We're Making It Too Easy On Opposing Defenses: Specific Observations.

When going over some game film this year, a few things have repeatedly jumper out as issues we need to address. Rather than create a thread to the effect of " ________ Sucks!",etc. I thought it might be more constructive and informatve to discuss specifics which are hampering our offensive development this year.


1. Three Men Back

If you watch even a few games you will notice Jeff Van Gundy's defensive priorization in one glaring respect; He doesn't really care about offensive boards. This is obvious in every offensive possession resulting in a miss, as he rellies on his 2 big men alone, every possession. All three wing players immediately head back down court, by design, and JVG is essentially saying " If my 2 bigs get an offensive board here and there, great, but either way we'll be in position defensively.

Now I should point out that JVG is not unique in this respect, a few other 'defensive specialist' coaches do likewise, but while it benefits us on the defnesive end, it has specific costs on the offensive end, and in particular it has a more than average negative effect on Yao. With Yao's propensity for tipping the ball around in many rebounding situations, especially when alone under the bucket vs. several defenders, this creates a lot of balls up for grabs in the offensive zone, but with at most one other teammate in the area at these times, it almost invariably results in the defense recovering Yao's tips. Additionally, with the wingmen and point in the process of bailing early, even if Yao does recover he usually has to try and clear a lot of space, endanger possession by bringing the ball down if he loses any balance, and with only Cato to possibly pass to ( who doesn;t have the world's best paws or shot) the circumstances don;t make the best use of Yao's unique ability to get a finger but not a grab on many offensive boards.

And when the 4 is Yao, it's even more evident, as on any Mo shot, you usually have Mo out about 15 feet watching his shot, 3 smalls heading back down court, and Yao alone trying to tip the ball...to himself.

This is not to say that JVG's priorities/system are the incorrect ones; he's never made any bones about being a defensive coach...but just to point out one aspect wherein it's implimentation makes less than optimum use of one of Yao's particular talents.

2. Swing Passes

There are several problems with swing passes, and IMO this could actually be our greatest offensive weakness. In all the game film I watched I was extremely dissapointed with the low level of accuracy, aggression and intelligence with which we swing the ball, especially off of inside doubles. There are several simple rules to passing out of the inside ( or any) double; swing hard, hit the man in the box ( ie in a 1 1/2 square foot box basically from shoulder to shoulder, chin to chest), make the second pass out of the double, and don't hesitate. The Rockets are, in general, doing exactly none of these things.

We aren't swinging hard and we are hesitating in general...each pass receiver seems to take a moment to see if he has an opportunity, and when that proves negative, passes along with relatively soft, lazy passes ( for swing passes). Swing passes have to be snapped, as they are covering a greater distance than the inner defensive rotation has to make up; the only advantage comes in the speed with which the ball travels that longer difference being far greater than the interior defender can rotate, and when swing passers hesitate and then half ass the pass, shooters find their shots more contested than they ought to be. Part of the problem is mental laziness( swing passers should be aware of how close ther man will be before they get the pass, thereby not having to test the wind before passing on, part of it is a lack of trust in teammates ( teams who trust each other look to pass, not because it's the only option, but because they know it's the best option), and part of it is a generally low basketball sense on this team. But above all JVG needs to instill a trust in the team and the system, which is evidently lacking at this point on the offensive end.

The inaccuracy of the passes is the first thing that jumps out, though. I lost count of the number of swing passes where the receiver had to reach behind, get off his feet, bend down and get the ball off his ankles, etc. This is death to swing rotation each and every time it happens. It takes the ball receiver out of the triple threat position, it allows the defensive rotation to recover, and it can lead to tunrovers or battles for the ball if defenses jump the receiver. It even allows the defense to anticipate the next pass. But more than anything, it throws away the opportunity the defense afforded us when they doubled someone, usually Yao. So it has taken the ball out of Yao's hands, and yet cost them nothing when we throw the ball as loosely, slowly, and inaccurately as we are currently doing. Might as well not even bother.

Part of the problem for this might be not our player's fault...other than Yao and Cato, who in these cases tend to be in the middle, our players who are swinging the ball around the perimeter tend to be facing defenders who are 2 or more inches longer than they are, and this can cause real problems in passing, as players feel they have to pass quicker, loft their passes, etc. to overcome the height disadvantage. But whether by habit or whatever, these passes are usually a problem even when longer defenders are not the issue. Whatever the cause, I can't stress the effect enough...this is killing our inside/out half game, and our players' faith in it. It also allows defenses to be more aggressive and carefree in their doubles down in the post, as they have less to fear in terms of consequences.

The principle of inside out play is the ball goes into a post player who demands a double, if it doesn't come the player beats his man, if it does the ball comes out and passes along the perim ( swing) until it hits the open man. If the last part breaks down consistently, even if it only seems to be a difference of a second or less with each passer, the whole system is undermined and rendered ineffective.



3. Over the top?

We never look over the top, and I don't know why. In a few games which I broke down play by play, we encountered over 20 situation where the post player, usually Yao, but even Mo and Cato on occassion had completely sealed off his man without a help defender anywhere between he and the the hoop...and not once was the over the top pass delivered. This is shooting yourself in the foot, as it let's defensive players know that the offensive player knows he has to establish himself in front to have any chance of getting the ball. If you watch Yao in the middle, you will see that many of the battles he is engaged in are not just establishing low post position, but seeking to prevent being fronted, as both he and the defender know that if the defender fronts him, no matter how easy an opportunity this leaves for Yao to score, the pass won't come. Again, we are making it harder for ourselves and easier for the defense.

4. Spacing

In a word, our spacing is terrible, or to be more accurate, when it's bad, it's awful. There are time we space out just fine, but even more often we tend to all sink to the level of the ball. There's an old adage in defensive coaching that tells players to 'sink' to the level of the ball and recover outwards. What this means is , if you look at the halfcourt as a tank with the baseline as the bottom, the ball sets the defensive water level...the closer the ball gets to the bucket, the lower the defenders, in general, should sink with it. In this case they give up being hard up on perimiter players, knowing that if the ball comes out they will have to try and recover out, but that's the tradeoff for being able to trouble inside ball movement and offensive interior success.

But what we tend to do is, on that plane, also sink as offensive players. When the ball goes into the post we tend to absolutely abandon any positions above the key...we usually have a guy in a corner, sometimes two, but no one on top or close, as our smalls crowd the middle. Every team does this sometimes, we do it often. What this does is clump our players and stiffle passing lanes/pass out opportunities off of inside/out sets. Even when we stay high, we tend to do so in clumps. We really, really need to work on our spacing, especially perim spacing when the ball goes in.


Well, that's it for now. I have seen other things I'll comment on later, but they tended to be more about individuals, and I wanted to keep this thread focused on general, team wide defficiencies on offense which serve to make us work harder for less on offense, while making it easier of opposing defenses. I welcome comments, additions, etc.

 

Guys, while Francis is certainly a part if the problem, it's endemic. I'm not just saying that to avoid another Francis Sucks! thread, but also because it's true, and simply trying to pin it on Francis would be neither accurate nor helpfull.

 

I think, though, that when you consider the rebounding abilities of our starting 4 and 5, and especially when you look at the number of tip fests Yao alone inspires at the other end, we should be above average; I feel that in another system this would be a strength.

 

Good point, but I'm actually talking about offensive rebounds. I don't remember the Hakeem Rockets bailing on the off boards like this team does. I remember Riley's Knicks often doing that against us, but we usually played pretty standard when it came to going for offensive boards.