khandor’s sports blog

Rubio’s fourth quarter poise gets noticed

On the merits of the T-Wolves’ increased use of the Pick-and-Roll:

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After Monday’s morning shootaround Popovich talked at some length about his impressions of Rubio and the retooled Wolves lineup.

“There are a lot of changes, not just Ricky Rubio,” Popovich said. “But you can see a lot of good.”

Especially when it comes to the relatively pared-down Wolves offense late in games.

“It’s basketball,” he said. “We all run the pick-and-roll. John [Stockton] and Karl [Malone] ran the pick-and-roll [in Utah] for a gazillion years. It was pretty simple, but it depends on who’s doing it. And [Rubio] is very good at it. No reason to make something complicated if someone is great at doing something simple.”

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On the improvement of Kevin Love:

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“He’s more confident than ever. In the past he wondered, ‘Should I shoot this shot or not?’ Now he knows. He knows he’s a stud. He’s out there to win and to kick … ”

Well, you can finish the rest.

“He’s a complete pro at this point who knows he’s one of the best players in the league,” Popovich said.

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On the coaching ability of Rick Adelman:

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“Rick has, in many ways, been under the radar for a long time,” Popovich said. “He’s always one of the first people owners want to hire, but he always manages to stay in the background, because he’s that kind of guy. But he probably did a better job than anybody in the league for two, three, four years in Houston with all the injuries they had. I’m not sure anybody figured that out.”

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On the recent direction of so-called ‘American culture’:

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“These guys, they travel around the world,” Popovich said of international players such as Rubio and Ginobili. “They’re more cultured than we are. Everyone acts like Americans are the ones … we have sort of an arrogance about us. Like we’re the cultured ones? Are you serious?

”Have you watched TV lately? Have you seen what Americans do? How many languages do you speak? And you wonder how they’re going to adjust to our culture? I hope they avoid it and keep their own!“

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Classic stuff, on several fronts, from one of the very best coaches in the history of the NBA.

… Rick Adelman, if the following report is accurate:

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Wolves will interview Don Nelson Sunday

Don Nelson has been in town all week prepping for his interview with the Wolves on Sunday.

OK, so maybe he arrived here from Hawaii early this week to spend some time with his daughter, a schoolteacher, and his grandkids in Minnetonka.

Point is, he’s here in town and next on a list that started with Terry Porter on Monday, Mike Woodson on Tuesday and continues with Bernie Bickerstaff today and Rick Adelman on Saturday.

There might be one or two others after that.

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and:

1. David Kahn actually knows what he’s doing, as the GM for Minnesota;

and,

2. The REAL goal for this franchise is to make gradual and consistent progress building towards an upper echelon team in the Western Conference over an extended period of years.

If Rick Adelman has legitimate interest in the T-wolves job, then, he is by far the best fit for this team, since their present roster is chalk full of talented young players in need of constructive direction by a highly successful, veteran, head coach with a track record of being able to communicate effectively with them.

If you happen to be a die-hard fan of the LA Lakers, and would like to see the team return to the NBA Finals, asap, then, the latest news from Hollywood, re: the search for a new head coach, is the worst possible:

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Sources: Brown, Lakers in serious talks

The Lakers are focused on talks with Brown, who was fired in 2010 after five seasons in Cleveland, where he went 272-138.

Los Angeles had considered longtime assistant Brian Shaw, but the focus is now on Brown, who is currently an NBA analyst for ESPN. There could be an agreement in place within the next 24-48 hours, sources say, but nothing has been finalized. Brown expects to reach a resolution one way or another with Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The two sides are working out issues that could be dealbreakers and cause the Lakers to go to another candidate, sources said, but there’s clearly momentum toward Brown becoming the next head coach.

The Lakers and Brown’s representation were discussing salary and length of contract on Tuesday, with the Lakers trying to hold the line on terms, sources said. Those talks will continue Wednesday, with the Lakers playing hard ball.

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Mike Brown?

Really?

This must be a joke, right?

Unless, of course, Dr. Jerry Buss has completely lost his mind?

Mike Brown has already demonstrated that he is nothing like his one-time mentor, Gregg Popovich … or, Doc Rivers … or, Rick Adelman … or, Rick Carlisle … or, the as yet, untested Brian Shaw.

