Indazone
10-29-2008, 08:50 PM
Brent Barry
Over the next ten minutes or so, not much was said beyond Hinkie’s impassioned pleas for players to move on their feet on defense and exclamations of approval like, “Great pass!” or “Good cut!” Every once in awhile he’d volunteer interesting tidbits such as this one on Brent Barry: “During the preseason he had one of the best assist rates of any guy in the league at any position. He’s invigorated because he wants to be more than a spot-up shooter; he wants to be an opportunistic playmaker and a great passer, and he’s getting the opportunity to do that in this offense. His basketball IQ is just off the charts.” But for the most part, we watched in relative silence.
Shane Battier
“I think Shane’s one of the better defenders in the league and one of the very best team defenders, without question. But I also think Shane and Ron are very different and they actually provide us with more breadth in exactly who we can guard. One of Shane’s big benefits is he can guard twos, he can guard threes and at times he can guard ones. He can even slide over in a pinch and guard fours. His strengths are focused on his overall basketball IQ, staying in front of drivers without fouling, contesting jump shots without fouling, fighting over screens and really, really being smart about the other team’s gameplan and using that to his advantage. That’s what really makes him special.
Defensive Combination of Shane Battier and Ron Artest
“Ron is special, too, and different. Ron’s defensive capabilities, to me, are much more about creating havoc, being physical, keeping people out of the post, using his length to really disrupt, deflecting passes, stripping guys with that this great left hand that he’s got and being so big and strong while still being able to move his feet so well. Could each of them guard the same guy? For sure, but they would each do it differently. And while Shane might be better at the margins at chasing a guy off pin-down screens, Ron, I think, will be better at the margin on chasing a guy on flex screens coming across the lane.
So, say, a bigger, heavier, stronger, more physical three, I think Ron can do things against that type of player that Shane hasn’t been as strong at. And I think a lighter guy who is consistently running a pin-down offense and coming off of screens for jump shots, I think Shane has already proven to be very, very good at guarding that type of player.
“So having the two of those guys in combination, I think really makes us interesting in that, if they’re both healthy – and we hope they both will be – there won’t be many nights when we say, ‘Oh no, this guy on the wing – we don’t have a good answer for him.’”
Carl Landry
It’s the fourth quarter now and Carl Landry has started to dominate. The second-year forward was one of the shining lights of the Rockets’ preseason; this, on the heels of his shocking rookie season in which he gained national attention by ranking as one of the most startlingly efficient players in the NBA. I asked Hinkie if he was as stunned by Landry’s debut season as many were.
“We drafted him because we thought he’d be good,” he said. “He was a better player at Purdue than a lot of people thought. We liked him as a rebounder and a guy who had a bit of an offensive game, but I couldn’t have predicted how well he would have played that early because he played at a near historic level for a rookie in limited minutes. The way he played last year, with some blind analytics, you would come to the conclusion that his ceiling is ridiculously high. I’m not sure he can keep that sort of production up, but it’s been interesting to watch him develop. His athleticism has really improved and he consistently plays harder. He’s always been a naturally strong player. I also think he undershot last year what he can shoot as an NBA player. He was also the best offensive rebounder in the league last year and amongst the best handful of finishers around the rim—neither of which I would have predicted. ”
Tracy McGrady
Tracy is a true two-position player who often plays the point guard role near the end of the game. His length and athleticism might make him the most multi-positional guy on our team. We often forget how transcendent his talents are. Then you have Ron who can play two, probably three positions. And other than Yao, all of our bigs can play two positions if necessary. Chuck Hayes can be a respectable backup center, even though he’s better at the four. Dorsey we hope will one day be the same. Luis, while he’s naturally a four, can be very successful against many backup centers."
NBA rules and effect on the game
“The advent of the restricted area, in combination with the perimeter touch rules, has changed the game toward quick guys in a way that the league doesn’t really know what to do with. Now what you see are slashers and a lot of players who consistently attack the rim. A lot of teams are trying to figure out how to combat that, so shot-blocking, length and athleticism are at an even bigger premium that they ever were before, because they’re in the same short supply. So if you’re a legendary shot blocker that can stand on the weakside and when a guy drives you can contort your body to try to block his shot without fouling him, well that makes you really valuable.
“But another way to attack that is with quickness. If you can’t find players who can play—and play well—above the rim, then you’re forced to find another way to compete. Chuck Hayes, to me, falls into that category as a 6’ 5’’ big who doesn’t block many shots or play above the rim, but uses his lateral quickness in a way to be a tremendous help defender. He’s already an excellent individual one-on-one defender, but he’s also proven to be a tremendous help defender for his teammates in that, when you get beat on pick-and-rolls – and everyone does – and when you get beat off the dribble by these great players in our game with tremendous speed – and everyone does – to have a guy who can physically get there to defend or take a charge is huge. For weakside bigs, it often becomes a race vs. the ball handler to see who can get to the other side of the restricted area first. These dynamics have created a niche that allows a player that’s less than prototypical to have a big role on a team like ours.”
