yeah. teammates definitely have to move off the ball. it doesn't only happen on post ups. happens with harden too. why arent players moving?
I notice that...all the players go to the opposite side of the court and D12 has no one to pass it to.
Yes, more passing out of the post and swinging the ball, as well as reposts. Even simple reposts would help Howard get better, deeper position to score, and make everything more efficient.
I recall on one possession, Trey Daniels finally got the chance to do the post entry pass to DH. As soon as Dwight received the ball, he waved TD to clear out of that side of the court. I was like . Then I realized that DH had no intention to passing back out of the post on that play. DH needs to recognize his personal. On that play, he should have been looking for the double team to set Trey D. up for the shot. Also in OT, I don't understand why Dwight and Harden do not run the pick and roll (starting at about 15 to 18ft from the basket) that was so successful in Game 3. Unfortunately, PnR's seems to be the best way to keep Harden engaged in late game situations. Why wait till desperation time to run a play for Trey D.? It's such a simple game when they focus on what has and hasn't worked over a 7 game span (including regular season) against Portland. For example, TT defense(fixed after G2) and inside the 3pt line PnR's with H^2 worked against Portland--so why not have a steady diet of PnR's? You don’t need Pop to figure out some of these basics wining strategies.
i think they should do a mock post up attempt with howard well out of position in the first 12 seconds in the shot clock. just setting up another guard. possibly for a shot, PnR, Drive and Kick, if that play doesn't work, howard could then reposition deeper in the paint while the first play is playing out.
He is a decent passer if the double comes immediately, but the book on DH is to come with help late which the Blazers do I'd say about a third of the time depending on how hot he is. At that point he's already started dribbling in a sea and has to gather and make a snap decision. He could be better at it, but I think the Blazers have been doing a pretty good job at defending him in the post. Our shooters could definitely get more creative, setting screens and cutting. Would love a back pick off the weakside to spring TD at the top of the key. Btw, there was a play I think early in Game 4 where he tried to pass it out of the double-team to the weakside corner, and Batum snared it with his lanky arms. I don't have a video of it though
The whole postup vs pnr has been an issue all season. Houston is an efficient pnr team and a lousy post up team. But they don't run enough pnr and waste a ton of possessions on Dwight Howard isolations where he can't convert or gets stripped or bricks free throws. Far as everyone wondering why perimeter players are clearing the strong side, that's how you run your token deep post isolation and give your big room to operate. Problem is Dwight isn't Jefferson or Gasol. His post-up game sucks because his fundamentals are poor. But he doesn't know that and thinks he can dominate every time so he calls for the iso.
That's because those double and triple teams you're referring to aren't really happening. Teams (especially an analytical one like Portland) aren't dumb anymore. They know that while Dwight can score in the post, his efficiency is so bad and more importantly takes the Rockets out of their high tempo free-flowing style that leads to so many threes and fast break points.
Because he has no lanes to pass the ball. No one is moving when Dwight is posting up or when James is in isolation. Everyone is just standing around and waiting. This is a big problem. Movement, creates confusion for defenders and when defenders are confused they make mistakes. Look at the Spurs' offense and compare their offense to ours. We run very similar sets, but they just execute and play their gameplay 1000% better than us. Portland, who is already a poor defensive team and prone to many mistakes, basically get a free pass on defense when either Howard is posting up or Harden is in isolation because they know none of the other Rockets are moving from their spot unless they have the ball. Our offense is supposed to be moving parts. People are supposed to be cutting to the basket, moving to open spots on the court, and setting down screens for shooter constantly. When that doesn't happen, we have one player dribbling the ball 25 feet from the basket going isolation until the last 5 seconds to which he jacks up a horrible shot. Great offense that is. What a joke. It's amazing we won 54 games with our chronic lapses in horrible offensive sets and poor perimeter defense. If we could just add some movement and more effort on defense, we have more than enough talent to really be something special but as long as we do what we have been doing lately in the playoffs, we are doomed for a 1st round exit.
We all agree that the iso post up is by design. We are just saying it's a stupid design. A guy like dwight who is only going to attempt a shot 5ft and is best served by having a release valve on his side of the court to pass to if he gets trapped. Trying make a pass to the weak side through all of the help d converging on the land is damn near impossible.
so i tallied the number of Dwight post ups and cutters during last night's game. Post ups - 11 Cutters - 1 (and that was Chandler Parsons on the very first post up of the game. and he only seemed to slash to the basket because of the shot clock) there were a couple of times someone came to double howard. still, the rocket whose defender left him sat on the three point line. there seems to be an invisible barrier that prevents them from moving once Howard touches the ball.
In a nutshell: Howard shooting 55% Harden shooting 35% Parsons and Lin shooting 44% Beverley shooting 39%
i was losing my mind thinking i was the only one noticing this. I just can't get on board with putting all of our shooters on the same side of the court. there's not enough spacing and 3 active defenders can actually do a decent job of clogging the passing lanes to 4 shooters in the situation. as was pointed out, the cutter rarely receives the ball. but the cutter's man quite often jumps over to double Dwight while the cutter himself is lackadaisically jogging to the other side of the court not even looking for the ball. drop the iso play and just do an old fashioned post up with shooters spaced evenly along the 3 point line. this isn't brain surgery - every offense Howard has ever been successful in gave him his touches this way. This isn't a mental problem or a lack of passing skill. it's just a really ****ty play.
Beverley has been bricking wide open corner threes. He needs to get it together, or coach needs to put Daniels in to give more space to Harden/Parsons. Did anyone notice last night, that Portland was not leaving Daniels whatsoever. Play the kid with Dwight and Harden.
1. No movement, poor shooting. Not giving us many options. 2. Double, if it comes, is not really coming off of whoever passed into the post. Portland has been timing it to come late, and usually from the other side. 3. One on One Dwight is very successful against Lopez. So if the double isn't coming or coming late he is going to commit to his move. Likely this is what they are being told to do. 4. Really, all the Rockets seem to have a problem with passing back out. Even on offensive boards either Asik or Dwight get the ball and are surrounded and still try to force the ball up through the defense or one of our guards get the board and try to do the same thing when surrounded by bigs. Lopez, Aldridge, etc. are right there to block or alter the shot.
