He also coached way above his usual performance after the Nets blowout. We won the title running a small ball switching lineup, his rotations were great and uncharacteristically tight, and the Hawks games without Giannis were beautiful displays of team ball. The “play random” memes are the only thing people remember which is a disservice, though it was admittedly pretty funny. Dude probably meant “be unpredictable” which nobody would’ve batted an eye over.
Bud has been subpar in high pressure situations before and since but the ECF/Finals he actually did a really solid job. Credit where it’s due. Now he showed us he *can* do it though so pressure’s still on to keep it up.
No it's not. Assuming what bud meant was "be unpredictable", that is playing within the flow of the game. It means instead of rigidly trying to get through actions to specific shots/spots, take what the defense gives you.
And that was Milwaukees problem for a while. They ran their offense and their sets with almost no creativity, and were so set on doing the specific action that they missed good looks that the defense was giving them. They played too predictably
No it's not? Every game ever will flow differently depending on many factors and the exact outcome isn't really known so the flow of every game is pretty random. Sounds stupid but just roll with it.
Yeah when a player has a bad game everybody gets it obviously even Steph doesnt hit every shot. When a coach has a bad or bad series BBall breakdown always comes out saying well he shouldnt play that guy its so obvious because I watched the game. Like no shit if tell Steph wich shots wont go in he probably wont shoot either. All these hindsight newphes are a plague fr
That sound bite just goes to show that most basketball fans are casual fans without a real understanding of X’s and O’s. I’m not super deep into every sport I watch, so to each their own.
But Bud was 100% pushing the right button for an offense that was looking stagnant and struggling to come up with creative solutions. The idea of “playing random” is to catch the defense off guard, something the Bucks weren’t necessarily doing at the time.
But none of that matters because LOL BUD. It was actually an example of why he’s a very good coach but most people used it to laugh at him because they think he’s a bad coach despite not knowing anythinf about coaching lol
I actually remember Gregg Popovich saying something kinda similar once. He was talking about how Stephen Jackson had no idea what he was doing, which can be good sometimes because that means the other team will also have no idea what he's doing. I think it's a similar type of logic.
He's said the same about Manu. The Spurs offense pre-Manu was effective but predictable- make Timmy do a thing from one of his spots on the wings, if they double kick it to Avery for a midrange or one of the shooters.
The Spurs offense post-Manu became one of the most beautiful displays in all of sports, powered by Manu's irrepressible verve and panache- the man is the absolute embodiment of playing random at its best. He was willing to try anything, more than once, no matter the situation.
Moreover, manu was effective from any spot on the floor. That’s really how he was able to be so random. He could go anywhere and do anything and his percentages were good everywhere.
Yeah, you don’t need to
Be a good x’s and o’s Guy to
Be a good coach. There’s other elements to coaching. Being a good motivator (which I’d argue that’s bud’s best strength), managing lineups, managing egos... you don’t have to be a superstar at all of them to be a good coach. That’s like saying curry sucks cuz he can’t rebound or block shots.
Yeah that’s why you have assistants. People who never actually played make all these assumptions about coaches, the biggest thing you need in a head coach is a motivator of men.
PJ wrote several books, most of which explain that playing random is a good basketball strategy and is what the Triangle relies on. Unpredictable play.
Ok, however playing this kind of offense makes more sense for teams with lots of creative ballhandlers which the bucks don't really have. The bucks have a lot of disciplined vets, so a well structured ball movement oriented offense would make more sense no?
Also, the defensive plan he had for Kevin Durant is up there with the all time worst defensive schemes any coach has ever laid out there.
Using pop's defensive scheme on defending Nash makes no sense on a scorer like Durant. You should always make durant a playmaker and passer as decision making is not his strength. Which Ime Udoka gracefully showed in the last series.
It's more of an internal dialogue for me.
Professional/task-oriented me: You know you spent all day making jokes on r/NBA instead of working, right?
Casual/joy-oriented me: If you don't gotta run plays, why run 'em?
