<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">DALLAS - Of all the personnel decisions that make the preseason almost worth playing, Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy has settled on one, assuming Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady had nailed down places in the starting lineup. "I think (Shane) Battier is going to start," Van Gundy said Tuesday. "I don't think it ? he will start." That's where it gets interesting ? as the Rockets preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday demonstrated. Battier will start, but Van Gundy has not decided where. And once he decides where, he does not know who will start with him. In the Rockets' 72-69 victory over the Mavs on Tuesday, Yao's first game of the preseason, Battier started at small forward, with McGrady sliding to the backcourt. That made Chuck Hayes the starting power forward in a decided departure from Van Gundy's oft-stated desire to get range shooting in between McGrady and Yao. But when Van Gundy returned McGrady and Yao to the game, and through much of the second half, he had Battier at power forward with McGrady back at his usual small forward spot and Kirk Snyder or Luther Head at shooting guard. All the experimenting ? including more zone defense in one night than perhaps in all of last season ? offered little definitive. Yao did say his left big toe felt fine and he was confident his game would recuperate.</div> Source Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when JVG would consider playing zone defense.
Zone could really help this team because Zone requires that all 5 players be good at defense. Yao Battier Alston and tmac are exceptionally good on defense.
<div class="quote_poster">TmacGarnett Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Zone could really help this team because Zone requires that all 5 players be good at defense. Yao Battier Alston and tmac are exceptionally good on defense.</div> Do you think it could really work against better/quicker players? The rockets seemed a little slow on transition. Josh Howard had a lot of open looks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Do you think it could really work against better/quicker players? The rockets seemed a little slow on transition. Josh Howard had a lot of open looks.</div> Well, this offseason we've gotten considerably younger and more athletic. For an example, last year we had Wesley, Bowen, and Howard. This year, the Rockets have added Snyder, Wells, Battier, Spanoulis, and Lucas III (minutes are a question though). Obviously, the team has upgraded to a younger and faster version, but we'll see in the season how much better we'll be defensively. EDIT- If you were referring to the preseason, note, that it is what it is- just preseason. The players are only starting to mesh and learn the system, so its going to get better as the season goes on.
I overslept and misssed the game V-Span is looking better. 8 assists! 4 turnovers,but 2 steals to help make up for them. Novak shot lights out. 17/5 not bad. Yao needs to get back to NBA shape. Imagine how good he would have been if he didn't get injured last season. JVG didn't have to play Yao as much and could of gave Hayes more minutes. It seems like JVG made the whole team shoot FTs for hours. They went fron 52% to 82% in one game! EDIT: Yes, thanks blueracer
<div class="quote_poster">igotask8board Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> It seems like JVG made the whole team shoot FTs for hours. They went fron 52% to 52% in one game!</div> Did you mean 52% to 82%?
I dont like that Zone, if the opposition is good at passing, like Dallas was... and they can hit 3's .. its game over.
Well, most teams in the league can't shoot like Dallas from the perimeter. The benefit of zone is to disrupt the oppositions offense. Basketball is a game of rhythm, so it's important to give them different looks so they don't break your defense down and pick it apart. Being able to throw an effective zone at a team when you need a defensive stop down the stretch is a huge advantage.
