Guys, It all boils down to coaching........OR LACK OF IT. This is basketball 101. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the obvious is obvious: Whole < sum of the parts. D R
Now that's what I'm talking about... Someone finally gets it... It's not about being selfish and that Yao will take all the shots... The contrary, Yao would rather make a play and have someone else take an easier shot...That's how much of a team playa he is...
I've been saying this all season. Other things the team can't do, besides a simple cut or a simple pick and roll, include playing simple close out defense on the perimeter, managing the clock, running an effective play (or any play for that matter) out of a timeout, running a simple 3 on 2 fast break (note, they can run a 1 on 0 and even aren't bad at the 2 on 1, but a 3 on 2 fast break they can't seem to figure out?), using halftime effectively (they rarely play better in the second half then the first and are often outplayed)...the list goes on. To me, the writing is one the wall - the team lacks in so many basic fundamental areas that you have to assume that the coaching is not up to par. Rudy does many things well, unfortunately, not for a team with this composition (young, undicsciplined, immature players). Sadly, I don't see any coaching changes on the immediate horizon. Even if the Rockets jsut barely miss the playoffs, what are the chances Rudy is fired right before moving into a new arena? Would he step down?
Well, the Rox do run the play into Yao where the guard cuts past him to the hole and Yao either hands it to him as he goes by or (at least a few times) Yao delivered that cool looking no-look "from the clouds" pass on the money. Should they do this more often? Sure. But I also wish they would run more pick and rolls from the top of the key with EG. That mixes it up some and makes the offense less predictable...
This is the last thing I'd like to see. The Rockets run this play to death at the end of quarters. For some reason, at the end of teh quarter, the play is for Yao to set a quasi pick on EG's man, and EG goes to the top of the key to set an even worse quasi-pick for Francis (partly because Francis doesn't understand how he has to wait for a pick to be set and how he has to set up his man first and then really use the pick). The end result, whether we score or not, is always a crappy play. EG sets a very skinny pick. Further, he rarely rolls to the basket, opting for the pop out to the 3 point line. Personally, I think EG should shoot less overall and certainly less from the 3 point line. He is the teams worst shooter this year, no doubt.
The problem isn't running the pick and role (and admittedly EG sets up a weak pick), but its the frustrating tendency to leaving EG at the line waiting for the pass back ; instead, I wish the Rox would run that play with EG going to the basket. I see your point about "end of quarters" though... a better play is to drop the ball into Yao, have a guard break, then let yao decide to pass to the guard, skip pass across to the perimeter, or take the shot himself (and possibly the foul). Seems to already work...
I disagree. As a team, the Rockets run horrible pick and rolls. The guards ALWAYS misuse the pick, allowing way too much room for the defender to go over the top if they choose to, or to maintain his balance and regain defensive position on the other side. To compund problems, the guard rarely hits the player rolling to the basket. Watch the Jazz run a pick and roll. Watch the Mavs run one. You will see a big difference. Another thing to notice is the difference between how the team ran the double high pick set in the beginning of the year and how they run it now. Beginning of the year, Steve was actually using ap ick on way or the other. Now, he kind of just ignores the pick. I don't necessarily think having the ball in one of your amazingly athletic guards hands at the end of the quarter is a bad idea. But why use EG as the pick man. Yao sets a solid pick and rolls strong to the basket every time.
Do you know what I really want to see? What I really want to see is screen for the cutter. Time: 4th quarter, 20 second to the end of the game, down by two points. Yao at the right side with his back to the basket, Posey on the right side out on 3 point line, Steve on top also on the three point line, Taylor out on the left side, and the ball is in Posey’s hand. Posey feed the ball inside the Yao and cut hard to the basket. He is not open and Yao didn’t get the ball to Posey. The defender took a sigh of relief and getting ready for Yao’s 1-on-1 play. But what they don’t know is what happen on the other side of the court. The real dagger. At the same time as all the commotion is going on at the right side of the court, Taylor, at the other side of the court goes to the top of the circle and drawing his defender with him. At that point, his defender ran into Steve. Decision time for defender’s point guard, shall I stay with Steve, the primary scoring option, or Taylor? Better stick with Steve. Taylor cut hard to the basket with a defender trailing. Got the pass from Yao in mid-stride. Go up strong and is pushed from behind. A slam dunk, AND-1. Hit the free throw. Game over!
