First off the offense actually looks smoother than it did last year. We basically played JVG offense last year. Pass to T-Mac in the high post and give him a pick. At least we're not relying on that play every single time. But the real reason is our players don't fit the coach. Our all-stars are post players who like to iso. T-Mac isn't going to run around screens like Rudy Fernandez. Yao can only score after he takes 10 seconds to make a move, and Artest is the same as T-Mac. Basically our all-stars are ineffective without the ball. You won't have motion with players who don't move.
I disagree, Boston has Ray Allen who can run without the ball and Lakers has good point guard and Kobe and Gasol run without the ball. No one here would run without the ball.
Defense was the identity during the 22 game winning streak.This does not exist right now.We don't have an offense that executes,and our tradtional weaknesses like poor outside shooting,inadequate rebounding which was glaringly evident since the first game against the Grizzlies,lack of length, height at the 4 and 1,lateral quickness,speed and inability to stop penetration are evident in every game. Having Battier back will not be enough. The team will have to overachieve like we did during the streak in order to win.
what are you smoking? he's scoring 4 pts on 37% shooting with just 1 assist in 21 minutes of play. i haven't seen do any playmaking or shotmaking that shows his value. AB is the only reason that 2nd unit is legit right now, along with landry.
Try and watch the games sometime. Barry gets out on the court and he starts running and he doesn't stop. He cuts hard without the ball. His numbers may be sucking right now but the Rockets' offense as a whole doesn't look that great.
The offense is misfiring badly right now. But if you watch the guys who don't have the ball you'll see that Barry is always in motion. He cuts hard without the ball. I was amazed a guy that old could run that much.
Seriously, Rox has a problem of DEFENSE. Rick is an offense coach. When our offense is in struggle, we are determined to lose.
Or is it that his players are just not suited to running this type of offense? We have 3 players that excel in one-on-one situations. We don't have 2 great passing big men (a la Divac, Webber) or a great distributor (Bibby). Maybe Adelman needs to adjust rather than the other way around.
why do you think there is another thread on, "what's wrong with barry?" i'm not sure what games you've been watching. he looks god awful out there. the reason our 2nd unit looks terrific is b/c of aaron brooks and landry, primarily brooks.
How quickly people forget what Portland did year ago. I mean yes, they had a shaky start before metting us (1-3) but the beggining of the season never matters. We shouldn't look at that. Portland is young, athletic but very talented. They have a star in Ron, maybe a future all star in aldridge. They are a really good team. So we didn't really lose against a bad team. What happend to Rockets? No chemistry, we are not playing as a team out there. It is all about McGrady, Yao and Ron one on one. No offense at all. It all comes down to isolations. McGrady is making his shots, he is scoring well, but Yao and Ron are pathetic. Also as a team we play no defense. We just can't call ourselves a TEAM yet.
It is nice to see someone on this board capable of rationale thought. Yes, it is only November and early November at that. A loss to the Celtics and on the road to Portland is not the end of the world. I thought many Portland players played beyond themselves last night. As for us, it is clear we miss Battier. What did you expect? It is clear that Artest, Yao, and McGrady haven't gelled yet. Again, what did you expect? Did you think that we would like an unstoppable machine after five games? You guys have no sense of reality in how long it takes to get everyone on the same page. Still we are only 3-2 and playing a tough part of the schedule now. I am not worried about Yao finding his game or Artest finding his role. I am not ultimately worried about our defense. I am thrilled with how T-Mac has looked, despite playing hurt, and I am thrilled with our FT shooting. I am disappointed with the loss last night, but it is premature for one of these panic threads!
You missed the other end of the court where LaMarcus Aldridge took Scola to school. Luis gave up more points than he created in the 1st 24 minutes. That's why he was benched for the 2nd half and OT and you saw hayes get the majority of the minutes at the 4. Now you can argue there was a better way to handle it than benching a good offensive weapon, but that's why he sat on the bench the 2nd half/OT.
Defense has slipped some. But I guarantee that the Rockets are more concerned about the offense. With the addition of Ron Artest, improvement of Brooks, and Barry, it was assumed that the offense would be significantly better. It really hasn't been any better than last year when we've had both Yao and Tracy on the floor. Some drastic measures might be needed to get the team to run Adelman's offense the way its supposed to be run. Maybe he should just stop calling for set plays. The Rockets will lose more games in the short term, but over time maybe it will be for the best.