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Higher_Learning-287072-34.html?rss=true
Over the next ten minutes or so, not much was said beyond Hinkie’s impassioned pleas for players to move on their feet on defense and exclamations of approval like, “Great pass!” or “Good cut!” Every once in awhile he’d volunteer interesting tidbits such as this one on Brent Barry: “During the preseason he had one of the best assist rates of any guy in the league at any position. He’s invigorated because he wants to be more than a spot-up shooter; he wants to be an opportunistic playmaker and a great passer, and he’s getting the opportunity to do that in this offense. His basketball IQ is just off the charts.” But for the most part, we watched in relative silence.
Shane Battier
“I think Shane’s one of the better defenders in the league and one of the very best team defenders, without question. But I also think Shane and Ron are very different and they actually provide us with more breadth in exactly who we can guard. One of Shane’s big benefits is he can guard twos, he can guard threes and at times he can guard ones. He can even slide over in a pinch and guard fours. His strengths are focused on his overall basketball IQ, staying in front of drivers without fouling, contesting jump shots without fouling, fighting over screens and really, really being smart about the other team’s gameplan and using that to his advantage. That’s what really makes him special.
Defensive Combination of Shane Battier and Ron Artest
“Ron is special, too, and different. Ron’s defensive capabilities, to me, are much more about creating havoc, being physical, keeping people out of the post, using his length to really disrupt, deflecting passes, stripping guys with that this great left hand that he’s got and being so big and strong while still being able to move his feet so well. Could each of them guard the same guy? For sure, but they would each do it differently. And while Shane might be better at the margins at chasing a guy off pin-down screens, Ron, I think, will be better at the margin on chasing a guy on flex screens coming across the lane.
So, say, a bigger, heavier, stronger, more physical three, I think Ron can do things against that type of player that Shane hasn’t been as strong at. And I think a lighter guy who is consistently running a pin-down offense and coming off of screens for jump shots, I think Shane has already proven to be very, very good at guarding that type of player.
“So having the two of those guys in combination, I think really makes us interesting in that, if they’re both healthy – and we hope they both will be – there won’t be many nights when we say, ‘Oh no, this guy on the wing – we don’t have a good answer for him.’”
Carl Landry
It’s the fourth quarter now and Carl Landry has started to dominate. The second-year forward was one of the shining lights of the Rockets’ preseason; this, on the heels of his shocking rookie season in which he gained national attention by ranking as one of the most startlingly efficient players in the NBA. I asked Hinkie if he was as stunned by Landry’s debut season as many were.
“We drafted him because we thought he’d be good,” he said. “He was a better player at Purdue than a lot of people thought. We liked him as a rebounder and a guy who had a bit of an offensive game, but I couldn’t have predicted how well he would have played that early because he played at a near historic level for a rookie in limited minutes. The way he played last year, with some blind analytics, you would come to the conclusion that his ceiling is ridiculously high. I’m not sure he can keep that sort of production up, but it’s been interesting to watch him develop. His athleticism has really improved and he consistently plays harder. He’s always been a naturally strong player. I also think he undershot last year what he can shoot as an NBA player. He was also the best offensive rebounder in the league last year and amongst the best handful of finishers around the rim—neither of which I would have predicted. ”
Tracy McGrady
Tracy is a true two-position player who often plays the point guard role near the end of the game. His length and athleticism might make him the most multi-positional guy on our team. We often forget how transcendent his talents are. Then you have Ron who can play two, probably three positions. And other than Yao, all of our bigs can play two positions if necessary. Chuck Hayes can be a respectable backup center, even though he’s better at the four. Dorsey we hope will one day be the same. Luis, while he’s naturally a four, can be very successful against many backup centers."
NBA rules and effect on the game
“The advent of the restricted area, in combination with the perimeter touch rules, has changed the game toward quick guys in a way that the league doesn’t really know what to do with. Now what you see are slashers and a lot of players who consistently attack the rim. A lot of teams are trying to figure out how to combat that, so shot-blocking, length and athleticism are at an even bigger premium that they ever were before, because they’re in the same short supply. So if you’re a legendary shot blocker that can stand on the weakside and when a guy drives you can contort your body to try to block his shot without fouling him, well that makes you really valuable.
“But another way to attack that is with quickness. If you can’t find players who can play—and play well—above the rim, then you’re forced to find another way to compete. Chuck Hayes, to me, falls into that category as a 6’ 5’’ big who doesn’t block many shots or play above the rim, but uses his lateral quickness in a way to be a tremendous help defender. He’s already an excellent individual one-on-one defender, but he’s also proven to be a tremendous help defender for his teammates in that, when you get beat on pick-and-rolls – and everyone does – and when you get beat off the dribble by these great players in our game with tremendous speed – and everyone does – to have a guy who can physically get there to defend or take a charge is huge. For weakside bigs, it often becomes a race vs. the ball handler to see who can get to the other side of the restricted area first. These dynamics have created a niche that allows a player that’s less than prototypical to have a big role on a team like ours.”
http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/Higher_Learning-287072-34.html?rss=true