Will the Finals effect Rockets # 1 pick?

Nice thought.

It's apparent now that Shaq is not unstoppable, a solid team can beat the Lakers. I don't think dominance at any one position determines championship teams, the best team always wins.

 

Is Yao going to be as good, or better, than Vlade?

Vlade is doing a pretty good job against Shaq, not stopping him but keeping him away from the paint and in foul trouble.

How much more dominant would the Kings be with a young Sabonis, instead of the wily old chain smoking whiney flopping Vlade?

I can't stand the Cali teams but I love watching the Kings play. Now if only they can get more than one of them to play D at a time, they could be unstoppable.

 

You can't compare Ming and Vlade, Vlade's job on Shaq comes from experience and a good basketball IQ, flops and all. Ming would be very fortunate to become the type of player Vlade is.

 

If your focus is on Shaq then you've missed the point.

Kings, Nets, Celtics and Lakers (and just about every other playoff team except the Mavs) all have a low post presence. It could come from a PF. That's what the Rocks are missing. Well, that and some team D.

 

I don't think that it is wise to draft players according to who the current champion is, and how you match up against that particular team. I think that the Rockets have to draft the player that offers them the most improvement, and fits into the big picture. A great center is going to help you win against every single team in the NBA, not just the Lakers. Also, Vlade is an excellent center. He may not be in the top 5 at his position (although that is arguable), but he is definetly a good player. The Bulls won 6 championships without a center that was half as good as Vlade. Does that mean that we shouldn't draft Yao?

 

Looking at the final 4 of the NBA and the thing that amazes me is how well these teams pass the ball. Now I for one hate the Lakers but their team work is exceptional. Yeah, sometimes Kobe takes it in by himself but everyone is involved in the offense regardless who has the ball.

Much more enjoyable to watch than the crap 1-1 isolation offense that the Rockets run where one guy has the ball and the other 4 are just standing around.

I wonder how Rudy will incorporate Ming into the offense? Well, the first thing he needs to do is to convince Cat not to shoot 25 times per game. I hope Ming doesn't stand at the 3 point line and jack up 3's all day. This worries me because Rudy is not exactly the best X and O's coach in the league.

By the way, is it just me or does Mike Bibby look like Mini-me from the Second Austin Powers movie?

 

ESPN Page 2 has a comparison chart up every day. One day they had "Dr.Evil" and Henry Bibby, then a week later they had "Mini-me" and Mike Bibby.

They have Bat Boy from the tabloids and Mike Bibby today. I've never watched an Austin Powers movie, but those pics look dead on.

 

Hell yeah! I love watching good passing teams. Kings and Mavs come to mind immediately.

Rudy needs to get himself some coaches who can do the "X's and O's" if he can't. Maybe Rudy is so far removed from the college game that he doesn't remember motion O's, give and go's, pick and rolls, etc. But how does that explain the lack of D?

If Rudy can't teach IT, then he has to get some players who already have IT (D & passing proclivities).

 

The Celtics run the same offense that the Rockets do, just worse. I'm not sure if that says more about the Rockets offense, or the Eastern Conference.

The Spurs run the same dump-it-in offense the Rockets ran with Dream.

For a guy with a poor grasp of Xs and Os, he's being imitated an awful lot.

 

The Lakers play the same dump it in offense also, and they got the same guy(Horry) dumping it in.

 

.....except for the triangle offense

 

During the championship years, it seems like the Rockets played dump-it-in offence for the first 3 quarters. If the game was winable in the 4th quarter, the offence was keyed by their tighten down the screws defence that triggered fast breaks or at least 4 on 3 offencive sets. Those 10 to 12 point 4th quarters they allowed were fun!

My question is "Who taught that defence & is he still here?" That person should reappear!! Ming & Griffin should be able to give the Rockets the shot blocking & rebounding for that defence. That frees up Steve & Cat to break for the basket instead of leading the team in rebounds

 

MONON "who taught that defence and is he still here"


I made a thread yesterday that the Rockets should try and bring The Dream back to coach the big men, Hakeem was the Defesive heart and soul of those Champion teams.

Lets let the Dream help us again, Revival of the Heart of a Champion!!!!!!!!

That Which Was Shall Be Again!!

 

Dream was the heart, soal & eraser of those teams. But who taught the 1's, 2's & 3's to play close & if they can't stop their man, to stear him into Hakeem. That's the one I'm looking for. Lord knows he will have his work cut out for him now!!

By the way Sofine, I agree that Dream would make a difference coaching here. If only someone could convince him that his playing days are over.

 

Thats true, but the differnce is they have 1 guy that is top 10 in the league and te other that is probably top 15 or 20 maybe. On top of that , they were 5th in opp fg%, 1st in steals, and 6 orso in points. Thats what makes them superior to us. Its not really the offense its the defense that no matter what offense a team plays, they should always be able to play d.

 

Who ever wins the championship will have done it playing as a TEAM! The Rockets need to bring in players that are going to be able to play as a team (UNSELFISH PLAYERS).

Or maybe the Rockets should use the #1 pick to draft a good coach!

 

I think that person -- or at least the person who convinced the championship Rockets that they should try -- was Rudy Tomjanovich. He was working with vets then and doesn't have that luxury now. He may yet be able to do the same with this team.