Even with TMAC, our offense is WAY too predicatable...teams know we either rely on TMAC's creativity and ability to just rise up over defenders to shoot his J....or we dump the ball into Yao, where he's swarmed by multiple defenders. Opposing D's do not fear us doing ANYTHING else because they know we can do it with any consistency...so they'll stack up against our two starts, particularly Yao since they can't do much about a 6'8 player with ridiculous skills rising up for J's. To address this, and to compensate for VG's lack of creativity or ability to implement a more fluid, move-without-the-ball offense, we need a penetrator from the guard position....someone who can breakdown a defense and get into the lane. IMo, we need this more than anything else, including better shooters and a more adequate PF. A penetrator will give TMac more room to operate on the perimeter and allow Yao to clean up the glass by forcing his defenders to actually pay attention other players (i.e., help side defense). Our offense would instantly open up and look significantly better. The question is who is available at the 1 or 2 spots. As much as I hate to say it...I think Steph or Jamal would be suitable. I think VG could reign them in and make them play within the offense.
I swear JVG prohibits our guards from doing anything other than spot-up shooting. No seriously, this T-Mac less Rocket offense is entirely too predictible. Typical Sequence: 1) Dribble the ball up the floor 2) 1-2 perimeter passes to scattered, stationary guards 3) Yao comes up to set a pretend pick and to waste energy 4) 1-2 more perimeter passes setting up the post feed 5) Pass the ball inside to Yao, he proceeds to get swarmed by defenders & frustrated by the double teams---either shoots, gets it stolen or kicks it out 6) Guard takes a 20+ft jumper and misses Did I miss anything?
I think Head is the perfect option to be the penetrator. But seriously, I agree completely. Head is the only one that I've seen that has attempted to drive and he usually gets into a crowd and forces up a bad shot. If he would start dishing to the man who's defender came over to help he could be dangerous. Rafer should also be good at this with his ball handling skills.
Agreed! In all seriousness, seriously... Head is the perfect penetrator. Just ask Mooch who practices with him one on one all the time. Head penetrates opposing Ds about as cleanly as any guard I've ever seen. Doesn't matter what the opponent throws out there - Zone, Man, a 7' Center, a Diaphram... Head will find a way. In Head We Trust theSAGE
All kidding aside he is exactly right. However, Yao needs to move a bit to claer some room for penetration. When Yao is clogging the lane and can't handle the flip pass, it takes penetration away from your team. What Alston should do is constantly penetrate and pass the ball right at Yao's head....after getting hit repeatadly by the pass, he would be more ready to receive it. DD
That's too much to ask for, Head, the penetrator.. hmmn.. Seriously, Head has some kamikaze skills..driving to the basket challenging big power forwards... He just needs some more playing time to be more comfortable... Good thing JVG started him last night against the Pacers... twas a good thing for him. I think we should bench DA during the final minutes. He's the one that messes up the plays and making stupid mistakes. Well, yah yah, that's a different topic.
I think for now the offense should be changed, but ultimately a championship offense can be pretty boring. Cause ya milk your superstars. There no science to it. Run the same play over and over till they stop it. If you have the best superstar, they can't.
I think more HEAD would solve this problem. Also, this team needs shooters. Outside of T-Mac how many guys on this team can consistently hit the open 3? Maybe just Jon Barry. That was a hallmark of Rudy T. teams, they were full of shooters who would make teams pay for doubling. Sure, Matt Bullard, Scotty Brooks, Sam Mack, Matt Maloney, etc. were scrubs, but you couldn't leave them open! Wesley, Anderson, and Alston are better overall players but won't make teams pay for doubling.
I thought Alston was supposed to be that guy. Sura gets into the lane too. Glover is good at going to the rack. It's just not working out. With TMac out, you need another G or SF who can create his own shot. Head might be that guy, but we don't know yet and it's obvious that JVG doesn't trust him enough to let him freelance. I thought that Alston and DA were supposed to be those guys for us, but they've both been terrible to this point. It's their failure to perform, combined with the TMac and Sura injuries, that has us under .500. That being said, I can't understand why Ryan Bowen gets minutes. If your shooting is down, there's no way he helps. Better to keep running DA out there in the hopes he gets his shot back. Bowen flies around out there, but anyone who is impressed by that is mistaking activity for productivity. Is he a rebounder? No. Is he a stopper? Ask Ron Artest. I think he might be one of the 10 worst players in the league. I understand keeping him around as a practice player and energy guy, but he should never get more than 5 minutes a night, TMac or no.
