rebound 3rd option - If that doesnt work, steal the ball
short answer: in the playoffs, yao will be the first option, followed second by martin. slightly longer answer: obviously yao is not going to be the first option the begenning of the season. also, the beauty about RA's read and react offense is that it provides every player on the floor with an almost equal opportunity to score (given the opposing defense.) sure, when the game is on the line at the end of the 4th, I want the ball in the hands of my 7'6/85%FT/skilled big man down in the low post..no question. but we have a good enough cast that i think we'll be seeing alot of what we saw last year...which is any player on any given night can go off. 2010-2011 the year when the Chuckwagon goes off for 30?? (unlikely but my boy has been workin on his jumpshot and FTs)
It's very difficult for me to envisage Yao Ming returning to the game to play second fiddle . Only in the early stages will that be true as he gains momentum & confidence. At some point Yao will truly believe that the remake of his foot has been successful, at this time I expect him to make his best ever contribution to the success of our team.
I think I will be making another touch report for the crybabies this season in regards to yao. No coach in their right mind is going to make a 20 minute player the focal point of their offense. Yao at best will be the 4th option in terms of touches and shot attempts. He will be more play finisher than play creator.
What's the rockets' starting lining looking like currently? Yao Scola Brooks and Martin looks pretty good offensively.
Thank god you do not coach the Rockets If the team has the best low post player in the game, the team will make use of the best low post player in the game. No question about it.
Am I the only one who thinks Brooks should not be taking even 10 shots a game next year? I mean he's the PG so I'm all for him setting up Yao and Scola and Martin as our 1-2-3 options on offense, but Brooks really should be doing little more than shooting the open three on the kickout or taking the ball to the hoop if his man plays him too tight.
Do you mean total or on a per minute basis? If total, a player playing around 25 mpg (which, by the way is the team's stated goal for Yao at the beginnig of the season, not 20 mpg), will likely have a tough time having more total touches than one playing 35+ mpg, assuming similar number of games played. Obviously, you can't get touches sitting on the bench. If we are talking about per minute-- i.e. how often a guy gets the ball and does something with it during the time he's actually on the court-- it is in fact quite possible for coaches in their right mind to make a 20-25 mpg guy get the most touches while he's on the court, if that coach determines that this strategy is what helps the team the most. 20-25 mpg players have, in fact, led teams (or come close to leading teams) in things like points scored per minute, USG%, PER (which measures both # of touches and what a player does with them). Two examples I found by a quick look at recent teams are Rick Smits and Arvydas Sabonis.
There is no such thing as offensive options ranked by some hierarchy. Open guy takes the shot, open cutter gets the ball if his defender is lazy, guy with the weak defender on any given night exploits his matchup.
That's what's great about Adelman's system. You do not really have that "one" guy... But I would assume from previous seasons, that Yao would be option 1 when he's in the game. But if he's not open, then whoever the hell is open because we are stacked with shooters... I can't wait for the season to start.