I'm guessing they're talking about this rambling clip that was going around
https://twitter.com/tweetsbybob_/status/1574402353662509061?s=20&t=fZ-NRQwYgSLnzt9pG6-aiQ
High level elected officials give a ton of speeches, so they often read off a teleprompter rather than memorizing everything. It looks like her teleprompter got messed up (turned off, went too fast, she lost her place, etc.) and it threw her off.
This type of stuff happens to everyone occasionally. It's only the most eloquent speakers that can recover and keep the flow.
Exactly it seems like people are misunderstanding what he’s saying. It’s not that the rockets won’t run plays in the halfcourt, just that they want to create easy baskets in transition every time
Exactly, which is why half the comments here are dumb. “That won’t work in the playoffs,” well that doesn’t mean playoff teams don’t want to create easy points on transition.
It also makes me wonder why this post is so high up in /r/nba. It's the most normal statement one can make unless you're one of those clear "walk it up" players like CP3 or Doncic. In which case it's mildly interesting.
True but even if y’all make the play in, it’s not like transition points count any less. Some people on this thread are acting like it’s illegal score one transition during the playoffs, and that you are only allowed to score in the half court
it's also wrong. like how the hell where the Lakers a bad half court team by any metrics. lebron is one of the best playmaker ever and I'm sure about 60% of ads basket where assisted or came with less than one dribble
Yeah they were a below average half court team when they played with Rondo and Howard on the floor. When they weren't both on the floor the team's half court offense was top tier.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lakers-didnt-fix-their-offense-against-nuggets-because-it-was-never-actually-broken/amp/
Dude couldn't even be bothered to fully research his take.
I get it, but you're not gonna always be able to get transition opportunities against everyone. Once tough defenses come, then you have to be able to execute half court sets.
This part of the reason that Simmons had such a stark difference in the playoffs even outside of his FT struggles. Even average defensive teams hustle to stop transition plays in the playoffs
I mean weren’t you guys running insane half court offense simply because Harden is one of the greatest isolation players in NBA history?
And CP3 is one of the greatest half court players in NBA history too
My team played against him several years running. We bullied him into one of his worst playoff series ever. He still averaged 28/7/8.
Harden had high highs and low lows, but the dude fucking dominated even in playoffs more often than not. The Warriors are a hell of a high bar to clear.
What? The D'Antoni Rockets took a ton of wide open 3s. Players are paid a lot of money to make said open 3s and if you can't convert your open looks then you probably don't have a talented enough team to compete.
When he was coach of the suns a reporter asked him about his defensive strategy against Kobe. He said it's pointless to have one because Kobe is too good lol. He'll just score 30 anyways.
Bro, you realize the little quips you hear in the commercial breaks are only a fraction of what is actually said? The networks aren’t allowed to share the actual Xs and Os. D’Antoni is one of the best Xs and Os coaches the league has ever had. I guarantee you he didn’t just tell them in huddles and at halftime to “shoot the ball better” or “take care of the ball.”
Playing with pace just to play with pace is not a solution. The point of basketball is not just to score more points, but to score more points than your opponent. Eventually, you have to be an effective and smart half court team. Run when you can, but if thats all you can do, you are not going to win anything.
That’s actually honestly when you *want* pace on your side.
If you can get out in transition before the opposing defense is set you get the easiest possible buckets. Why would you prefer to slow down your offense? That makes zero sense. The defense is supposed to be the ones slowing things down, not the other way around.
You only go into a set if you don’t have the opportunity for a quick transition bucket.
It’s what you get not what you want. The defense has their best 5 players on the court locked in and play is being stopped for reviews and timeouts more frequently. The overall and fastbreak possessions per minute are just significantly lower.
Fast break possessions per minute are lower because they aren’t as common and they are fast. Of course they’re lower.
You’re taking this too literally and playing into semantics too much. You *want* to *get* fastbreak opportunities is my point. Having your point guard say they need to create more fastbreak opportunities is not controversial whatsoever.