Tie fighter that is exactly what I am talking about. Or have the cutter go through and set a pick on the backside...why is there only one option. Oh, I know, because Rudy has not given the team additional choices. Motion offense my A$$. DD
The Jazz, Kings, Nets, Pacers, and Mavs they are celebral teams who play a deceptive game. These teams constantly run multi plays simultaneously, one with a player who has the ball and the others mainly away from the ball. The plays are recycled until some one has the best position to score. These teams know how to maximize their players strengths and shroud their weaknesses. The Rockets seem to do the opposite. J.O'neal, C.Web and K.Malone, these guys are strong and have low post game but you don't see any one of them play exclusively down low. Their teams utilize their other skills to further confuse and damage the opponents. Oh well, let's hope the video editors have been analyzing the actual Rockets videos, not the ones with big booties and buns. Let's hope to see the Rockets "motion offense" that Rudy talked about soon.
Totally agreed with you on that. We suk as far as utilizing the PnR,. Unfortunately thats the bread and butter in basketball, especially in using a big man. We just need to keep on using it in our games, otherwise it will never improve.
A better version. Time: 4th quarter, 20 second to the end of the game, down by two points. Yao at the right side with his back to the basket, Posey on the right side out on 3 point line, Steve on top also on the three point line, Taylor out on the left side, and the ball is in Posey’s hand. A post on cc.net screamed, “let Steve take the last shot, the defense can’t hang with Steve all game long.” Another post countered, “Let Yao back his man down, he is being on fire the last 10 minutes” Posey feed the ball inside the Yao and cut hard to the basket. He is not open and Yao didn’t get the ball to Posey. The defender took a sigh of relief and is getting ready for Yao’s 1-on-1 play. Yao start to try to fake his man. He is deliberate and yet pointless. A chatter on cc.net, “Yao, be decision, stop massing around.” At the same time as all the commotion is going on at the right side of the court, Taylor, at the other side of the court goes to the top of the circle and drawing his defender with him. At that point, his defender ran into Steve. Decision time for defender’s point guard, shall I stay with Steve, the primary scoring option, or Taylor? Better stick with Steve. Taylor cut hard to the basket with a defender trailing. Got the pass from Yao in mid-stride. Go up strong and is pushed from behind. A slam dunk, AND-1. Hit the free throw. Game over! Afterward on cc.net forum, a new hero had arrived. A pro-Steve poster’s post says, “I just don’t know exactly what Yao is doing out there? All those pointless motion. Man, he is so damn slow. If it is not for Taylor, we would have lost the game”. A pro-Yao poster countered,”Did Steve just disappeared? What the heck is he doing out there? If it is not for Taylor’s fearless hardwork, we would have lost for sure.” At the same time, in a hot tub in their hotel room, Steve and Yao were bathing to nurse all the bruises Yao got from all the elbows and the bruises Steve got when he set the hard pick. Yao smile, “You know it is a hard one, I almost give the rock to Posey. He had beat his man. It is not until the last second I saw my defender shifted to cut off Posey. Man, that was a close one.” Steve nodded, “ It was pretty close on my part too. I just couldn’t tell what my defender was going to do. I was almost ready to cut instead of Maurice. It is not until the last second when I saw my defender hesitated did I decided not to cut. Man, that was a close one.” And the day goes on……
Dakota:- I have been wondering about the same things for some time now! My conclusion is that the players are playing iso ball and are not making any effort to help out, therefore there is a void of team basketball. Till we get this into our teams mind set, it indicates we still have a long way to go!
