1) Rockets will try to deny the paint to opposing teams. Asik should help a lot here. Martin should hurt. Rookies have potential to be pluses here, but for now are probably a weakness. When Asik, Patterson, and Parsons are on the court together, the Rockets may actually succeed here. However, it may be tough when they are not on the court together. 2) Run. If the defense is working, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Get fast break baskets. Get secondary opportunities. Get mismatches. Even when the Rockets give up a basket, expect them to push the tempo. I think the Rockets want to run every possession to wear the other team out. Running just sometimes doesn't do that. The Rockets have the big men to run with the little men. Time will tell if the Rockets can really get the team to run for 82 games. 3) Rebound. This could be an issue if Patterson starts and doesn't rebound like his rookie year. Asik will help here. Motiejunas may really help here if he is used near the basket. 4) Half Court. This is a mystery. A lot of people expect the Rockets to run a lot of PNR with Lin, but really haven't seen much here. I like the philosophy of using the defense to start the offense, but it will have some issues against athletic teams, good offensive teams, and against a team with a great offensive player.
Some teams will force the Rockets into a half-court offense. They're going to have to deal with it at some point. How in the world would this team run-and-gun against a team like Miami or OKC? I hope they're going to work on more half-court sets by next week.
How's this team suppose to beat those teams in half court? The Rockets will have some type of half court set, but I think it is still a work in progress. The Rockets will have trouble with the contenders, but I can see an uptempo defensive team being trouble for non playoff teams.
Exactly. That is why the Rockets won't win a lot of games. But I knew this from the beginning. Doesn't phase me one bit. I am not looking for a lot of wins, just trying to see growth and development over an entire season.
They're going to have to run as much as they can. And when teams slow them down into making half court plays, they're likely going to rely on Lin to do most of the scoring in such situations. Based on what I saw last season and Hollinger's analysis, Lin's really good on the isos in the half court.
The plan to run will actually work very well if they are playing at Mile High. Nuggets have been doing that for decades with their high octane offense. Towards the end of the game, their opponents will usually gasp for thin air, while Nuggets are used to the thin air conditions. Every coach who had ever coached there used that to their advantage. I like what McHale is doing by utilizing the exuberant energy of the team, being young and physically fit. This is the team's best advantage over rest of the league. When Pistons and Bulls had Rodman, they used him to antangonize opposing players. But the bread and butter of NBA playbooks is still at half court. PnR, open 3's, painted area 2's are the most efficient shots. It's up to McHale to design playbooks that are best for this young team. I believe we will see half court set plays toward the end of training camp.
with the team currently structured, it is certain that defense won't work well and offensively, this team will have hard time. Hopefully, we could see some positive signs of development at the end of the season.
I doubt they can maintain high level of run-and-gun style for 82 games. People forget most rookies will hit the rook wall and the 2nd-year veterans will have fatigue issues after all-star break. Anyway, no team runs the whole game throughout the season. Coach sure have some alternatives in case the running stalls for one reason and another.
I bet our defense in the front court is stellar. Patterson is an excellent defender, Parsons is also one of the best defenders at his position and now you have a top 3 at his position (if not best at his position) in Omer. I can see that front court lineup shutting down any team.
i don't know about you guys but i see this team possibly landing the 6th seed. i see solid individual defense at every position except sg. and i see smart players who can play great help defense also. Lin is a very underrated defensive player. i see him as an above average defender. same goes with Parsons, Asik and maybe Pat. when i watched the scrimmages, i saw a lot of good things on the defensive side. some fans saw the offense as "raw" or "sloppy" but what i saw was tough smothering defense making it hard to score or drive. on the offense i hope they set a lot of picks and screens. the priority should be helping Lin break down the defense. once he gets in the paint all hell breaks loose. as for transition plays, i wouldn't put too much emphasis on that as pretty much every team pushes the ball when they can. it should just be natural. quite simple.. run when you have numbers or pushing it on every defensive rebound. just don't rush every possession or you'll put up low percentage shots.
Stop. 6th seed? LA Lakers OKC Clippers Denver Memphis San Antonio Phx Wolves (with Rubio) Just to name a few. Which one of these teams will we have a better record than? If you're thinking Phx and Wolves, the Suns are basically us from last year (so if you think we have improved then, whatever) and the Wolves are a much better team than their finishing record implies with Rubio. The other 6 teams, no way.
lol yeah they just "might" do the pick and roll. I don't know... it is perhaps the only play Mchale has in his play "pamphlet." Oh and perhaps Lin might be good at at after seeing him flourish under that system... still, the Rockets will likely try this option, but no promises huh.
