Comments on: On Defense and Our Collective Identity Crisis

By: RoxBeliever

RoxBeliever — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:20:28 +0000

I think DM thinks 2 or 3 steps ahead.

While we are waiting for Yao to come back, I believe DM is also looking to get a star PF either to partner with Yao or as the main option when Yao goes to the bench. The Rox are trying to build a team that will play to win SOON, maybe within the next 2 years, which is the time I believe Yao can still be at his prime. That's why we are willing to gut the present team and amass those talents.

DM was handicapped by the huge contracts of Yao and TMac. It was only this Feb 18 that we were finally able to make big moves.

By: nelson

nelson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:27:22 +0000

You may have a point, but have you ever thought why Morey, Rosas, Hinkie, Les Alexander and the entire coaching staff are still leaning on our often-injured center. Its because nobody can do a better job at 5 position other Yao himself. The team is built around him. He is arguably best center in the league. With all scouting and analytics you can't replace Yao unless DHoward suddenly wants to be traded to Houston.

By: RoxBeliever

RoxBeliever — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:20:28 +0000

By: nelson

nelson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:27:22 +0000

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Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:56:01 +0000

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By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:38:12 +0000

Generally defenders get paid less than offensively skilled players,so I imagine there will end up being a Battier replacement,just at a much lower salary. And I tend to believe in an ideal world Morey would prefer not to trade Shane,it's just that Shane is his best trade chip left that can help bring back a highly paid player.

What really disappoints about Brooks is that he never seems to use his speed to draw charges. He should be able to beat an opposing player at least once a game to a spot and draw the charge.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:34:05 +0000

I'm more of a general NBA fan than a Rockets fan … but to answer your question, I consider both players to be good defenders.

I think both Carl Landry and Luis Scola are very good team defenders. Their pick and roll defense and general defensive rotations are both very good. They're also good in transition, at drawing charges, at closing out on shooters and solid at switching onto other players (relative to fellow PFs). In terms of man-to-man defense, they're both fairly mediocre. Vulnerable against talented post scorers with length but solid on bigs who rely on midrange jump shots and that sort of thing. Overall, I think both players make a positive contribution defensively and are therefore good defensive players.

By: hometownfanhouston

hometownfanhouston — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:49:59 +0000

Wow, I love my Rockets, I have been in mourning of losing Tracy…this still feels personal….however how can we rely and get excited about Yao coming back….when we dont know if HE IS coming back…I know hes gonna try…..but LJ tried coming back from back surgery and that didn't pan out either….I have lost faith and trust in an organization that was suppose to have class. Why are we trying to wait and build around a guy who could EASILY get injured and play 30 games next season……DIDNT WE TRY THIS ALREADY (TMAC). The defintion of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get different results….I am scared for all us Rocket fans, that we are already defeated this year….and now all our hopes rely on someone who is currently injured and WILL get injured again, but what? Rahat, do you really believe Yao is just going to come in and dominate, hes big, we will score……but for how long…..this feels like Tmac all over again…..not to mention…..all the Tmac hating faction, who say hes soft…..is Yao not the softest giant in the world…..the dude is 7 foot 6 inches and does lay ups….I love Yao, but he is not hardnose……however….the same people that love Yao, hate T-Mac…and they have produced VERY SIMILAR RESULTS!!

By: Josh

Josh — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:22:22 +0000

Do Rockets fans think Scola and Landry are good defenders? Have they been better in the past? I hadn't watched a lot of Rockets games before this year, but I've seen quite a few Rockets games this year. I've seen the Chuckwagon destroy opposing bigs in the low post, I've seen Ariza disrupt a game with his steals, I've seen Battier play good defense, and I've seen Lowry come off the bench to give the team a defensive lift (and the defense has taken a big hit in his absence). I haven't really seen anything that suggests that Scola and Landry are even average defensive players, though (although they're not clueless, so they could probably be “hidden” effectively next to Yao).

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:53:32 +0000

I think Kevin Martin will take a full year on a quality defensive minded side before he turns around his defense which I believe he is fully capable of doing. He has good quickness and length for a two guard. With more effort and focus he'll be able to become an above average defender. Never a top defender but a good one.

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:51:12 +0000

I've been disappointed in the Rockets defense this season. I expected them to be better defensively.

The Rockets still had a very strong interior defender in Chuck Hayes and two good defenders in Scola and Landry. One very good-to-excellent defender on the wing in Trevor Ariza and one exceptional defender in Shane Battier. And a very good defensive point guard in Kyle Lowry. That is a lot of talent, defensively, personnel wise.

Ranking 16th in defensive efficiency + 20th in defensive eFG% is performing well below their capabilities.

By: DowJones

DowJones — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:20:52 +0000

I must respectfully disagree with your characterization of the Roxs ever playing Nellie ball, I think the worst case of this Houston Rocket squad with a healthy Yao would be a slow-down version of the early 2000s Kings team, coincidentally also coached by Adelman.

By: Vamsi

Vamsi — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:50:57 +0000

So, you are saying Welcome to Don Nelson's Mavericks brand of basketball and it is ok.
I dont think that brand got the Mavericks far.

By: Verbs and Nouns

Verbs and Nouns — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:24:44 +0000

My worries lie in my opinion that defense is all about passion and sheer determination to not allow your man to beat you. On offense talent and skill come easy, God given even. I dont see that defensive desire coming from anyone other than Ariza or Battier, and recently Jeffries (who I think will be a valuable rotation guy next year amidst all the jokes about him). Yao's return is widely touted as something that will be 20/10/2 BPG but in all reality it may take some time for him to regain form, so when we look at other offensive rosters around the league and then glance at ours I dont see how we can accept a philosophy of outscore vs defend. Im saddened as well because H-Town was known for defense, and slowly but surely we'll just be 7-10th ranked offense while our defense takes a drastic fall and I dont feel that it adds up to winning basketball.

By: Alituro

Alituro — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:00:42 +0000

Great Read Rahat. I love defense in every sport or team I've ever played or been a fan of. As much as I hate to see my all time favorite team lose their identity, I realize the goal is to WIN regardless of any ideologies sacrificed. One important thing to note, unlike offense which is more opportunistic, coming through talent and skills, good defense is infectious. One or two good stops, and all of a sudden everybody gets involved. The stops create easy opportunities for the offense, contributing to the infectiousness on the other end. That's how leads are built and games are won. It's important as we go through this transition, for Rick to allow significant minutes in the rotation for our defensive specialists to establish the presence each game and for the new, young, defensively-challenged guys to learn it's intricacies and just how good it feels to shut someone down play after play. As I've said before, Rick doesn't have a history of playing Nelly-ball and I don't think he's going to start now. Brooks and Martin's biggest handicap defensively is they don't have the build to phsyically stop anybody, but as Hayes and Battier have shown, they need to learn effective defense within their physical limits. Just some patience and I think they'll get there.

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g2Peer - Free Software, Shareware Downloads and More — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:29:25 +0000

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