An Interesting Thread! No poster bashing! No apologists! Yes, this is good. A measured, thoughtful, reflective discussion of basketball. The Rockets "motion" offence is as rare as a tamale in Toronto. When the ball moves (this is called "passing") the defense has to reset. When players move (this is called "movement") the defense has to reset. This is all good. The current Rockets rarely do either. I don't understand. This is as fundamental as lacing your tennies. We are talking about a multi-million dollar NBA franchise here. Big Big Business. Go figure. But as the defenders say, "give them time," "they will mature," "they need a few years of playing together," "be patient," ad nauseum. I know of JV teams that has figured this one out since late November.
for the record, Rudy T has never called this "Motion Offense." He, in fact, has said, "I take that word seriously. We want to run more of a 5-man game. And we won't totally get rid of ISO." OK, so who can tell us the difference. Why would Rudy say there is a difference between Motion and a 5-man game? And don't give an unconstructive remark like, "Rudy doesn't even know the difference." Can someone describe to us the difference between Dallas and the Kings? There is a difference at a fundamental level. Also, someone want to explain why low post entries to stud PFs/Cs with cutters staying put until the defense moves is a very common play in the 4th quarter of playoff games?
HP I hear you. Rudy does not like to call it a "Motion Offense". For some reason he HATES or dislikes that phrase. Rudy is a great "Xs & Os" guy - he prefers to let his players play with minute guidance and structure (he has even alluded to this many times). This like we have all said will work with veterans but I am not sure about young players like those we now have. Our offense right now devoid of proper grease in order for the parts and joints to work smoothly. A major part of it is sacrifice, trust and understanding from the players. Another part is coach in regards to definition of roles and duties.
I thought he respected it to the point that he doesn't like people to misquote him claiming he has a Motion Offense.
I'm not the best X and O's guy since I nevered played organized ball at a higher level but I can tell what see on the court. The Kings offense is the traditional motion offense that Bobby Knight and their current assistant coach preaches which is based on motion and not dribbling. If you don't have a shot within 3 dribbles get rid of the ball or sit on the bench. It forces everyone to keep moving without the ball to get open shots. Dallas's offense is totally different. It is based on Nash's uncanny ability to dribble to were ever he wants. I've seen Nash dribble longer than Moochie sometimes, but Nash keeps on moving all the time. In other words he does not dribble in place like Moochie does. Also, the other players are moving around and setting screens for each other to get each other open. I think what we are trying to run is more like Dallas's offense except the only problem is Francis doesn't know how to keep dribble and moving. He commits too quickly. He picks up his dribble and takes his two big steps and he has a choice of either shooting or passing it. He has no other choice. He makes his decision on where to pass to when he is in the air. Contrast that with Stockton, Nash and Kidd. They dribble and penetrate and they don't leave the ground unless they know they are going to shoot. Otherwise they keep on dribbling or pass to the open man. What makes Nash so deadly is that he can make shots flat footed on the run so no one knows what he is going to do.
HP, I take the bait and try to be that Rudy's fish A disclaimer first. In my understanding of the NBA basketball, "Motion Offense", "5-man game" and "ISO" are not mutually exclusive. ISO is a fundamental aspect of the game. Motion Offense is a 5-man game in extreme. I guess Rudy's 5-man game is a game plan/scheme with 5 players involved. A "Motion Offense", in a pure sense, not only requires 5-player involvement, but also indiscriminates the ball handlers. A 5-man offense still have priorities in terms of sets, initiations, options and positions. In yesterday's game against NY, the Q1 can be said as a decent execution of a 5-man offense, but nowhere ressembled a motion offense. IMHO, the Dallas offense keys on the big three players, with Dirk as the first among equal. The Kings offense keys on the ball, with both ball and players built into motion indiscriminately. 4th quater of playoff games is when the real basketball plays out. The teams and players are allowed to play their game squarely until fouls are either too obvious or a little flagrant. In that intense and violent environment, passing becomes more difficult and motion becomes less free. When a stud posts up down low, it is in his advantage that there is not much motion around isolation point. Otherwise, the low post player may end up in a strong trap.