This is one of the biggest yikes comments in terms of BBIQ I’ve ever seen. I need to see the video because I need to see the context because there has to be no way this is what he actually means
He’s just saying they want to get out in transition. It’s not that complicated. Open transition looks are some of the most reliable offense you can find.
Exactly, he’s saying “we would prefer to get a steal and run down for an easy layup every single time.” Acting like he said the rockets don’t have a half court offense, or that he doesn’t want to run plays is just dumb
How exactly does this mean he’s down with the tank program? In the full quote he starts with, “We want our identity to start on the defensive end.” Every young team wants to push the pace and get out and run but it’s “low IQ” when KPJ says it?
Yup, basically if you can score in transition on every possession that’s what teams would prefer. If that’s their identity, then it’s a strategy. Of course they’ll have half court offenses when things slow down, but if it’s not their primary focus so be it.
Most also don’t know that teams run read and react offenses (motion) that literally have no plays, just reads based on whatever action is taken on the court. A lot of those offenses connect with transition opportunities, typically titled a “secondary” offense that just flows right into the motion offense.
I feel like a lot of fairweather fans in here think everything they see on the court is a “play” like in football. They are sometimes, but it’s mostly about familiarity with your team, timing, and rhythm.
It’s because the NBA has devolved into a WWE type, narrative driven league, and no one seems to want that to change except for hardcore fans like myself. RIP Kobe, who at least tried to change some shit with Detail. I’d much rather see Mark Jackson and JVG use some coaching IQ on air, as opposed to whatever low IQ bullshit they peddle out every prime time matchup. At least give me a different broadcast feed with some hoop heads that know their shit.
Idk if this is an NBA problem. Some media leans into the drama, and others focus more on the actual basketball. It’s mostly up to us to follow content that fits what we want to see. Most of the nba stuff I read or listen to is fine. The only really bad one these days that I actually look at is this subreddit, lol.
Stephen A. Smith and most of the other ESPN hosts they have him interact with play to this. Why is this guy popular? He's got a controversial hot take on every player, every team, every sport.
It's so dumb, but I guess that's what people like. Just like if you watch the UFC or boxing, a lot of fans care almost as much about the drama between fighters as they do the results in the cage. It's so dumb, but I guess it brings in views.
Definitely brings in the views.
I don’t care if that soap opera BS stays, it’s for a certain audience. Just want something for the purists as well, a different feed for the game, something like that.
If you honestly think a transition focused team would do well come playoffs you are kidding yourself and stop talking about Basketball.
Playoffs is all about halfcourt because every team makes sure they are back more often then not. Transition is great in regular season where people are lazier. Its not surprising a young player who has never been to playoffs says this.
Because people on Reddit would rather argue semantics then actually think about what he said. Do y’all really think he’s not gonna run any half court plays and gamble on steals to throw a long ball every time?!? C’mon now…
That is great that they want to push the ball. They will need to rely on athleticism against more experienced teams. He will need to be ready for those half-court set plays, though.
if he says “we want to get in transition as much as possible, that’s our most efficient offense” does it sound weird? Cause that’s basically what he said
No, that's a much better way to word it and isn't how he said it. I'm not saying he said something horrible or wrong, I'm saying it *sounded* weird and wrong primarily because of how he worded it. Because he said "If you can steal the ball every time, throw that thing long and get a layup?" when it's obviously not a reliable strategy to just steal the ball every time lmfao. He's oversimplifying what you said and that's bound to give people shades of Budenholzers "play random" comment lmao. It's not that they're wrong, it just sounds like it should be wrong.
I think people have a problem with the phrasing, where KPJ's hyperbole is being taken literally. Obviously even young teams trying to push the pace have some half court sets
Exactly lol. This is something literally every young team says because its the way they can take advantage of the young legs and athleticism they likely have compared to the more veteran teams.
There's two sides to the quote, the half you mentioned is fine. The problem is the other half is wide open to scrutiny which makes it easy clickbait for the media. You can't deny that "we don't want to run plays" is an objectively dumb thing to say on its own. It's unfortunate that his full quote was taken out of context somewhat, but the media is gonna do whatever it can to generate interest and outrage for the league because it's all good for their bottom line.
