teamny1 wrote:Because of Mutumbo, or did you forget that he is probably one of the best defensive players of all time? Just because he is great, doesn't mean that Yao is poor.
Mutombo was not one of the best defensive players of all time when he was with Houston.
You know that as well as I do. He was still solid, however, he never played more than a handful of minutes, so that still doesn't account for the defensive not dropping off. And more to the point, Mutombo at that stage of his career was definately not better than Hayes, which makes this point even more dubious.
teamny1 wrote:Did you bother to understand that the Rockets were better on defense with Deke, but much worse on offensive that ultimately having Yao in there was better?
Did you bother to read any of the opening posts in this thread? You just made my point for me, thanks. Go back and read, people are claiming teams are attacking the paint more because the Rockets lack Yao and shot blocking, that the team can't rebound because they're missing Yao, that the Rockets are playing terrible defense(the Brad Miller example makes me laugh the most, as if Yao was going to step out and challenge Brad Miller, give me a break), blah, blah, blah. Well, that isn't the problem, as I have said many times. The only point that had any merit imo in the initial post was the basic 'David Andersen sucks' one. It's true, he is the weak link.
teamny1 wrote:The reason why the offense is different is because Yao is not there, correct?
Or T-Mac of a couple of years ago. Or another good, efficient offensive player. Point is, Houston lacks offensive scorers. But stylistically, yes, Yao is most the half-court oriented therefore the most different to the current Houston style.
teamny1 wrote:Meaning the offense has to be run faster since you can't pound it in like previous years. Meaning if Yao was there, the defense would be better just based simply on the fact there would be less possessions for the other team, meaning even when he isn't playing defense he is helping the defense by allowing them to play at a more comfortable pace.
Well, we can't say for sure, it may possibly even out, but finally someone here is partially grasping the point. All this stuff about how the Rockets need to go out and get some shot blocker blah, blah, blah, not the issue. But it's not neccessarily about pace as much as it is about the team having to take less risks to generate offense. Running the break after defensive stops is fine. What isn't ok is running the break, missing the shot and still trying to go after the offensive boards. Or running the break just to take quick transitions 3s which miss overwhelmingly and often result in long rebounds for the other team. Or trying the force the transition game and forcing plays that are often turnovers. This is the point. The offense is much more high risk, and it's making the defense look worse than it actually is. That's why the half-court defense is better, but the transition D is worse.
teamny1 wrote:You like to say the Rockets have to gang rebound this year, therefore less people are getting back on defense. That's b/c we don't have Yao. With Yao, this team is a GREAT rebounding team, without him this year, we are terrible. We give up countless offensive rebounds, which leads to easy putbacks. Our ENTIRE system changed because Yao is out, and as a result we are worse defensively, and yet there are brainless people like you saying Yao is not a reason for this decrease. It's unbelievable how dense a person can be.
Ughhh. Less people are getting back on defense because the team is going after offensive rebounds more. This has very little to do with Yao. Yao is an inferior offensive rebounder to Landry and Hayes. He's always been less productive than them on a per minute basis. That has nothing to do with it. You're backwards here. They're not getting back on defense enough because they are missing a lot of shots on offense and going after offensive boards so much. As for giving up offensive rebounds, you're also wrong there. Go and look up the stats, this year's Rockets are actually giving up slightly less offensive rebounds per game than last year's team(about 10.5 compared to 10.6), and that's despite playing at a faster pace. Again, you want to call me dense, but you haven't a clue of what you're talking about. Giving up offensive rebounds is not the Rockets problem.
Also, not that I expect you to get this but the stylistic change isn't just about Yao you know. They have been progressively adding more athletes to the team over time, especially post-JVG. It started when Houston got Landry and Hayes and started to use them together as the backup frontcourt. Then they trade away Alston and start Brooks, with Lowry and Wafer(this year Budinger) as the backup backcourt. Then, they swap Artest for Ariza, another fastbreak oriented player. Yao was only a part of the changes, though a big part. I feel like I'm stating the obvious here. In any case, that's what teams do. They adjust their styles to suit their best, highest paid players, and then adjust around their next best players when they lose the previous best players. That's basketball.
teamny1 wrote:Artest is not that great defensively, anyone who is a real fan can see that.
A terrible statement not worth even debating.
teamny1 wrote:Lowry is a better defensive point guard than Alston.
Yeah right. Lowry is much too foul prone, and over-aggressive.
teamny1 wrote:It is so sad you're making up blatant lies in order to further your agenda. Ever wonder why Battier looks worse on defense, or why the entire team looks worse? Maybe because there's no 7'6 giant behind them. Hmmm.
Or maybe it's because of all of the reasons I suggested and supported with actual evidence. It's ironic that you would call me a liar when I am the only person who has bothered to offer any credible evidence for my claims.
teamny1 wrote:He's a detriment,
That's your opinion. I disagree. Not to sound like some advanced stat guy, because I'm not, but just because it's fun to rub it in your face, Chuck Hayes has had the highest adjusted +/- all season long for the Rockets, so this claim is, again, questionable. But whatever.
teamny1 wrote:and his defensive ability doesn't make up for it like some other defensive players do, such as Battier, Ben Wallace before, Bowen, etc etc.
Now you're just grasping at straws. Ok, tell me this, how often did Battier, Wallace, and Bowen have backups behind them as capable as Lowry to take minutes away? I hear crickets.
