Last year was JvG. This year it's Adelman. Some of the pieces are still around but to a large extent it's a different team. The offensive system has certainly changed. This is the fifth or sixth time I've posted this, but the way Novak got lost in the fourth shows how low the basketball IQ of the Rockets is. If Adelman's going to play him in the fourth then the burden is on the guys on the floor to realize that if they don't get Novak the ball and let him shoot then his defensive liabilities are going to be a problem. The players have got to realize that they have to leverage what they have on the floor. Instead they didn't get the ball to Novak and got the worst of both worlds: zero offense and zero defense. Also, I didn't see Novak neutralized in the fourth. I saw T-Mac jacking up way too many contested jumpers instead of passing the ball. Look, I don't see how this can be controversial. Does anyone really doubt that what Adelman ultimately has in mind for the Rockets is some kind of balanced offense? How is T-Mac taking 30% of the FGA balanced? I don't think T-Mac willfully disobeyed Adelman. I do think that some of the Rockets lack mental discipline and have real problems sticking to the game plan. When the pressure's on they abandon the new system and go back to what they know best. That worked real well tonight.
And T-Mac took 30% of the teams FGA despite shooting 10 of 24 on the night. One guy taking 30% of a team's shots is not balance. It is not okay for any one player in this offense to be dominating the ball to that extent. Compare this to the last game against the Blazers. The rookies scored the last 12 points in that game and the Rockets won going away.
yep.. novak was feeling it and i couldn't believe we didn't give him at least a couple of shots.. t-mac took way too many shots in the 4th.. i guess he was trying to impose his will
Isolation can work with great players like T-Mac. The Golden State Warriors run iso with Baron when they get into a half court set. He will usually break down the player or post him up, then when the defense collapses, he finds his teammates or scores. The biggest misconception about running ISO is that you HAVE to stand around. Wrong. Yes, you give him space and run to operate, but when he makes a move, you move. When they double, he'll find an open man. I'm not saying ISO is the way to go. But all the great players like Kobe, Lebron, Wade, AI, ect. all get ISO plays from time to time because they are just that good. One-on-one, there aren't many player that can guard guys like T-Mac. It wouldn't hurt to take advantage of that once in a while.
Let's keep in mind that T-Mac shot the shots he would normally take, + several shots that Yao would normally have had in the offense. So 30% is not bad at all for a game without Yao. I don't see TMac taking that % of shots with Yao in the game unless he was on fire. Even in a balanced attack your two big guys are gonna shot ~40% of the shots. TMac played poorly in the 1st half, and quite well in the second half. We just played crappy defense. The PnR didn't look good most of the time, but it wasn't why we lost. You can't win if you can't get stops. Period.
Please realize that it was more a Jazz defensive tweak than anything. When Novak caught fire, the Jazz' bench was in. Sloan is great at making adjustments, and he did just that in the 4th. It doesn't matter if they are contested when they are going in at an above 50% clip like they were. In the first half I have a problem with him taking jumpers as they weren't falling in, but in the 2nd half he took it to the rim to start the 3rd, then ended with jumpers. And he was passing the ball...he had 9 of the team's 19 assists. When you lose a 17-18FGA guy in Yao, and you are playing an extremely tough defensive team, you need your star to step up. 24 FGA is NOTHING....guys like Kobe, Arenas and LeBron regularly take 30-35+ FGA, and they do not always go in at an efficient clip (especially Kobe and Arenas). It is something the Rockets needed when
I always thought tmac should iso more, but if you pay attention during the game it seems like he prefers the pick more.....I rarely see him wave off his man so he can go one on one.......there was a play in the lakers cavs game yesterday when Gooden tried to come over and set a pick for Bron....Bron waved him off and ended up nailing a jumper.............Tmac probably would've used the screen.......he doesn't have the most amazing one on one skills, but dude is talented enough to create on his own.......
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