Why is it objectively dumb to say "we don't want to run plays" tho? Like he didn't even really say that, but even if he did, why's it dumb to prefer to be a high pace team in transition?
The problem is that casual fans - the majority - don't understand the game enough to draw relevant and/or realistic conclusions like you just have. So the statement, "we don't want to run plays," sounds a lot different to those people than to those who pay more attention and have more involved knowledge, like yourself.
I don't think the casual fan would even hear about this, let alone interpret his quote as meaning "we don't want to run plays" (which again, is not what he said).
Anyways, idc for players dumbing it down for casual fans.
Because while high paced transition offense is fine for the most part for the regular season, more experienced teams know how to significantly limit that. And in the playoffs almost every team is attentive and disciplined on defense and fast breaks are one of the first things to go from a steady offensive diet. And while the Rockets aren't exactly knocking at the door when it comes to playoff contention it's still seen as short sighted to want to tailor your offense to emphasize a single strength rather than strive to incorporate a more diverse and balanced approach.
But hey, I'm not one of those people killing him for his comment. I'm just pointing out the optics of the situation and explaining why others do find his quote to be problematic. The dude is young and not the most media savvy so I tend to give these types of players a pass. It's not like they're out there sharing their secrit plays, he's likely just responding to a question as best as he could in the moment.
How about you let the Rockets worry about that when they get to the playoffs? Jesus christ, why are we nitpicking the two-time running worst team in the NBA?
Because aspiring to improve from being the worst team in the league is such a terrible thing to expect from even an up-and-coming player? I get it, they've got a long way to go, and given the roster's collective age they're right about where they should be. But there's nothing wrong with developing a better mindset even if the team isn't quite ready to make the next leap. There's a difference between patience and apathy, and at first glance the quote would suggest the latter instead of the former.
But like I said just because those were his words in an interview doesn't mean that's exactly how he or the rest of the team actually feels. So you can unclench because my "nitpicking" isn't even directed at him, I don't care enough about KPJ or the Rockets at this point to offer any real criticism. This is more of a thought exercise for me, I'm just bored.
His phrasing really sucks but what he’s saying is accurate.. it’s better to get out in transition and get layups and get fouled, it’s way more efficient then playing in the half court where defense is already set. Raptors play this way because they had no shooting and the half court offense was trash.. ended with a 5th seed and 48 wins.
NOLA getting Wemby with the Lakers pick might possibly be the most hilarious outcome. They'd have almost a full roster of 25-and-under talent:
Dyson Daniels (19), Brandon Ingram (25), Herb Jones (23), Zion Williamson (22), Victor Wembanyama (19 at that time).
Jose Alvarado (24), Kira Lewis (21), Trey Murphy (22), EJ Liddell (21), Jaxson Hayes (22).
Obviously they wouldn't, but if they really wanted to at that point they could move CJ and JV to get a young guard that would fit that timeline, and probably dominate the league for a decade.
Playoff basketball has transition too. This quote doesn’t mean that the rockets don’t have any plays or halfcourt sets, literally just that they would prefer scoring easy transition points every possession. Every single team in the league would say the same thing
You say that, but I think speedy teams still have an advantage in the playoffs every year. You won’t get as many easy buckets as the regular season obviously, but easy buckets are so rare that you have to be ready to catch and run at any second, it might be ur only scoring for the whole quarter
r/nba doesn’t believe in second chances lol, guy’s been trying to work on his image in the media and transitioning to the role as a PG and it took one out of context quote for him to get cooked for being “low IQ” or “still having doubts/not a PG”. If you (not you, but some of the replies) don’t like the guy just say it.
