Jump to content


Toggle shoutbox Shoutbox Open the Shoutbox in a popup

@  thejohnnygold : (02 June 2018 - 03:58 PM) Got you all set up, Rick. Fire away on Ariza!
@  rocketrick : (01 June 2018 - 01:49 PM) I have some comments and ideas about Rahat's article on Trevor Ariza but unfortunately that is no longer possible directly on this site...Rahat's article on "The Challenges in Playing Trevor Ariza"
@  DenverRocket : (29 May 2018 - 04:26 PM) So disappointed, but I agree, great effort. To even be that close despite losing CP3, experiencing such a massive statistical outlier from 3 and some very questionable officiating calls, is just crazy. I feel bad, my youngest was heartbroken going to bed. I told him we'll be back next year :-)
@  rocketrick : (29 May 2018 - 11:30 AM) IMO, the Rockets are clearly on the right track. Like D'Antoni stated in his presser after Game 7, make a few tweeks and let's go again
@  rocketrick : (29 May 2018 - 11:27 AM) Just guessing, so 80% of the time the home team wins Game 7 in the NBA and 99.99% of the time NBA teams don't go 0/27 on 3 pointers. So combine those odds along with the fact CP3 is injured.........
@  rocketrick : (29 May 2018 - 11:25 AM) Looking forward to seeing Nate Silver's statistical breakdown of the Rockets tragic 3 point shooting on his 538 site later today or tomorrow
@  redfaithful : (29 May 2018 - 07:10 AM) Indeed great season, too bad it ended due to injury. First time in very long time that someone made the Warriors look vulnarable
@  Mario Peña : (29 May 2018 - 04:09 AM) What a season. It’s been so much fun to be a fan this year and I’m already hyped for the next season. I’m proud of this team and liked the fight they showed tonight. I think James made a noticeable jump as a superstar in postseason play compared to past elimination games.
@  DenverRocket : (29 May 2018 - 12:46 AM) Don't think I've felt this nervous about a sporting event for a long time!
@  Mario Peña : (27 May 2018 - 02:25 PM) For me the defensive breakdowns and turnovers were the most glaring problems. In the second half the Warriors got the looks from three they didn’t get in the first half. The Rockets have to let them drive and be physical but limit the looks from behind the arc in game 7.
@  08huangj : (27 May 2018 - 03:44 AM) Refs played a part but wasn't fundamentally the problem.
@  08huangj : (27 May 2018 - 03:43 AM) The two straight wide open 3s missed by Tucker and Ariza (when we were up 4)plus the 3 straight free throws missed by Gordon in the 3rd lost us the game.
@  Mario Peña : (27 May 2018 - 02:28 AM) 24 minutes to go!
@  thejohnnygold : (26 May 2018 - 03:47 PM) ...better make it 60...just to be sure.
@  Cooper : (25 May 2018 - 11:25 PM) Yeah maintain the defense, then take like 50 3s and hope to hit 20+
@  thejohnnygold : (25 May 2018 - 09:33 PM) I would like to think that Saturday they play as hard as they've played all year. To be this close and do anything less would be disappointing. I also think there is a chance we dust off Ryan Anderson for 15 minutes or so and hope he's hitting from deep.
@  Mario Peña : (25 May 2018 - 02:02 PM) Looks like championship defense but I guess we’ll see how gritty they can get Saturday.
@  redfaithful : (23 May 2018 - 08:37 AM) Wow. Defense.
@  Mario Peña : (21 May 2018 - 02:29 AM) Reggie and Chris are so annoying as color/analysis commentators.
@  Mario Peña : (16 May 2018 - 06:27 PM) Well there’s this “LeBron wants to play off the ball” rumor making the rounds. https://www.google.c...-in-future/amp/

Photo

The Merits of Isoball


  • Please log in to reply
No replies to this topic

#1 thejohnnygold

thejohnnygold

    Veteran

  • Moderators
  • 5,032 posts
  • LocationAustin, TX

Posted 02 June 2018 - 04:06 PM

The merits of isoball
by RAHAT HUQ | JUNE 1, 2018 at 05:30 AM

With the referendum surrounding the Rockets’ style of play in the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about the merits of the arguments. Houston’s efficiency in isolation doesn’t serve as sufficiently compelling to its detractors; it seems the aesthetics of the stagnation are most folks’ primary gripe. Basketball is a beautiful flowing game with beautiful flowing motions which the Golden State Warriors have made us all see. The Houston Rockets are dragging us back to the dark days of the 90’s. Or so its being said.

I’ve wondered myself though, for many years actually, why teams, even those who institute motion in their regular gameplans, almost invariably resort to isolation in the closing minutes of games. Is there some sort of human element at play? The Rockets of course go iso at the end of games, to no surprise because they iso the entire game. And I think this past series proved why that’s the right call.

The Warriors employ the greatest collection of talent in NBA history, but we saw them tighten up and commit errors repeatedly in this series, particularly during the three Houston wins. I submit that were it not for Chris Paul’s injury, isoball would have won out not only on the scoreboard, but ideologically as well. It wasn’t some failure in the Rockets’ strategy which led to the loss. It was the fact that James Harden, gassed from carrying the offense by himself, had nothing left in the fourth. This would not have been the case were it not for the improbable injury to Paul. Houston’s system mitigates risk by reducing the overall number of passes and keeping the ball in the hands of its best players for a maximum amount of time. Golden State plays in the opposite manner. While we’ve seen over the past few years that such high variability is what fuels the Warriors’ potency, we saw last week, (shockingly at least to me), it can also make them vulnerable against a worthy opponent. Even the best players in the world get nerves in winning time.

It’s a shame Paul went down, not just for the on-court happenings but also for the philosophical debate.

 


  • 0




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users