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

Good stuff, MacBeth, esp. on the passing. I was watching Clutch City last night and marveling again at what great team passing the 93-94 (and 94-95) Rockets had. It was a joy to watch that team. If you thnk about it, in terms of talent, the 03-04 Rockets have a much better backcourt than the 93-94 Rocks -- or SHOULD. But Kenny and Vernon would probably outplay Steve and Cat. I think part of the reason is because they were more humble about their talent, but more confident in their passing. Francis, I think, falls into that deadly no man's land -- he's far too talented to be a humble, everyday overachiever, like Smith or Parker, but not good enough to elevate an entire team like Bird, Magic, or Kidd. (He's good enough to take over a GAME on occasion, but that's a very different matter.)

 

Agreed.

Point 1 - I would be OK with our 3 staying in on shots for the boards, but I agree with the defensive balance that JVG is teaching. This is the type of defense that is played in the playoffs and is one of the reasons that the Nets were unable to fast break in the playoffs and especially the finals the past couple of years. Look at the game we played in Jersey, the Nets got very few fast break points, which took them out of their offense and allowed us to win.

As far as rebounds go, I would like to see us concentrate on not giving up second and third chance points. We have gotten murdered on the second chance points in all of our losses, especially the losses against Dallas, Sacramento, and San Antonio.

Point 2 - Swing passes have been a problem for us and it is not just SF. I see Mobley as one of the main offenders on the swing pass. He catches the ball, looks at his defender, stabs with his foot, and so on for 2-3 seconds, during which time the defense rotates to cover. IMO, when the ball is swinging to overcome a double team, you have 3 choices: 1) Swing the ball again IMMEDIATELY. 2) Make an IMMEDIATE trip to the bucket to score or get the defense in worse position. 3) Shoot IMMEDIATELY. Note the word "immediately" in all of those options.

When the Rox move the ball crisply and the open man takes the shot, it is reminiscent of '93-'95 when we only had one or two real stars, but everyone on the team could pass like nobody's business. Those are the times when I am optimistic about this club because I see JVGs system really working.

Point 3 - My only problem with over the top passes is that Yao tends to have a problem getting to them. He is either not quick enough or is held (sans whistle) before he can get to the ball. Personally, I think we need to have a 3 point shooter in the corner to give us a better angle when Yao is being fronted. There have been a number of times that I have seen this kind of pass and each time it leads to a dunk and/or foul call.

Point 4 - Right there with you. One of the big reasons that Dream was able to torch people is because he had a lot of room in the middle. When he was doubled, he knew how to kick the ball quickly and the result of our spacing was invariably an open jumper.

 

Agreed, this is a major flaw. Why is that in JVG's system only Steve or Mooch can bring it up court?