so verse, what did Rudy mean by "Yao will be special?" combine those two together and Yao/Francis just might redefine the notion that you need a traditional PG to win. Besides, I'd be perfectly happy with getting as far as Kevin Johnson got.
i don't know if that's a rhetorical question or not, but, i think rudy meant he won't be the "traditional center". he won't be anything you've ever seen before offensively. and i agree with him. yao could become the most complete "point center" the league has ever seen. you know, i'll give rudy this: he's flying in the face of conventional wisdom. that takes balls. unfortunately, if it doesn't work, he might get them cut off!
verse, my point was rhetorical to show how your subsequent comment, "<i>this - this offense - is what he meant. it is exactly what he had in mind,"</i> is contradictory to what he seems to have in mind with Yao....at least when you compare Rudy comments, as you chose to do.
<b>back on topic</b> Anyone with tape, or anyone who has noted this, what is the strategy behind Cato getting the ball--in good flow--above the free throw line? I don't recall seeing this last year. Three thoughts come to mind, (1) he's picking for a guard who is going to the rim without the ball (option 1), and then continues out to the FT-line area for an option pass. (2) this is a play to get a big man a shot at the FT-line, or (3) this is not a set play, but rather is simply part of a true Motion Offense that Rudy will run on occassion.
Macbeth has a good point when he talked about free-lancing. If its apparent that this offense does not involve alot of set plays, but rather, is reactionary and depends on the initiator of the offense making good decisions (free lancing) and exploiting the options that the defense is not honoring, then this is where I see the breakdown based on what we know about our personnel. To me, if you are going to free lance and have your offense depend on and react to what the other team gives you (in a way, similar to a triangle), the players on the court need to have good court vision and discipline to 1) Make sure they are in the right position to exploit a particular defensive philosphy and 2) Make sure the you can get the ball to the right man in the right spot. So to sum up, IMO, I see the relative failure of this offense as a direct result of having players with subpar court vision and subpar discipline with regards to distribution and recognizing where to be and at what instant in the possession to be there, which can fairly be attibuted to just youth and inexperience. Hopefully the players will grow into Rudy's scheme as time passes. If not, we need a new scheme.
When Cato runs this play it makes no sense...but Yao is a different story..with his passing skills and a deadly shot from the free throw line....this may be a preview of what to expect, later.
I believe Rudy has a philosophy I tried to review in my earlier post- Get a dominant player (Hakeem, now Francis) play to his strengths and develop offense around the strength. Most NBA offensives are designed this way. Rudy wants something that the other teams must expose themselves defensively to shut down. Find a bread and butter play, a go to play and build around it. Steve has this because he can break down anyone one on one outside or inside. The problem is how do we add an inside dimension? (We will see Steve pass more when MoT is back because Steve is comfortable with MoT's 10-15' game. Steve is not sold on Eddie or Yao yet, OK, he does trust KT and Cato in the right situation. Rudy is trying to leave Steve in a situation to break down his man and add the elements Steve must have to get easy baskets when the defensive attention is overly focused on him. This is exactly what Payton was doing the other night. Our offense will gel once we get more options that Steve is really comfortable with. I believe that is the chemistry we are looking for right now. In fact it is obvious just the way Steve will pass up open team mates to force a drive or a shot up. I can tell you this if the Rockets had not made those 3 point shots back in the 90's Hakeem would have stopped passing out of most of the double and triple teams
Mac, I know that you are being facetious. You can't be both, astute observer and at a loss. You don't have to apologize. Basketball is meant to be played a certain way to be successful. Rudy doesn't have a clue. Everybody knows this. Rudy never had a game plan. Just a good knife for Chaney's back. Rox didn't have this same patience for the COY Chaney. His team had tuned him out. Remember? The Chron writers wouldn't dare hold Rudy to the fire. Rudy has never been accused of outcoaching someone for a victory. Don't mention the Clutch City games. Rudy dug the hole. The players had to come up with their own solution. You can judge coaching on two points. After a timeout and last two minutes of the 4th. Both require discipline and basketball knowledge. Rudy and his current teams fall short. I will state again, Rudy is the only coach in NBA History to have 3 Top 50 Players and not win a title. Rudy is so smart, he did it twice! Les should end the charade before they move to the new building
heypee: no one - including rudy - could have predicted yao. judging by the way yao has been used i'd say rudy's still in shock!