Mike Brown is most definitely nothing like the ZenMaster, Phil Jackson. 

Mike Brown is someone who has been incapable of exercising the required “level of control” over a superstar player – like LeBron James [in Cleveland] or Kobe Bryant [in LA] – and lacks the type of “wholly integrated system of play” which is necessary to achieve major success in the NBA.

Mike Brown is a good defensive coach. Period.

Mike Brown is not someone who will improve the Lakers’ chances of the winning the NBA title next season, or anytime soon.  

The Lakers’ major problems this year had nothing to do with their defensive systems of play … and everything to do with:

i. Their overall lack of talent, in comparison with previous editions of their team;

ii. The poor play of Derek Fisher and Steve Blake;

iii. Their lack of Team Cohesion;

and,

iv. Their overall lack of offensive discipline.

Mike Brown is not the right man to effectively address the Lakers’ specific needs.

If the Lakers do eventually go in this direction, and hire Mike Brown, what it will mean is that something FUNDAMENTAL has now changed with the day-to-day operation of this team, and that Dr. Jerry Buss [owner] and Mitch Kupchak [GM] are no longer in control of this franchise.

If you look at the straight-forward results for last night’s game between the Rockets and the Warriors:

Houston Rockets 121
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 112
Complete Game Info

what you might notice right away is that:

1. Monta Ellis scored 44 points to keep Golden State within striking distance of Houston for the majority of the game;

2. Kevin Martin led the Rockets in scoring with 30 points;

and,

3. Luis Scola had a terrific all-around game for Houston, scoring 20 points and collecting 9 rebounds with 6 assists.

However …

What you might NOT notice right away … unless, of course, if you actually take the time to watch the game AND then:

i. Break it down, possession by possession, with the benefit of:

PART I – The Play-By-Play;

and,

PART II - A “Possession Outcome Chart” for last night’s game …

… are the outstanding contributions of, both, Courtney Lee [OG-SF] and Rick Adelman [Head Coach] in getting the W for Houston.

According to the Box Score data, Courtney Lee finished with a Plus/Minus total of +3 … which was only good enough to rank 6th for the Rockets. 

However …

What a more thorough review of the actual “data” reveals is that:

- Houston took control of this game for the final time at the 6:16 mark of the 4th quarter when Rick Adelman went with a five-man unit that included the following players:

Aaron Brooks, PG
Courtney Lee, OG
Kevin Martin, SF
Shane Battier, PF
Luis Scola, C  

- Courtney Lee only played 23:46 in this game

- 23 of the 44 points which Monta Ellis scored were when Rick Adelman made the mistake of NOT having Courtney Lee on the floor

- Only 14 of the 21 points which Monta Ellis scored when Courtney Lee was on the floor were scored when Lee was being used at the OG position    

- 7 of the 44 points which Monta Ellis scored were when Rick Adelman made the mistake of using a five-man unit that included the following players:

Brooks, PG
Lowry, OG
Lee/C, SF
Hill, PF
Miller, C

during the first 3:41 of the 4th quarter

- Once the Rockets shifted to a five-man unit that included the following players:

Lowry, PG [best defender]
Lee/C, OG [best defender]
Martin, SF
Battier, PF [best defender]
Scola, C [best defender]

which occurred at the 6:01 mark of the 4th quarter; then, Houston was able to open up a 9-point advantage - with 4 of their 5 best defensive players on the court – while holding Monta Ellis firmly in check the rest of the way [i.e. 4 points scored; 1 FGA; 2 FTM, in the last 30 secs, once the game had already been decided]

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Kudos to Coach Adelman! 

Last night’s game between the Houston Rockets and the Toronto Raptors served as an interesting benchmark for the on-going development of these two teams.

Toronto Raptors 92
HOUSTON ROCKETS 116

Complete Game Summary 

At the moment:

Toronto is 31-28/.525, 2nd in the Atlantic Division, and 5th in the Eastern Conference; while, Houston is 30-29/.508, 3rd in the Southwest Division, and 9th in the Western Conference.