He runs hard without the ball. His numbers aren't there yet, but the offense is still a work in progress. In terms of the motion offense, Barry is clearly a natural fit by way of inclination and temperament.
I really think the coaching is the main Issue right now and I am really beginning to see why Alderman never won a championship even with all the talent he has had over the years. Last nights shot by roy draws a parallel when Horry Hit that winner for the lakers and ended Portlands opportunity to Win the championship that year. Alderman is just not a good defensive coach. Sadly enough, His player coach mentality is turning out to be more of an issue as well, because he is not calling out his Stars when he needs to. The great ones did it. Pop would sit Ginobli, Parker and Timmy back in the early years when they were fumbling around on the court or not concentrating on the defensive end, Jackson had a way of pulling out Kobe and MJ when he feel they were loosing focus on the court. He would sit them for a few minutes and get them to refocus and then they would take off. Alderman just watches until the final quarter, when it may to too late. This is just bad strategy. Lets face it, even with the bad game Yao had last night, He is still the best center in the league. Yao, up to 10 - 12 feet around the basket is money, and still shoots the highest percentage of center in a tough league, notice I said shoots not dunks. Yao will never be a dunking agressive type center like Wilt or Shaq, but he might go down in History as the best pure shooter to play that position. His stroke is smooth and you can see it when he shoots his free throws. He is still the best at making them on this team, even with Barry and Brooks who shoot it very well too. YAO can shoot for a big man. That is hard to find or teach. He can use his left and right hand, has an array of post moves, hook shots, Baseline spin moves, and can consistently hit from 10 - 12 feet. But here in lies the problem with his recent struggles. Why Yao Posts up, he is not patient enough. There was a time whenever Yao put the ball of the fall he turned it over because the help defenders where just waiting for that, he started catching, reading the defense and shooting. JVG made sure he addressed this issue, now Yao has reverted to that bad habit, hence he is turning into a turnover machine like his rookie years. He also needs to see where his players are on the floor, if he is doubled, SOMEONE should get a wide open layup or three. Dream mastered this as a player and made his team mates better. Yao seems to be unable to pass out of the double teams, and tries so hard to force the issue, leading to more turnovers. Also, when Yao is fronted, the PG always tries to force the ball and it just never works as the weak side defense always comes over to help, leading to yet another turnover. Thats why someone needs to drive to basket to create spacing, but the PG tends to force the issue, leading to more turnovers. I dont know why the coach has not addressed these issue yet. Yao loss of concentration on the defensive end is due to the stagnation of the Rockets play of late, both offensively and defensively.Defensively, JVG used to make Yao flash upfront when picks are being set by the player he was guarding to create disruption for the opposing offense, now every stands around and just watches. We are fast loosing our defensive Identity as team and Yao is suffering the most in this area. When he is not actively moving on defense, he seems to have his mind wander completely out of the game. JVG would call him out in his era, not Alderman. We cannot win a first round series let alone win a championship if we dont gain our defensive identity back, and it really starts with the Big Man. The Princeton offense that brought us the 22 straight wins seems to have vanished as well. We are not seeing the hard cuts, ball movement and motion offensive that we all came to appreciate so much last year. All we are seeing now is a lot of ISOs, players standing around and forcing bad shots. It was ok in the JVG era, because we played defense. No way Portland shoot 50+% like it did last night in the JVG era. This team is becoming lazy mentally and Alderman is not saying anything. Yao has problems right now, I agree, but the coach really needs to get in the face of his team, starting with his stars. Word to TMAC: Offensive is good TMAC, but take a look at the nuggets, had 2 of the top 5 scorers in the league last season, but again a superior defensive laker team, they got SWEPT, because they dont play defense. Ask the Suns as well. Defensive wins games, Offensive will come eventually. This team has to return to that mentality for every 48 mins they step on the court, not for 12 of 24 mins. The great teams play D for the whole game, that why they win championships. With the exception of Artest, every one has to play better D, but the coach has got the preach it this the record breaks!!!!!!
