http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/dalessandro/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1179035849183000.xml&coll=1 another article rehashing what's already on the boad.
Oh this is great. Now regardless JVG is gone or not, the reporters will have a field day about the crack between Yao and TMac, one betrays the coach helped him the most, one that loyal to the coach till the end...
Laughable. You mean before McGrady got it stolen while he was trying to drive through the triple team and all our guys are standing around the arc????? Or before Yao puts the ball on the floor and has it knocked away by the opposing point guard who is fading off Rafer to come at Yao from the blind side, knowing that Rafer ain't going back door on him, and he really doesn't have to defend him, save for the occasional hot streak every fifth game???? Or before Yao gets a 3 second call because Rafer can't get the ball into him in a timely manner or Rafer and Head throw him a bounce pass that he has to stoop and pick up instead of being able to go crisply into his hook shot????? Laughable, man.
It's laughable that you think a post player who scores 26 a game and/or an MVP candidate like McGrady is held to the same bar as a 2nd round draft pick who can't really shoot or defend or do much of anything well - I guess it shows the depth of your love for Spanoulis, though I hardly needed to be reminded of that.
No, you missed the whole point. I'm not blaming them for their high turnovers. I'm saying they had to do too much Sam. Don't twist it. You have to expect high turnovers when you only got 2 guys that can do anything with the basketball while the other 3 stand around waiting for them to throw them the ball. And I'm saying that when your point guard shoots in the 30 percent range, then you can expect your big man to constantly have to deal with little mite point guards picking his pocket every time he puts it on the floor......because they want him to throw it out to the 35% shooting shooter for the shot. It's about the team man, the team. The team wins and loses, not individual players. I'm about holding theteam and the coach to a high standard. Look, we have two of the most gifted offensive players in the NBA, one of them being a big man who is one of the top two or three most efficient offensive players in the league. We should have averaged 100 points per game.
Didn't it bother you that Yao wasn't able to consistently punish single coverage by Okur? Didn't you notice how predictable, mechanical and slow his moves were? That he kept putting the ball on the floor so often and taking up half the shot clock backing into position only to shoot fadeaways. He was forced to do that because Okur was able to push him away from the basket most of the time. Certainly losing the series isn't on any one person but the blame is to be shared.
That's the part of Yao I was most surprised about. He used to be able to have so many post moves, where did they all gone?
Sure it bothered me. Yao wasn't the same after the injury. Before the injury he was blowing everybody out. But..............it was the playoffs and Utah was forcing the ball out. Yao very seldom had single coverage from Okur. Most of the time 2 other defenders were drifting off Rafer and somebody else and keeping him from consistently being able to do his thing. He was having to work that defense in hopes of making one of those extra cheating defenders get out of position so he could get the shot off. Just imagine what happens if he can throw the ball out to a playmaker point guard who could put it on the floor and get to the rim, a point guard that demanded the attention of the defense otherwise he just kills them with penetration. It's a different story. I said before the playoffs started during the regular season that we were not going to be able to rely on Rafer and Luther jacking 3's in the playoffs. We had to be able to get to the rim. I do maintain that Yao and McGrady are doing all that can be asked of them. You can't expect Yao to put up 12-14 boards a night. He shouldn't have to. You can't expect McGrady to make all the plays. He shouldn't have to. This team desparately needs a playmaker that can and will go to the rim relentlessly. Not a 3 point marksman, not a star defender, not a rebounder. We've got all those. What we don't have is a guy that can get to the rim at will and finish and dish.
Rick Adelman to Houston? The name heard most often as Van Gundy's replacement is ex-Kings and Blazers coach Rick Adelman, though Silas' name is believed to be on Alexander's short list, as well. The Rockets can't afford to break in a new coach with Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier in the meat of their respective careers. Alexander will also likely inquire about Larry Brown's interest. Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.hoopshype.com/ This seems interesting because it also confirms JVG is gone for good.
But come on, its from the Philadelphia Inquirer, they're probably a sect of the National Inquirer. They probably are gonna say next that Jeff Van Gundy is going to have Yao Ming's alien baby. All joking aside, I think there is some truth to every rumor.
Convienently, there is a stat that takes all of that into consideration, plus/minus. With Alston on the floor, the Rockets outscored the other team by 8.4 points per 100 possessions. with him off the floor, the Rockets were outscored by the other team by 3.2 points per 100 possessions. With Spanoulis on the floor, the Rockets were outscored by the other team by 3.9 points per 100 possessions, with Spanoulis on the bench, the Rockets outscored the other team by 6.5 points per 100 possessions. Even with Alston not drawing fouls, the team ran much better with him at the point. Alston improves the team on both sides of the ball when on the court, moreso on offense than defense. Spanoulis improves the team slightly on defense when he is on the court, but the offense goes in the tank. In fact, V-SPANs net plus/minus is the second worst on the team, with only Novak being worse. Part of the reason Alston's plus/minus is so good (best on the team) is that he has such poor backups in Spanoulis, Head, and Lucas. Chuck Hayes has the second best net plus/minus because Howard is a weak backup.
Unfortunatly this stat does not take into account who was on the floor with them. I am pretty sure if you put Span in with Yao and Tmac instead of Jake and JL3....his stats would look better too. Lies, damned lies....and statistics. DD