Both teams played last night’s game without several key players in their respective line-ups, due to a variety of physical ailments/injuries:

Toronto
1. Chris Bosh/PF-C, leg injury [day-to-day] 
2. Jose Calderon/PG, arm injury [day-to-day]
3. Hedo Turkoglu/SF, leg injury [incurred last night]

Houston
1. Yao Ming/C, foot injury [expected to return next season]
2. Kyle Lowry/PG, leg injury [day-to-day]
3. Trevor Ariza/SF, hip injury [day-to-day]

Examining the complete rosters for each team:

is an interesting exercise when considering:

i. Chris Bosh/PF-C becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer;

ii. Chris Bosh is originally from Dallas, Texas;

iii. The relative “NBA talent” base on these two rosters;

iv. The “playoff prospects” for these two teams:

A. This season, and
B. Beyond the current season. 

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… Corey Brewer was able to receive a relatively unfettered inbounds, take 2 dribbles, and then make a running half-court 3PT-shot to send last night’s Rockets/T-wolves game into its first overtime. 

Despite the Rocket’s diminuitive Point Guard dropping a career high 43 points, in this 3OT affair …

Minnesota Timberwolves 114
HOUSTON ROCKETS 120

What this corner would really like to know are the specific answers to the following two questions:

Q1. What were Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza thinking, when they chose not to hard-deny an easy inbounds pass to Corey Brewer?

Q2. What was Rick Adelman [i.e. Houston's future Hall Of Fame head coach] thinking, when he chose to sit Luis Scola [6-9] down on the bench and, instead, have Chuck Hayes [6-6] defend Kevin Love [6-9], as the inbounds passer from the T-wolves baseline, after a made free throw?

Thankfully for the Rockets they were able to persevere and, at least, on this occasion, pull-out a hard-fought victory over an increasingly stubborn band of Minnesotans.

On the whole, however, it’s still-sometimes-questionable decision-making like this – from the Rockets’ PG, OG and head coach – which will almost inevitably end-up costing Houston the 8th and final playoff position in the Western Conference this season with the Thunder, Jazz, Hornets and Grizzlies breathing hard down their collective neck.

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PS. In this specific end-of-game scenario there is no acceptable excuse possible for the Rockets not to have had their tallest available player defend against Kevin Love and not have their 2 guards [i.e. Aaron Brooks and Trevor Ariza] hard deny any inbounds pass to a player in the T-wolves’ back-court. 

When you follow a distinctive career path that looks like this one:

Jason Williams: “I love to pass. Dwight Howard loves to score.”
“I don’t really pay attention to what you guys write in the papers, what people really think. You guys are going to write what you want and people are going to say what they want. I just want to go out and have fun and if throwing behind the back passes is what it takes to win that’s what I’m going to do it takes a regular bounce pass that’s what I’ll do too. I’m all about winning, now.”

Williams was asked if he’s matured.

“I wouldn’t say matured because I’m still a kid at heart,” Williams said. “I still do stupid things sometimes. When I’m out on the court I’m not worried about what people are thinking about my maturity  level. I just want to win And as long as my teammates and coach knows that that’s all that matters.”

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98-99 Rick Adelman, Geoff Petrie
99-00 Rick Adelman, Geoff Petrie
00-01 Rick Adelman, Geof Petrie
01-02 Sidney Lowe, Billy Knight
02-03 Sidney Lowe/Hubie Brown, Jerry West
03-04 Hubie Brown, Jerry West
04-05 Hubie Brown/Lionel Hollins/Mike Fratello, Jerry West
05-06 Stan Van Gundy/Pat Riley
06-07 Pat Riley
07-08 Pat Riley
08-09 Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
09-10 Stan Van Gundy, Otis Smith/Dave Twardzik

… eventually it just might truly become, “About getting the W.”

FINAL SCORE: ROCKETS 95, Lakers 80
Complete Game Info

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From The Lakers Perspective

1. Phil Jackson, with 9 NBA Championships to his credit already, is a terrific head coach … but he was out-coached last night by Rick Adelman.

2. Anytime Andrew Bynum was not on the floor, the Lakers’ interior defense [read as Pau Gasol] could not cope with Luis Scola, or Aaron Brooks, or Carl Landry.

3. There was no legitimate reason for Andrew Bynum [-1] to have only played 19:03 last night when Pau Gasol [-15/43:03] was repeatedly being abused by the Rockets on the defensive end of the floor. 

