Van Gundy's rotation I'm not in panic mode, but I really hope coach gets his rotation right. I think that's the main reason we're struggling a little. First off, STOP RUNNING WESLEY AT THE POINT. That's part of the reason we're moving in slow motion, because the slowest guy on the team is handling the damn ball. Second, PLAY LUTHER HEAD MORE. The guy needs to be running the back up point. I think it's important to bring in Stro and Head first, and at the same time. Instead of Mutumbo. That way we're coming in with fresh legs, and we can run a little more. I think Jeff needs to tightnen up the rotation too. To his credit, Wesley has played hard. I would much rather see him back at SG, as opposed to him bringing the ball up the court. Third, spread out Yao's touches more. It seems like Yao gets a whole bunch of touches in the first 8 or 9 minutes, then he doesn't see the ball the rest of the game. I would like the see Anderson, Alston, and Howard set the tone first. If the Rockets follow this, we'll be back on track.
We all know that it's rox strategy, and it's exactly what jvg is hoping to train this team into for past season: to pass the ball in the low post to Yao, 1-on-1, or if two or more defensers bear down on him, pass the ball out to the player that left open for a jumper attempt, OR, Yao erects a high screen for Tmac and pick and roll. That's K.I.S.S. enough and we've been practising this for a long time ironically still can't get it thoroughly. Actually it's not the problem of the strategy, it's the lack of the execution ability this team constantly shows. I'm really sick of talking about how the game should be played anymore. I just wait here for the Rox bringing an itty-bitty consolation to this die hard fan before the memory of the last time it cheered me up got scrubbed away from my damned head
i don't realy mind when mutombo comes in... its just the rotation of the guards.. if u start rafer and anderson.... u replace rafer with luther then u replace anderson with wesley and i don't think luther and wesley goes well with each other... i rather have luther and anderson or luther and barry... if we want to be fast and energetic i would put rafer and luther... thats my opinion... wesley seems to be taking advantage of ppl not guarding him by going to the basket... if wesley can be who he was last year and everyone learns the system of jvf.. we won't have to worry about not going to playoffs
What's your problem with Wesley? Wesley plays the best out of any Rockets player against the Pistons and you still can find gripes on him? He was present on every column of the stat sheet and his "slow" ass was good enough to hold Chauncey Billups to 13 points on 4-10 shooting. If the Rockets were to run and gun, wouldn't that tire Yao out? If Yao gets tired, wouldn't he have gotten about 12 turnovers in that game alone? The Rockets starting frontcourt isn't built for the running game. You get on Phoenix for having an uptempo offense leading to a bad defense, then say the Rockets need to push it? Admit it, the only reason you're saying this is just to take another undeserving knock at Wesley.
I'd like to see Luther Head starting as shooting guard. He may not be trusted to run the team at the point for long stretches, but he can definitely shoot the ball. I think quickness, energy, and shooting is more a priority from our guards right now then size/strength. Maybe Head can be a Cuttino Mobley type of player for us.
I kinda agree that we need to look to run more....I'm not saying we should mainly be a running team, but we should look to do it more.....I still don't understand why Head isn't playing more minutes (he's been our best shooter and he has a lot of confidence)......I would also like to see Swift be the starting 4, I mean JVG wants to bring him off the bench for energy, but I say why not start the game with some energy and then bring Howard off the bench for some offense.....at the end of the year I'd like our rotation to look somewhat like this Starters: PG - Alston SG - Anderson SF - Tmac PF - Swift C - Yao Bench: PG: Head SG: Barry/Wesley (depending on who we're playing and what we need) SF: Anderson/Bowen PF: Howard C: Deke
I think Rafer Alston needs to come off the bench and just punish the other teams second unit. His best season was with the Miami Heat when he came off the bench and became the primary intiator on offense. Having him on the floor with someone like Barry would give the Rockets an offensive spark off the bench. <u>Starters</u> PG - Wesley SG - Head SF - T-Mac PF - Swift C - Yao <u>Speed Unit</u> PG - Alston SG - Barry/Anderson SF - T-Mac PF - Bowen C - Swift
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Alston off the bench doesn't sound too bad, but Head and Wesley is too small of a backcourt imo.</div> Yeah but we play a zone defense so I really don't think each of them giving up a couple inches would be too big of a deal. There's almost always another defender lurking to help out so defensively, I don't think Head and Wesley would be too much of a liability. Plus, both of these guys are good defenders, probably better than what we would have with Alston and Anderson so I think the combination would a worth a shot. Offensively, Head is lighting quick and seems to be the only one that can actually make a shot on this team consistently, so why not let him start and play more? Just doesn't make sense to me. Meanwhile, Wesley seems to be progressing every game as time goes on and I think he's showed his worth against Detroit. He knows which shots to take and which shots he shouldn't take as well as making nice decisions. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">First off, STOP RUNNING WESLEY AT THE POINT. That's part of the reason we're moving in slow motion, because the slowest guy on the team is handling the damn ball.</div> With McGrady being around 60% effective offensively, this team isn't built for running and quick uptempo game. For crying out loud, we have one of the slowest guys in the league with Yao so I don't understand why everyone wants to copy off Phoenix as push the ball. Houston is a completely different team. Wesley handled the ball adequately against Detroit. Besides, its not like we need a pure point guard for this team. The point guard's main job is to just dribble it up the court, then swing it around to arc until somehow it lands into Yao's hands. Not a hard task.
