I think the biggest thing the finals revealed about the Rockets was that their defense, while very good, was overachieving in the regular season. The intense double and triple teaming doesn't work in the post season as well. When teams get better at distributing the ball and secondary players become more adept at their roles, those players will burn you when you leave them to double. The Rockets were killed by LA's role players because they doubled off Malone, Rush, and Fisher. Detroit dominated LA because Malone was injured, and they never left the other role players open. Let's hope that the Rockets can improve their one-on-one defense next year so they have a chance of shutting down a good team in the playoffs.
1. CD messed up not getting Larry Brown. 2. Les messed up not getting Dumars. 3. JVG messed up not getting Rasheed.
How about full-court-presses? Rockets play terribly against a FCP. But tonight, the Lakers were pressing the Pistons and the Pistons demonstrated perfectly how to beat it. -- droxford
Triplet: Do you always post in threes? 1- I prefer JVG over Larry Brown. Larry Brown would not have taken the Rockets to the championship. 2- Dumars is good at his job, but I believe there is a lot more luck involved in this job than any other position in the NBA. There are a lot of good guys out there in management, and some get luckier than others. 3- NO WAY. Rasheed is a cancer, and he didn't have anything to do with Detroit winning the championship. If the Rockets had Rasheed he would be toking with Maurice before every game. the Rockets don't need any more bad influences. Back to the original point of the thread....
you got to be kidding me. His teamates dont rave about him just for the heck about it. Rasheed is a great guy and excellent team player. He is just very emtional like SF, didnt Sf lead the league in techs this year or was up there? And saying he had nothing to do with their chamionship is just stupid. You lost all credibility with that remark.
Sheed was a choir boy in detroit. Some players just need a new enviorment to succeed. Without sheed i doubt detroit would have gotten past Indiana or maybe even New Jersey.
The single biggest different in the Finals, IMO, was the absence and injury of Karl Malone. As much as Rox fans may hate Karl, I can think of at least two of our first round games where Karl was CLEARLY the deciding factor that put us away. Absent Karl, and we would have made the series a lot tigheter than it was. Fact is, we have a glaring hole at the 4 (far more glaring than even Stevie's problems.) And Detroit has two legit 4s wrestling for rebounds in the Ben Wallace and Sheed Wallace. Our defense is fine. In fact, I'd argue that our defense is much better than Detroits for the sole reason that we have Yao plugging the middle. If anything, Detroit highlights to me the importance of getting a bigger 2 guard (i.e. over 6' 6" preferably) who can shoot the ball consistently well. I know Mobes worked his ass off this year but in the end, he's still undersized. Moreover, we have no swingman from the 3 spot whom we can rotate over like the long-armed Tayshaun Prince. Detroit beat an undermanned Lakers based on sheer athleticism on D. We don't nearly have as much athleticism as Detroit, but we do have size in the middle. Lastly, although Detroit plays man, they flash zone from time to time to help compensate for their lack of big man size. Fact is, we should have played more zone instead of man to man. Moreover, shooting 4s hurts our team b/c it pulls Cato out. w/o Cato, Yao's left to himself to rebound. It helps to have a Ben Wallace type who knows how to box out and rebounds aggressively. theSAGE
Detroit is a very good team and they proved that. That is why they DOMINATED the Lakers. That however does not say anything about the Rockets. If the Lakers had played that lethargic against Houston, Minn., or San Antonio there is no way they would have made it to the finals. That was a different team than we saw in the first 3 rounds. That said ... with the way Detroit played I think they fully deserved it and are making me eat my words about an Eastern Conference team not having a chance. Malone with no ring .... Thank you DETROIT!!
what i got from the final is: 1. OLd player may have some values. but young guy is the future of a team. so get rid of/bench these old uncles. 2.A good coach is such important for a team. Maybe Rox should run for Ph.J if he will not work for LA. 3. League is power. I guess they decide it is time for east get a title. I hate to say that but everyone know the ref whistle for piston. 4.Moral is priceless for a player. pls not sign any dirty player. even he is Malone.
What Detroit showed me? That an inside game (Ben, Prince, Sheed/ YAO) can coexist with a slasher (Billups/Francis) and a shooter (Hamilton/Mobley, JJ, Pike?) very well. That a nice blend of these 3 elements is what the Rox need JVG to work on. Efficient offense doesn't have to mean simplistic offense. Work with your strengths to minimize weaknesses. Granted, Billups went out of his mind crazy on 3s, and Steve just majorly sucked ass in that department this year. I still think this was a fluke year and Steve can hit the 3 at a 38% clip for the season. The blend of the inside/outside game with the penetration was what made the offense fun to watch (at least, more fun than advertised). That and the numerous offensive boards they got...
What I Learned from the Finals about the Rox... The Rox' evolution will be more like the LAKERS of old than Detroit. And following what worked and didn't work for the Lakers... 1. Rox desparately need a power rebounder at the 4 (Lakers lost Malone and didn't have a Grant to help them in that dept) 2. Rox need some size at the 2. (Someone's got to defend against taller guards like Kobe. Else, we need to get a swingman.) 3. Rox need to be getting 25/10 consistently out of Yao and Yao needs to be a FORCE down low. 4. Rox need to play SMARTER D with Yao as the anchor much like Laker teams of old. theSAGE
Detroit is a deceivingly loooong team. Even billups is a tall 6'3, their SG is 6'7-6'8, their SF is 6'9 with a wing span of 7'+. Ben wallace is a tall 6'9 and rasheed is a long one too. Our team can guard the interior well but the perimter is where we need work. our guards are too small to get out and really challenge shots. Hopefully we'll correct some of that this summer
After watching the Rockets for 87 games, it almost feels strange seeing a team that doesn't turn the ball over excessively with guards who make good decisions under pressure
well, i think the reason the rockets couldn't beat LA is because they couldn't hit shots. same with san antonio. sure, detroit played great d, but they also sunk shots when it mattered. seems like the only game that detroit didn't hit shots in was the only game they lost in the finals(game2).
First, Hamilton's jumpshot > Cat's jumpshot. Secondly, Francis did not only fail to drop in 3's, but his slashing "majorly sucked ass" as well. Not to mention his inconsistent jumpshot which many here want him to regain so he can be "successful" again, went from streaky as hell to non-existent. And Billups, offers D when compared to Francis, so yes it's a flawed comparison. Like someone here just pointed out, Detroit had overall great defense. Houston only had good interior defense, which majorily, the credit goes to Cato. And I just pointed out, the lack of consistent smart offense, which Detroit also possessed. Steve, Cat and Yao do not a Piston's comparison make.
The Finals demonstrated to me that... 1) A defensive oriented team needs to be in top physical condition. (Evidence VG's 610 comments about both Cat and Taylor). 2) A defensive oriented team must play efficiently on offense...no TO's and easy baskets in transition. 3) Gary Payton and Derrick Fisher are washed up. They turned Chauncey Billups (a good but not great PG) into a Finals MVP. 4) The Rockets need a long, athletic PF like Rasheed as opposed to a low block power PF like Elton Brand. IMHO, the difference between the Rockets D and the Pistons D is longer, quicker players who know their rotations better.