4. Given how the Rockets have used Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry at the C and PF positions, since the injury to Yao Ming, it is simply criminal that Josh Powell [DNP-Coaches Decision] has been chained to the Lakers’ bench … considering that he is the single best match-up on the Lakers’ team vs an under-sized post player.

5. Derek Fisher is a physically sturdy PG … who is simply not quick enough to cope with a player like Aaron Brooks and does not possess the type of low-post game it takes to punish the Rockets’ diminuitive PG at the offensive end of the floor.

6. Given how well Jordan Farmar [21:00] and Shannon Brown [09:12] have played in this series Derek Fisher [1-7, FGM-FGA] should not be getting 21:24 of floor time.

7. Sasha Vujacic [06:34] and Luke Walton [15:50] are two highly serviceable players who were not used effectively last night vs the Rockets’ [i] small back-court combo of Brooks & Lowry and their [ii] physical forward combo of Artest & Battier, respectively.

If the Lakers are going to advance to the Western Conference Finals and then have success against the Denver Nuggets … and eventually the Celtics, Magic or Cavaliers … Phil Jackson will need to re-think how he is using his player personnel. If he fails to do this … and, instead, stubbornly sticks with the same old same old … the Lakers will not win this year’s NBA Championship.

From The Rockets Perspective

1. At this point, Houston is playing with house money.

2. Basketball is fundamentally a game of quickness, relative to the oppenent, at the position played, and as long as the Rockets can accentuate their advantage in this aspect of the game there is every reason to believe that this team can succeed, if they make their fair share of open and contested shots.

3. Going at the Lakers last night with an interior attack focused on the Scola vs Gasol match-up was a stroke of genius by Rick Adelman. See the seminal article by Malcolm Gladwell on the way in which David must attack Goliath if he hopes to succeed, i.e. through the use of unconventional/unexpected strategies & tactics.

4. Winning Game 7, on the road, will still be a mighty chore.

5. It’s a treat to watch this collection of NBA players & coaches give their all in the face of such adversity.

6. The NBA game is based upon individual and team match-ups … and, the outcome of Game 7 in this series will depend on the answers to these two straight-forward questions:

I. Can Rick Adelman continue to out-fox the ZenMaster?

II. Which team is going to make more shots than the other?

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Far too frequently too many so-called “NBA experts/observers” try to make the game much more complicated than it actually is. 

First things first.

Do yourself a favour and click this link. 

When the NBA unveiled its new marketing slogan this past summer … did you really envision that on March 14, 2008 there’d be a team in the league with a home page at NBA.com that opens up like that?

Hmmmmm …. didn’t really think so.

Know anyone who did?

* Brian McCormick, Has Adelman Solved Houston’s Problems (Oct. 13, 2007)

All the hype is in Boston right now, but Houston will be the breakout team this year, both in terms of wins, play-off success and entertainment. If they get consistent PG play and stay healthy, there is no reason why the Rockets cannot win the championship and give Adelman the elusive title which would establish him as one of the era’s best coaches.

Q1. Who should get the lion’s share of credit for the Rockets’ historic streak?

(e.g. Rafer Alston, T-Mac, Daryl Morey/GM)

A1. One aspect of this streak that has been underplayed, to this point, is the effectiveness of Rick Adelman’s ‘System’ … which is quite unique and what Shane Battier recently made reference to when he said, “We have tremendous confidence in how we play the game.” (or words to that effect)

Rick is using, right now, everything he developed through his upper echelon years at Portland and Sacramento … long before the recent rise of the ‘Moneyball Concept’ advocated by Daryl Morey … to assemble a team of highly complimentary parts, capable of winning a swack of regular season games.

Although it took him an inordinantly long period of time to figure it out … when Adelman finally settled on Rafer Alston as the main PG for this team which, in conjunction with the move of Luis Scola into the starting line-up, and Aaron Brooks as the back-up PG, and using serviceable players like Carl Landry & Steve Novak in his regular rotation with Chuck Hayes & Luther Head … he made the type of personnel decisions that took the Trailblazers and the Kings to an elite level in the Western Conference.

Rick Adelman … has been THE key to the Rockets’ resurgence.

PS. Kudos to Brian McCormick.

PPS. Houston’s streak will end at 21-0 … when Kobe comes a-calling on Sunday, March 16, 2008.

UPDATE: Title should now read as ’22′ instead of ’20′.