Verse I'm in shock! Yao Ming looks tired and lost, he lacks direction when he is out on the floor! One would hope that Rudy might make a couple of plays with Francis (not Moochie) that Yao could practice and perform in the Games, this might give him some confidence. After this he could build more plays for Yao Ming, so by the end of the season Yao Ming could have six different plays, which he could use at will in the Game. He is playing in a timid manner and will gain no respect till he takes his gloves off! Rudy must make Yao Ming practice jumping to block and score, I know he can jump at least 24".In his previous experiences he never needed to jump so this is all new to him! Does anyone think that Rudy should bring in a BIG mans Coach to help Yao Ming find his place in the NBA?
Yetti, Rudy said that he is advising Yao to play with his insticnts right now. Quote "Yao is not a robot. You can't just reprogram a human being to do something else just like that." His point is that it is going to take Yao time. Especially since Yao has admitted that he is very tired. The guy has played ball 3 years straight! He also said, no one in the history of the game has gone through what Yao has had to go through. He's never seen anyone deal with as much stuff as Yao has. And therefore, he doesn't want to push/overtrain Yao. Made sense to me after hearing all that.
Yetti: it seems to me that rudy's philosophy with young players is to basically let them find their own game on the nba level. he does not want to restrict their growth by putting parameters on what they can and cannot do. he doesn't believe in spanking....he believes in "time out". wait...i'm confused.... oh yea... rudy will "let" ming discover what he does best on the nba court. i can see some merit in doing that, but i do believe he needs to have some basic parameters: a) work on getting as deep in the paint as you can on offense b) work on going into your move as soon as you touch the ball, etc., etc. same goes for eddie griffin: a) same as ming's #a b) work on your footwork, etc., etc. same goes for cat: a) if you chuck up one more fadeaway from 20ft with 2 men on you, you're sitting on the bench b) work on finishing stronger!!! same goes for steve: a) make an offensive decision before the 13sec shotclock mark, or pass the damn ball! b) slow down a 1/2 step when leading the break, etc., etc. if rudy IS doing these things, i don't see the results on the court. the ramifications are simple: you keep repeating the same error, you come sit next to me on the bench - where i can further instruct you. this, imo, is how young players learn best: freedom w/i an enforced structure.
Nice thread. Go back and watch the first quarter of the Sonics game. I believe the Rocket offense we saw early on is what Rudy has in mind. It was beautiful. Getting the team to have faith in it and not revert to old habits when the pressue starts is Rudy's task. I'm no expert, but what I saw happen was the offense began to break down as Rudy began his substitution patterns (not to mention GP took over the game). Not everyone is on the same page yet. It will happen. My mantra remains, come playoff time, no one will want to face this team. Rudy has demonstrated time and again that his teams gel at the right time.
If worse does come to worse, the Rox can still deal a pick within three (or five?) to Grizz, and for Lebron the Rox could parley a heckuva deal. B U T --- I do believe that the pick will be in the teens and that the Rox will be playing into may..
did larry smith possess a single offense move? have any rocket big men - since smith was brought on board - become great rebounders? what again is larry smith's function?
Larry Smith was offensively challanged..However I have never heard anyone say, that had seen him play. that he wasnt an excellent big man,,..As far as coaching goes, never been to the practices. I would say EddieG, Kelvin, KT do pretty good...
I think that Francis and Mobley are just being very selfish with the ball. They have to ease Yao into the game... but they seem not to want to pass the ball to him at all. We need a big man like Yao. He is a great asset to our team, but if we don't use him properly, it will be a big loss that we can't afford. Just take a look at Hakeem... Why do you think he left? Cause he was left out from the game. I hope Rudy won't let the same thing happen to Yao. Peace!
i watched larry for years...he was a tenacious rebounder. that said, i still wonder what his exact function is for the rockets.
