Once, in a time that seems much longer ago than it actually is, the Houston Rockets could not pass the ball to Yao Ming when the defense wanted to deny this option; because of this stratagem, the offense tended to flail and invariably collapse into an array of contested jumpers and misguided drives that ended in turnovers. Anyone who would watch these exercises in ineptitude learned exactly how wince-worthy an offense based on one talent denied can look. Whether the opposing pivot fronted Yao or simply drew a semi-double-team, the Rockets would revert to Plan B: outright failure, hoping for transition opportunities created by a superior defense. It is now 2010, and the Rockets defense of yore seems to, at best, be in the middle of a rehabilitation process; that offense, therefore, either needs a dominant Yao (and men who can get him the ball, for Chrissakes) or an improved Plan B. Be thankful then for just that contingency plan: Rick Adelman, Brad Miller and the sincere implementation of the Princeton offense, every good Rockets fan’s new best friends.
Saturday morning’s last Chinese exhibition game once again paired the Rockets with a Nets team hopelessly seeking an identity, instead finding a defense fighting just as strongly to regain past glory. Houston’s defensive strength no longer can be attributed to any one or two brilliant defenders keeping up an expired Jeff-Van-Gundy-based ideology; instead, mediocre defenders like Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin have become a part of a resilient, steady defense, shading towards help and talking to each other, that simplest of defensive efforts that often separates talented teams from winning ones. While forcing players like Terence Williams into bad shots may not prove too difficult (he shot 7 for 18 Saturday; overall, he produced 36 points on 48 shots in China, numbers that have to stun anyone who didn’t watch. For those of us who did, “that sounds about right” seems to be the more common reaction), the Rockets recognized holes in the defense early as well, seeing Brook Lopez head-fake and move his feet into several easy points as Yao Ming literally stood watching. Later in the game, Lopez found himself trapped between a brilliantly timed, roaming Shane Battier and the biggest man in the NBA; needless to say, these possessions generally turned out badly for New Jersey. Where the Rockets adjusted, the Nets settled and allowed the Rockets’ offense to slowly and definitively pick apart a Nets’ D that cannot completely replace competence with heart.
Houston dined on a steady diet of free throws (Chuck Hayes, that bastion of free throw precision, was fouled four times in the first six minutes of the game, one of the strangest stretches of Rockets offense I’ve ever been blessed to watch) and open three-pointers to take this one. While some of the better looks, as always, can be accredited to Yao Ming’s mammoth presence inside, the Rockets’ attack found its way through high-post passing, allowing Yao, Hayes and Miller to use their lack of speed and soft hands as weapons instead of hinderances. Cutters found the ball where they wanted it, leading to enough back-breaking backdoor plays as to effectively snuff out any Nets resurgence by the third quarter. This is where the Rockets scintillate and can breed fear into opposing defense’s hearts; where the Rockets once panicked and made poor decisions when not allowed its first option, it now comfortably settles a strong passer and shooter into the top of the paint and allows him to go to work, giving the Rockets the kind of stability any good offense needs.
At once, too little and too much will be taken from these games played a world away from Houston. As the Nets were missing starting power forward Troy Murphy (good for a solid, if silly-looking, double-double without fail) and may not be too much better with them, Rockets fans must temper the excitement brewed out of these quasi-home games for which Houston had obviously geared itself up. There will be greater attacks, more fearsome opponents and far tougher crowds come November. The rest of league, though, should be aware of the impact of these games, where the Rockets’ greatest weapon, its aplomb, was only brandished.
Houston Rockets 95, New Jersey Nets 85
On to the links…
- Often, players over the height of 6’7″ have the title of “clutch” stripped from them unless most of their shots come from beyond 16 feet. Why? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty sure a contested jumper simply looks harder than any other shot (that would be because it is and, therefore, stands as probably one of the worst shots to attempt in “clutch” moments). Well, Hakeem Olajuwon could hardly be described any other way, and FreeDarko charter member Brown Recluse, Esq. touches on the idea of the championship Rockets’ poise at the end of games for the continued, two-week-long “Dream Week”. Also from the series is Jack Hamilton’s strange, Solomon-Burke-dedicated explanation for why the very thought of O.J. Simpson brings Olajuwon to mind.
- Rick Adelman may not have liked his preseason schedule, but driving around China in a bus for hours at a time tends to brew the kind of chemistry that can rarely be attained for a team rife with newcomers and jaded veteran talent. The Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen explains why Shane Battier, along with the rest of the fellows on the bus, loves his team (though he would like to see his family a little more): “The Rockets also spoke of the benefits of spending so much time together. As much as the idea of bonding in the preseason can be an NBA cliché, in China there were no former teammates to visit, no friends to see. The Rockets had been on the road or traveling in 18 of 23 preseason days, including the 19-hour journeys to and from China. In China, the Rockets were together for events and shopping expeditions, sightseeing and bus rides, and charter flights. ’We have each other,’ Shane Battier said. ‘That’s the good part of the preseason schedule. We’ve been away from our families. I’ve seen Chuck Hayes more than I’ve seen my wife and my kid the last two weeks. I love Chuck, but not that much.’”
- If you like basketball and use the Interwebs, chances are you’ve been to basketball-reference.com. That fantastic receptacle of basketball nonsense’s blog just posted a preview for a certain Houston-basked basketball team, featuring projected stats and a write-up from The Dream Shake‘s Tom Martin. Check out the voter reaction’s to the Rockets-based poll questions, where you can find out that basketball-reference.com readers think Houston will win 45-49 games, get eliminated in the first round and be led by our floor general and obvious captain (though not of the “actual” variety), Luis Scola.
- So, unconvinced Rockets fan, you want a big, juicy midseason trade? The Point Forward‘s Zach Lowe delineates just how ripe the market might be this upcoming season. Boris Diaw, come on down!
- Rob Mahoney’s (well, basketball’s) positional revolution may have found its match in the endlessly versatile, unfairly gifted Kevin Durant, who played all five positions for the Thunder in an exhibition against the South Beach Big Three (who, by the way, might be rocking some insanely fly sneakers at the beginning of this year). Too bad Mahoney thinks Scotty Brooks’ move to play Durant in every position is more of a whimsical preseason experiment than a logical progression of utilizing Durant’s talents to their maximum potential, the entire point of the revolution.
- All of the people who know the most about the Orlando Magic (most of the Magic’s primary beat writers) talk about them in this fantastic roundtable discussion from Magic Basketball, where, among other things, Dwight’s tutelage under Hakeem Olajuwon and his later evisceration of Yao in the first preseason game are discussed.
- Red94 will be going through some new, user-friendly revamps this upcoming season. Discussion threads will be open for readers to be able to discuss their thoughts as games are played, as Rahat alluded to Saturday. Also, the site is still looking for a talented new stat geek. Thanks for all of your submissions already, and be sure to send one in if you’re interested and haven’t already done so.
- Sam Cassell and John Wall look like they will have a lot of fun in Wizards practice this year. How do I know? This fantastically soundtracked video told me so.
- Um, Kevin Martin defaulted on his house in Sacramento. Joke one: I can only hope his jumper isn’t as broke as he is! Hey O! Joke two: His real estate agency didn’t like the way the CBA talks were going, so it’s going to make sure it gets paid before Martin stops getting paid. Now, you at home can vote for which joke I should carry the most shame.
