Rudy said over and over that the newer zone defenses have changed the way the NBA game is played- Most NBA coaches have also repeated this theme- The zone has changed the half court game. San Antonio used their zone along with working hard getting back in transition to throw NJ into a half court game and it won them the championship. Scoring in the league is down and the zones are shutting down the % of easy looks and inside plays that teams used to feed on. Soooooooooo To attack the zone effectively requires- 1. very sharp, crisp passing, ie. smart quick ball movement 2. players moving without of the ball and executing the offense 3. people who can knock down the open shot 4. making the right pass to get the open shot 5. moving and picking in the low post to get the ball in close to the basket. The Rockets are average or below in most of these areas. They have won with talent, but they are inconsistant because they execute and pass inconsistantly . How are we going to get sharper passes and smarter passing? How are we going to get crisper execution on the offensive end, knowing when to make the extra pass, knowing how to get the ball to the right person where they want it? Steve, Posey, Mobley, EG and Taylor do not made sharp effective passes. They telegraph their passes. Yao, EG and Taylor do not get the ball low enough in the post. What can we do to improve in this area? I believe if the Rockets could get the offensive end straigthened out we are talented enough to compete for the Title. We have untimely turnovers, telegraphed passes and poor offensive positioning all the time and we compensate for it with the very good athletic ability our players possess. What is the answer?
The Rockets could contend if... Some one would pass the ball, play defense, rebound, and shoot at least 45% from the field Was that too obvious?
As Yao would say: " The path to Elite Top 5 player level is short for 7'6 giant with game and brain." As I would say: "Let's not wait up for EG to crack that barrier"
There if very little moving away from the ball when playing against a zone. This is because regardless of where or how quickly an offensive player moves, the defensive player still has the same assigned area. Instead of simply moving away from the ball, the offensive player must find the zone's "soft spot." However, the problem with playing against a zone in the NBA is that players are so large, quick, and athletic that there is essentially no "soft spot" or if there is one, it is closed off very quickly.
moving- in this case I mean executing the offense instead of holding the ball or standing. taking advantage of good picks also. Sacramento, Dallas and San Antonio all execute very well in their offense. Lakers, Timberwolves, Phoenix and Houston all struggle more against the zone. Sacramento is the best run offense. The Lakers wouldn't be anything except they have 2 players that can dominate at the position.
We can contend for PLAYOFF if we can get a good shooter. Now finally we have someone who can command double team, but how many times when the ball come to outside, no one can drop it. if we can have toughness in the frontcourt for both Ming and EG, we can contend CECOND ROUND. if we can move ball better, we can contend FINAL
sorry, scoring is down in the NBA because its full of young players, who don't have college expierence, dont have fundamental basketball skills, and can't shoot a jumper! What breaks a zone? HITTING THE OPEN JUMP SHOT!! no one can shoot anymore, thats why the league has changed!