Wesley got off to a slow start, but lately he's been playing better than DA and Swift, so I don't know why you're hating on him so much. I agree with Shape, if the Rockets want to run, they have to do it while Yao is on the bench and Swift is on. Wesley should start at pg, and Alston should come off the bench to bring a tempo change.
i don't hate anymore... infact i hate anderson i wonder if charlie is going to coach the shooting guards cause he did an excellent job on alston/head... (i'm not sure if he did help them ut if he is he is doing a damn good job to head ) i think he should start helping shooting guards like anderson right NOW
The main problem right now is the strategy overall is to work the ball into Yao, if he gets doubled kick it out for an open shot... that works fine in theory but the rockets guards can't shoot worth %^&* so teams are collapsing on Yao without worrying about the shots from the perimeter. Combine that with their inability to grab any offensive boards and you have a big problem. I mean, if the Rockets could have averaged like 85-90 points in the last few games they would have won.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">What's your problem with Wesley? Wesley plays the best out of any Rockets player against the Pistons and you still can find gripes on him? He was present on every column of the stat sheet and his "slow" ass was good enough to hold Chauncey Billups to 13 points on 4-10 shooting. If the Rockets were to run and gun, wouldn't that tire Yao out? If Yao gets tired, wouldn't he have gotten about 12 turnovers in that game alone? The Rockets starting frontcourt isn't built for the running game. You get on Phoenix for having an uptempo offense leading to a bad defense, then say the Rockets need to push it?</div> You didn't even bother to read what I wrote. First off, I gave Wesley credit for playin hard. Second, I suggested that he go back to SG instead of run the point. That's seems fair to me, but for some reason you got all defensive. Relax dude! I never said anything about becoming a running team, where did you get that from? What I said was that when our bench comes in, we should be able to run a little. What's wrong with that? Seems like simple basketball to me. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Locke:</div><div class="quote_post">Admit it, the only reason you're saying this is just to take another undeserving knock at Wesley.</div> The whole team isn't playin very well. You can't just isolate Wesley. My main problem is how Van Gundy uses Wesley sometimes. I would much rather see Head running the point, with Wesley comin off picks. You took what I said out of context.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Rock4life:</div><div class="quote_post">First off, STOP RUNNING WESLEY AT THE POINT. That's part of the reason we're moving in slow motion, because the slowest guy on the team is handling the damn ball.</div>Not once did the word bench get mentioned. You're blaming Wesley for running the team in a slow motion. In other words, you want a fast style. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The whole team isn't playin very well. You can't just isolate Wesley. My main problem is how Van Gundy uses Wesley sometimes. I would much rather see Head running the point, with Wesley comin off picks. You took what I said out of context.</div>Why should Wesley stop what he's doing right now when he's shot over 50% in our last two games? If he's so slow, why should be come off picks? He'd be better not moving at all, right? Wesley has led the team in assists both times running the point, and has done a great job defensively on the other teams' PGs. Why move him to SG when you've been knocking on him for his lack of size every day? Wouldn't having him at SG make other teams exploit him even more?
Wesley has done an admirable job running the point, and right now, that seems to be where he is most effective...I think Shape's idea of having Alston come off the bench is a good one...A starting lineup of Yao/Howard/Bowen/McGrady/Wesley would be an effective one, although I do think Van Gundy should look at starting Stro...Our starting lineup needs a desperate insertion of energy and athleticism, and a three man group of Mutombo/Howard/Anderson/Alston off the bench would be a solid combo of defense and offense...
basically he is a second-class coach in this league. he is too static and not flexible enough. the final in 1999 i can only say it was his luck instead of ablility. look at Yao, each night he has to keep running in and out of the paint, just to pick and roll for other team mates. This wasted lots of his energy and lead to his turn overs and decreasing fgp. anybody can do pick and roll, no need for a big guy to do that. my conclusion: as long as JVG remains, the rocket will never get the championship.
this is frustrating...i hope the rockets gell by mid-decemeber ... i really think they have so much potential ..but that can only take you so far...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hibulls:</div><div class="quote_post">basically he is a second-class coach in this league. he is too static and not flexible enough. the final in 1999 i can only say it was his luck instead of ablility. look at Yao, each night he has to keep running in and out of the paint, just to pick and roll for other team mates. This wasted lots of his energy and lead to his turn overs and decreasing fgp. anybody can do pick and roll, no need for a big guy to do that. my conclusion: as long as JVG remains, the rocket will never get the championship.</div> Threads merged, read the stickied announcement in this forum. Basically, what you said was an opinion, and it could have been made in this thread.
You've got to be freakin kidding me. Everytime the Rockets are struggling, someone decides to make a thread about Van Gundy. The reason why we're 3-8 right now is because of our guards and injuries, simply said. McGrady, Alston, and Sura are all gone because of their injuries. Anderson has been seriously underachieving and hurting the team due to his bad shot selection, while only recently did Wesley starting playing like he did last year. Not to mention our other free agent, Stromile Swift has been inefficient on the boards which led to Van Gundy benching him instead of starting him. The only brightspot seems to be Head who has played surprisingly well for a rookie and has shown he can shoot. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> look at Yao, each night he has to keep running in and out of the paint, just to pick and roll for other team mates. This wasted lots of his energy and lead to his turn overs and decreasing fgp. anybody can do pick and roll, no need for a big guy to do that.</div> Ever watch the Dallas series in the playoffs? Yao continually set picks for McGrady which often led to easy buckets for the Rockets. The guard can easily spot Yao at 7-6 which translates to him cutting to the bucket for dunks. The problem with his turnovers is that he's just not protecting the ball down low enough, its always been a problem.
I agree, the Rox need Yao running pick-and-rolls. It was unstoppable against Dallas. And Hibulls, not anyone can run a pick-and-roll effectively. Yao is 7'6and that should translate to easier passes and buckets as compared to two 6'5 guys running it. JVG is a top-notch coach, the Rox just need time to gel. TMac and Yao work well on the pick-and-roll, so when he gets back it will be better.