IMHO, Rick Adelman knows that the starters are flawed, and that last year's system is not going to be good enough to get it done. So, he comes into this year and tries to ease the team into his system and way of playing by giving them something they are comfortable with and slowly but surely instituting some of his new offesnive sets. Basically trying to make the transition easier and allow the team to win while they learn the new systems. That, IMO, is why he has been starting the same 5 as last year. But, I think he is going to have to accelerate the changes now before the team loses confidence in his approrach. Everyone can see that Rafer and Hayes starting is an offensive liability, and that Yao is a massive problem against the better teams late in the game when they go small. We as fans need to have some patience as Rick figures it out, and the schedule eases up now so the wins should come more frequently. Don't lose site of the prize that the offense and system that was in place last year was NEVER going to win anything, it was too myopic and easy to defend over a 7 game series. Rick may have to ruffle some feathers to get this team to the next level.....let's see how he manages the minefield of Rockets egos. Can Yao handle being taken out in crunch time because he just can't keep up? Can Rafer handle losing his starters position and go to the bench without any playing time? Can Steve Francis play a controlled game at the PG position and attack the basket late in the game to give Tmac some relief? Can Tmac realize that he needs to play off the ball more often? So many players may have their roles changed this year, and once the team gets on a roll...the ones that are out of the rotation may not get back into it. Right now these players should be worried - their spot could be taken by a bench player. Rafer Bonzi Mike James So, to sum up, Rick is taking it slow.....and the team will be better at the end of the year because they will have a leader on the floor, rather than on the bench. DD
I agree with most of your points, DaDakota, with one particular exception. While Yao is not fast, he really doesn't need to be. (Please see the Lakers Showtime model with four racehorses and Kareem Abdul-Jabar trotting behind in case Magic needed to rein them in.) Yao has the heart but he is not a sprinter. He definitely should be a leader at crunch time, but let Steve, T-Mc, Snyder, Shane (?) and Scola do the running.
No not sure, but it is what I think he is doing. I mean you would think a good coach would not want to take away the entire playbook of a team that won 52 games last year. Rick Adelman needs to get the players confidence going as well as have them get confidence in himself as coach. DD
I have similar thoughts about what Adelman is doing but it is extremely painful to see losses to Memphis (the one we should beat up), Dallas and LA (our arch rivals). The feeling is worse when Dallas came back from 18pts behind or when Memphis and LA won a close one. Patience is not easy when the pain is very great.
I think that RA has his head up his butt! If you look at him during press conferences, he seems to have no clue as to what the real problems are on this team. He just says we didn't execute or compete, ala the same responses as JVG. No real insight as to what the problems are and how he intends to fix them. Just repetively saying what we all saw...errrrrrrrrr...tell us what you are going to do about it dude! I hope that he hasn't lost his coaching philosophy and is just living off his success from the past with no real clue of what to do with this team. I am praying that he gets creative and evaluates this team based on their strengths and weaknesses matched with his own knowledge, and not JVG's. RA....start your transition NOW...don't wait until we are 8-12 or something sad like that!
Last year, the alternatives were V-Span and JL3. This year, we have SF and he's played in only ONE game so far. I don't blame JVG for starting Alston; I blame him for not banning Rafer from shooting. Right now, Adelman has no excuse at PG. He's got to be more creative and experimental. Not giving SF a shot at 3rd string PG is inexcusable. If there turns out to be a method to his madness, I'll retract this statement. Last year, even "stubborn" JVG gave Bonzi the blimp an early chance on the court (in which he made a fool of himself). SF is nowhere near as out of shape as Blimpi was last year.
Rafer trained hard in shooting during the break (before last year season started) and shoot better than his average last year. I guessed he did not practise his shooting this summer and his shots got worse.
This LOSING streak is actually a good thing at this point in the season; it shows that there's a lot of work to be done and that different personnel rotations need to be considered.. The early 6-2 start was fools' gold in a way, since all the other teams were still getting their act together or had missing players... Let's hope RA is up to the task.
Such speculation can only cause the mind to wander and come to the conclusion "what if" DD you may be onto something and then again you might not. I haven't noticed the Coach being able to see and correct things that are obviously wrong. I do believe that his relaxed way may cause the Rockets to become comfortable with loosing games and unable/ unwilling to correct mistakes. Coach says he will PONDER, what the heck was he doing in the preseason and all the time he had before that in the offseason? This impression he gives from the bench is that he misses being retired, this is not the same Coach 'A' who coached Portland and Sacramento!! IMHO
No he wasn't ! The team stunk in crucial situations gave up 4th quarter lead after 4th quarter lead, and had a grand total of ONE comeback when trailing going into the 4th quarter. JVG FAILED MISERABLY.... Rick needs time, and if he stinks he will be out of here too. DD
tmac still handles the ball too much and be playmaker and that's not rick's fault. if he doesn't play steve, what other options does he have b/c you're stupid to have the ball in alston or james or head. tmac has not played off the ball maybe outside of 2 games. other than that, he's been used like under JVG, which was not what morey or the organization asked for. yao is actually being used like adelman wants him: he's slowly moving further from the basket and is getting more confidence in that mid-range J (he was 4-5 from that distance last night). bonzi is being used similar as he was in sacto when he's in the game. other than those 2, the rest plays the same like under JVG.
agreed, they have to buy in, and I believe that RA is trying the soft approach to get them to buy in....little by little. DD
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EhVnR6iaqe8 listen to the 7:05-7:15 part how george karl said the orlando tmac needs another playmaker b/c the team is asking him to do too much. still hasn't changed.
IMO, Rick Adelman is playing the same 5 because they are the best 5. He already said he expected Francis to be the starter, but Francis has obviously played very poorly in practice, and is not getting much better. Meanwhile, James comes into the game and takes terrible shots and is promptly benched. It's not Rafer's or Rick's fault that Steve and James suck hardcore. Scola is still adjusting to the game. He has a lot of potential, but he still is not used to the foul calls and speed of the game. Thus, what we have now IS the best, smartest 5. If they cant grasp Rick's offense, the other guys definitely can't. A predictable offense seemed to work when we had Hakeem and Clyde. Point being- it comes down to the players, not the coach. We have had two Finals coaches with 2 different philosophies lead this group now. If they can't get it done, it's on the players. That is not going to happen, he is too valuable on offense. Rafer was resigned to losing the job and he came into camp and blew away every other PG. Steve could learn a bit from him. Rafer wont get bunched until James or Francis stop playing like garbage, or unless we acquire a new PG. No. IMO, he is definitely open to that. He was doing that constantly the past 2 years, when Yao was the focal point of the offense and we played inside-out. I think it's too early to think players will lose their roles. I think the only guy in real jeopardy is Rafer, but sadly no one is there to take his spot.
