Kenny plays like 20-30 minutes per game and doesn't take nearly as many shots as Francis and Mobley. Some games he is barely an option. I'm confused as to why you guys think a role player is causing so many problems. If you want to blame a player, blame the leaders of the team.
damn something happened to kenny. he was good last season and now he is just like uhhhhh yeah and he is sorry. where is collier when you need him?HAHAHAHAHA
HP, Couple of things. 1. I don't think it's fair to say that the Rockets win solely by defense, in the sense that they win with defensive efforts despite having no offensive punches. I think in the games that they won so far, almost most of them were won by good offensive stretches in at least one quarter. I would rather say that defense keeps us in the game and the occasional good offense win us the games. 2. Being a great 1-on-1 defender might not be as important as it was in the past. Zone defenses cover up a lot of individual weaknesses. Look at the Mavericks. They wouldn't be as dominant if it were not the rule change. I am still refusing to say that Rudy T doesn't know what he is doing. But I am more and more persuaded to that end. I love the man and it will break my heart if he actually turns out to be a bad coach. What I am thinking is that maybe Rudy is not changing his mentality fast enough to catch up with the changes of the game. He might still think a defensive player who is an offensive liability like KT deserves to play 30+ minutes. (On the other hand, who else do we have? Both Griffin and Taylor are struggling offensively. Might as well make use of KT's defense?) He might still not totally abandon the ISO concept which is becoming more and more useless facing the zone. Maybe he has not yet realize that today's young players are not as fundamentally well equipped as those in the 80s and 90s; that they are clueless out there without very strict guidance by the coach. Maybe he still think that these young guys can maximize their talents on their own. I really don't know. I just hope that Rudy or the players can figure it out before everybody's patience runs out.
All three of our PFs are stinking it up. KT and Mo can't hit an outside shot to save their lives. Griff can but only 37% of the time. Maybe Rudy should bench them all and start Cato at PF.
Easy, The point is that the defense is our brightest improvement this year. The defense is ahead of the offense, and Rudy seems just as focused on one as the other. The play and PT of Hawkins, Cato and Kenny all point to a rededication to fielding the best defense we can. As for the importance of good defenders changing with the rules...I don't understand that idea. Better defenders play better defense no matter how you slice it. Note: I never said Kenny was the best one on one defender. I said Kenny is the best defender on the team. His zone defense is perfect, imo. And that is where he becomes even more valuable, because he can help anchor an entire side of the court. The notion that zones are meant to hide weaknesses is overdone. Better defenders play better zones. Zones must be played at a high level of teamwork, communication and smarts--just like the offense it takes to beat them. Bad zone defenses exist. Kenny makes our 2-3 zone work. In my experience, if you want to hide a weak defender, you can do that just as well playing man and providing help. Remember, the NBA's rules changes didn't start allowing zones...that's not the right way to phrase it. The NBA's rules changes eliminated illegal defense. The illegal defense rule is what allowed clear-outs, not the lack of zones. Does that make sense? Man defense can be played with help cheating over to prevent penetration. That type of cheating help is not allowed under illegal defense rules, but is indeed part of man defense.
Basically, Thomas falls into the mode Rudy put them into the past couple of yr. Last yr Rudy ran iso after iso for Thomas like he was the old MJ, thus leading him to believe he is better than what he is. The same can be said for Mobley also. I think if Mobley and Thomas are 2nd or 3rd options, then your team isn't that good. Also what hurts thomas is the same thing that hurt Griffin and Taylor. Pretty much what I said in the preseason when everyone was talking about the depth of this team. All 3 are pressing because of the limited minutes avilaible with the emergence of Ming and the improved play of Cato. Had it not been for those 2, one of those guys could dlide over and play some 2nd string center, but Cato is playing as good if not better than all 3 so he needs to continue to get his minutes. It was once said if you have 3, then you really have none. Thats what the Rox have at the 4 spot. ! guy is playing for a contract so he is trying to put up numbers, one guy is young and needs to get into the flow, and another is trying to prove he's worth his crazy contract. Basically a shakeup in needed.
I don't think our defense is really that improved. We still have the same fundamental problems as last year. Poor defense of teh pick and roll, too many guards shooting wide open jumpers or driving the lane at ease. Perhaps our interior defense has improved slightly, but that's to be expected with the addition of Yao and unexpected with Cato's improvement. Regardless, we still lpay defense expecting the other team to screw up. Givent he current state of the league, this works a lot of the time. Put us up against a good team, though, and the defense is exposed. When was the last time the Rockets blew out another team? Bad offense or bad defense - who knows? As for Kenny. Everything he does is individualistic. He's a great defender and rebounder, when we're talking one on one. But I haven't seen anyhting other than average defense from him at best when it comes to team defense, rotations, etc.
HP, When I said "zone" I meant it in the broad sense. I wasn't thinking about the pure 2-3 or 3-2 zones. Very few teams use the pure zone for much of the time so far, anyway. But the rule change did significantly change the whole defensive philosophy. Before the rule change, defensive spacing was dictated by the opponent's offensive positioning because you had to follow your man. Now, the defense has the freedom to distribute its weight according to it's own personnel. It makes it a lot easier to cover up your weak links. Teams are doing it more this year. I mentioned the Mavs partly to illustrate my point about Rudy's problem. Don Nelson is known for his innovations (sometimes good, sometimes bad). I am not trying to argue that he is a better coach than Rudy. But, not surprisingly, he is one of the first to exploit the rule change extensively. (He was also one of the first to scout foreign players extensively.) Rudy, on the other hand, seems to be slow to adjust to the evolution of the game. Also, I know you don't agree. But I still believe that good offense is better than good defense in basketball. (BTW, football is another matter.) Being a good defender does not justify for PT if you are a liability on offense. Hawkins, IMO, is not as big an offensive liability as KT even though KT may be the bette scorer. The thing is, Hawkins doesn't demand the ball and moves well off the ball. In other words, he doesn't bog down the offense like KT does. My take on KT's PT is the combination of his defense, rebounding and the lack of production by the other two PFs. When either Griffin or MoT makes his shots, KT's value will drop.
