What will be the Rockets' Troubles in the playoffs this year?

every team has weaknesses. we know what our weaknesses are without yao--consistent low post offense and a dependable ft shooter.

i think we will compensate for the low post offense with more scola posting up as we wind down the season (i think adelman realizes this), but scola is also prone to turnover as his ballhandling seems very suspect to me. furthermore, tmac is operating more in the low post and he's very capable of scoring down there. it's not a coincidence that we score 45% of our points IN THE PAINT. so we're not over-relying on the jumpers like most people think.

tmac has improved his ft shooting dramatically the past few weeks (i assume he'll get there 7-9 times in the playoffs as he has always). the only one i'm worried about is scola. his fts look horrible to me. it's like he's not confident in them. hopefully that will change.

but we have our strengths as well
1) the best defense (with a truly intimidating presence in deke)
2) one of the best rebounding teams
3) we don't turn the ball over
4) we execute well offensively now that we RARELY go through long droughts
5) we are confident and that's the main key.

again, we will be in EVERY playoff game we'll play. it doesn't matter if we play anybody. our defense is that good to keep us in every game. it all comes down to execution down the stretch. it also comes down to tracy mcgrady. hopefully with more help, he'll have more energy down the stretch to penetrate and score.

no team is perfect, which includes us. in the playoffs, team will exploit our weaknesses for sure. but i believe in adelman. he'll find other team's weaknesses and exploit theirs. plus, we have tracy mcgrady. if he plays like he can be (and like he has), he's a top 3 player. only kobe bryant is more feared than tracy right now in the western conference.

so just watch the games, believe, and hope for the best. the team already has made me proud anyways. the development of landry has given me high hopes for the team for the next decade (he has all-star written all over him).

 

2 words: Yao Ming.

We have no post presence or we don't have one that matters greatly. Scola won't be able to do his thing against big athletic guys like Duncan, Gasol etc

 

If Scola and Landry can avoid the "rookie wall," No. 2 and No. 3 shouldn't be a huge concern (certainly not enough to be a deciding factor).

I think outside shooting will be extremely important, particularly form Alston, Battier and Head. Those three shot poorly against Utah last season and it single-handedly cost us the series. Not having Yao's inside scoring will be tough too, so that just puts more pressure on the guards to hit shots and create.

 

let's be real, gasol's defense is as soft as swiss cheese. trust me, scola can score on him.

the only great low post scorer out there is duncan and hopefully we won't face him.

as for boozer, hayes will SHUT HIM DOWN.

 

True, true. But I can't imagine those guys (Duncan, Gasol, etc.) not being continuously hampered by our 3 studded PFs and Deke.

Our defence will save us in most cases, but I feel our BENCH is going to make us or break us.

 

Not to knock on JVG, but I love how Adelman is finding ways to play everybody on the roster to give them confidence in games. To the point that I'm confident with having the likes of Novak on the court with the game on the line (then again, who wouldn't be after that Kings game ). If the same thing happened last year, I'd be cursing loudly at the TV screen till my voice gave out Giving PT to the role players now will definitely benefit the team down the stretch.

The only 2 concerns I have are:

-Lack of size. Duncan, Shaq, Gasol, Bynum... all matchup problems for our team come playoff time. With Yao available, we can single cover most of the big men AND get them into foul trouble on the offensive end (Ex. Duncan). I'm banking on our top-tier team defense, but I really can't say with any degree of certainty how we'll fare against dominant C/PF.

-Cold shooting. Currently, we're more of a jump shooting team (ala Chicago Bulls, but way better). Sometimes, shots just don't fall for you, especially if the other team also clamps down defensively (Spurs). We have penetrators in Tmac and Rafer/BJax to an extent, but others are quite limited in creating shots for themselves.

Side note: our role players are stepping up clearly because Tmac is finding ways to get himself doubled. If the opposite team can somewhat guard Tmac 1 on 1 effectively, we lose quite a bit of our scoring punch. This is the same scenario for Kobe's Lakers come Sunday. If Battier can check Kobe without too much help, it will easily take away easy dunks by Gasol and wide open 3's by Fisher/Radmonavic/Vujuvic. It's my personal preference to have Kobe scoring 40 then to hand out 10 assists.

/end rambling. Must leave work to get home for tipoff

 

The low post defense of Scola and Landry will be the biggest concern. Both may take quick fouls and be inefficient. If so, it will also influence their offense game.

 

I am only worried about injuries. If we say healthy, we'll have a good chance to contend. As for mismatch or match up problems, I am confident Adelman will take care of it.

 

say = stay