Agree. We don't have energy on defense, we are not contesting jumpers, teams are getting good looks. And Battier's had his problems. Right now he can't even guard Kevin Martin 1on1.
DaDakota, Per the chat, Here is where Murphy probably got his information regarding Battier's strained hamstring. Look under the "Rockets update" Section.
We're such a good rebounding team because we take clog and take away the paint. Our interior defense is good especially with Mutombo as the anchor. The downside is we leave the perimeter open. We got away with it during the streak because teams were missing open shots, but whenever we play a team who hits their shots we aren't going to win, ex. Suns, Spurs and tonight Kings.
Bingo! They pack the paint now just as they did under VG. Everyone wants to look at defensive FG% as the indicator of how good they are defensively. Few have noticed they are in the lower third of the league in 3pt defensive FG%. It's a lack of overall team speed and height which gives you an Achilles Heel in weakside rotations and the ability to close out on the perimeter. It hurts your transition game as well.
our big guys were not involved in the game. Rockets are two-man bricking team: Rafer and TMAC. their defense is Rockets defense, which sucks.
its a combination of things. We've played some teams who can really score and our guys are packing it in too much. I think Adleman shortening his rotation has hurt the defensive intensity because i'm seeing guys look tired more than ever. There was a time when i thought our guys never got tired on D.
they're resting their defensive intensity right now... they'll turn it on again once the playoffs start
Aside from the Lakers game, I really don't like the shielding of the eyes Battier does. You are supposed to jump as high as you can and actually try to block the shot. He did have 4 blocks last night, but you get the point!
McBaby defense is sucking when playing with the first team. He doesn't or is slow to rotate leaving teams wide open. The penetration by his man exposes Scola and Mutumbo to fouls. Let's not forget Luther's horrible D, that's what keeps him on the bench. Mike Harris anyone, anyone....
The team as a whole is just playing an entire level or two below the type of defense they played during the streak. I really believe its just a little funk we are going through and will be solved in time for the playoffs, but i hope it doesn't cost us HC advantage... We need to pick it up on all sides of the ball IMO. Mehdi
Told you the other day,the bench must be used. Same as the Kings and Blazers when they were good , member those game 7s .They were a better shooting team though, so I guess they had a reason to be tired.Playing the youngsters on the bench can't be no worse than what we are seeing now.The Rockets don't look just a little tired , they look really tired
Which is why I don't understand Novak not getting any minutes. Some people say that he doesn't play good enough defense, but you know what, neither does Luther. What he lacks in defense, he more than makes up in FG% Novak is a better shot and has the ability to spread the floor. Coach isn't utilizing his bench like he was during the streak. AB, Novak, Harris... they all need to get some minutes.
I don't agree with Head's defense. He occassionally gambles on defense, but I think he's a fairly decent defender. Teams like to post him up and people use that to say that he is exposed, but I've noticed them missing alot of those shots, barr Kobe. He's stronger than we give him credit for. Novak on the otherhand, can't play a lick of defense. When he gaurds the three, he gets blown by. When he is gaurding the 4, they post him up, not to mention Luther is a better rebounder than Novak. I love his stroke, but I don't think he should play more than 3 minutes/game.
I don't know if our defense has lagged over all, but it sure seemed like San Antonio and Sacramento were making a lot of very contested shots from distance. San Antonio, in particular, didn't seem like they could miss.