<blockquote><hr>Originally posted by JayZ750 He's a great defender and rebounder, when we're talking one on one. But I haven't seen anyhting other than average defense from him at best when it comes to team defense, rotations, etc. <hr></blockquote> Last week you said you haven't seen anything be average defense from him period. Now, this week you are saying he's a great defender when one on one....seemingly to tag him as an "individualistic" player...as you said. When did this argument become so in fashion that one on one defenders often suck at team defense, especially frontliners? And why has no one that has used that logic ever describe Eddie that way. For the longest time it was Kenny cannot play any defense. This new fade that he can't play team defense is, I guess, the new excuse for not believing that he has perfect defensive fundamentals and is very smart, with impeccable timing, reactions, and court vision on defense. Griffin, Rice, Maurice, Cato and even Yao are the best examples of poor team defenders, who lose site of zone responsibilities or (in the case of Rice/Mo) just overall aren't very good defenders, or (in the case of Cato/Griffin/Yao) they rely on superior heigth and athleticism. Kenny's defense is based on being the smartest defender out there. He doesn't lose the cutters coming into his zone, like others do. He changes 2-3 zone assigments between low post and perimeter the best you can. That takes perfect positioning, strength, smarts and communication to hold the interior till the last moment and have the speed to get out to the perimeter on swing passes. If you fail at this (leave the post man too early, not watch your back, not know where your teammates are), you open creases for passes, penetration and you lose men for backdoor cuts. When is the last time you've seen a backdoor cut or alley-oop come through Kenny's zone. I can tell; I haven't seen one. Kenny blocked an alley-oop at the rim last night. This attitude about Kenny's defense has me asking again, when the opposing team has the ball, how do you watch the game? What do you look at? You've said you have trouble seeing Kenny's value, JayZ, so how do you look at the game when we are on defense. Do you watch the opponents offense, or our defense? If you watch our defense, what do you look for? Individual defense? Team defense? What is a good mark of team defense? It is hard to spot live. So, let's talk tape. Let's get past this post-game logic talk. Who's wants to talk tape with me!!
<blockQUOTE><hr>Originally posted by Easy It makes it a lot easier to cover up your weak links. Teams are doing it more this year.<hr></blockquote> I flat out reject this. Man to man with double teams and shading into the lane...cheating off bad shooters...is just as effective at "hiding weaknesses" as zones. Zones have as many, if not more, overall problems as man to man. The point is that Dallas' defense will never be great. They are getting hype for the 14-0 run, but that team is capable of winning streaks with only marginal increases in defense. They had the worst defense last year. <blockquote><hr>But, not surprisingly, he is one of the first to exploit the rule change extensively.<hr></blockquote> And, of course, you are forgetting that Rudy was the best at exploiting the previous rules, and did it immediately upon assigment as a new coach. <blockquote><hr>Rudy, on the other hand, seems to be slow to adjust to the evolution of the game.<hr></blockquote> We are getting way off the topic at this point. But didn't Rudy draft Mirsad Turkcan? Isn't Turkcan the Euroleauge MVP last year.
HP, read my post more carefully. I said I used the term "zone" in a broad sense. Your "cheating on bad shooter" is a kind of "zone" in my definition. So we do agree on the fact that the rule change make it easier for covering the weak defender. What's your problem then? The illegal defense rule was there long before Rudy became the head coach. And he had been an assistant under that rule. "Exploiting the previous rules" is hardly evidence of Rudy's innovation, which is my compaints about Rudy. Nelson started scouting foreign players way before most everybody else. Rudy was among the early bandwagoners (at best) in taking Turkcan. Again, I'm not trying to prove that Nelson is a better coach. Just try to make my point about Rudy's being too conservative with old concepts.
What I see from watching or attending nearly every game is KT being a slightly better than average man defender and a no better than average team defender. I can rarely recall him ever making me say to myself..."good defense KT" when it comes to helping out on rotations on man to man. I see him active in the zone, but that's about it. Nothing special. Gerald Wallace still managed to collect put back and easy back door scores time after time last night. He's just average to me. I think his offensive game speaks for itself...it sucks. Combine the two and you have Mo Taylor who rebounds a little better but sucks life out of the offense. I don't think anyone is pleased with the play of the PF's this year, but if I had to get rid of one, it would undoubtedly be KT. Not to mention his game could actually be helpful to a team that needed someone who played his style or a team in the East and could get us decent value in return.
PLEASE realize that Kenny does not pass the ball. He is not a TEAM PLAYER. Granted he has more O than our other PF's but I feel comfortable that Mo will get it going. I think Mo is great with Ming, the future of the rockets, and I know Eddie will in time develop more of an offensive arsenal based on being around the basket. The kid posts up, he is trying and he will eventually realize his offense is mid range and closer. I blame rudy for putting him in a position where the 3 pt. line appears to be his friend. KT just does not feed into the team concept that you build championship teams around, a role player. He has one role on this team and that is one on one offense, a game we have played and lost at alot in the past couple of seasons. If Kenny does not have the ball in his hands to me it appears that he doesn't ever get his head into the game completely. Sure KT can play defense, but will he ever block like EG? And sure he rebounds but EG can rebound as well. Once EG begins to play aggressively like KT, I feel he will atleast pass and work to keep his other teammates involved still. I think KT's will to go to the basket and his aggressive play is much needed right now on the rockets, but if I could get a guy who makes other players around him better, he would be gone before the end of the season in a heartbeat.