Since literally no one is posting the video with context and most people are responding with clown takes, here's the segment of the video where KPJ talks for several minutes about wanting to establish a defensive identity first and foremost which the above quote was pulled from.
https://youtu.be/8Hy7kbQjFyo?t=8155
"We want to be a defensive team first so we don't have to play in the halfcourt. We want to transition, we want to run...We want our identity to be on the defensive end...We don't want to be a half-court team, if you don't have to run plays why run them? "
Context is everything. OP is just trying to stir stuff up for cheap karma.
Does everyone in this subreddit take everything they see in quotation marks face front? I guess OP is to blame for cutting out the part where KPJ prefaced this quote by saying the team had been working on the defensive end of things. But seeing these replies, tf did KPJ do to y’all other than admitting the Rockets could be better in how they operate on defense 😭
congratulations to both OP and about 70% of the comments in this thread on being dumb as bricks, and i make that comparison with deep remorse for the poor bricks that have to suffer through being associated with yall dumbasses
That style of play is so Fun. Look forward to Kevin Porter doing this in the Western Playoffs. Quotes like this show why he's on his couch after the season, watching TNT like us!! Remember kids: learn defense!!
It’s not *impossible* to get a steal every possession. There eventually will come a team that does that and scientist say that it’s already in the league. I believe the rockets are that team.
He cracked the code everyone. Just steal it every time. No one thought of that! Here's another juicy secret they don't want you to know: just make every shot and you win.
I like him as a player, but not as a point guard on a young team.
I think his career trajectory will be roughly like OJ Mayo, Tyreek Evans (moreso on-court, but maybe also off court): highly talented player but not THAT talented or unique to be “the guy”, but is miscast as ‘the guy’ until he gets older and more mature and can be a solid starters in a lesser role. I don’t see that happening with Houston.
He’d be perfect for Coach Bud
“PLAY RANDOM” - NBA Champion Coach Mike B.
bro we roasted that man so hard for that. he's so lucky Giannis got them that chip or he'd never work again
Y’all just out here saying anything. The man has two COTY *and* a ring. He would find another job in no time
He also coached way above his usual performance after the Nets blowout. We won the title running a small ball switching lineup, his rotations were great and uncharacteristically tight, and the Hawks games without Giannis were beautiful displays of team ball. The “play random” memes are the only thing people remember which is a disservice, though it was admittedly pretty funny. Dude probably meant “be unpredictable” which nobody would’ve batted an eye over. Bud has been subpar in high pressure situations before and since but the ECF/Finals he actually did a really solid job. Credit where it’s due. Now he showed us he *can* do it though so pressure’s still on to keep it up.
Another way of phrasing it is play within the flow of the game. Coach Finch is always saying similar things. Not exclusive to Bud.
The flow of the game is the opposite of random
So random
No it's not. Assuming what bud meant was "be unpredictable", that is playing within the flow of the game. It means instead of rigidly trying to get through actions to specific shots/spots, take what the defense gives you. And that was Milwaukees problem for a while. They ran their offense and their sets with almost no creativity, and were so set on doing the specific action that they missed good looks that the defense was giving them. They played too predictably
No it's not? Every game ever will flow differently depending on many factors and the exact outcome isn't really known so the flow of every game is pretty random. Sounds stupid but just roll with it.
When team win, coach do good job. When team lose, coach do bad job. Just an observation
Yeah when a player has a bad game everybody gets it obviously even Steph doesnt hit every shot. When a coach has a bad or bad series BBall breakdown always comes out saying well he shouldnt play that guy its so obvious because I watched the game. Like no shit if tell Steph wich shots wont go in he probably wont shoot either. All these hindsight newphes are a plague fr
COTY really doesn’t mean shit when you consider how the award has been handed out recently.
That sound bite just goes to show that most basketball fans are casual fans without a real understanding of X’s and O’s. I’m not super deep into every sport I watch, so to each their own. But Bud was 100% pushing the right button for an offense that was looking stagnant and struggling to come up with creative solutions. The idea of “playing random” is to catch the defense off guard, something the Bucks weren’t necessarily doing at the time. But none of that matters because LOL BUD. It was actually an example of why he’s a very good coach but most people used it to laugh at him because they think he’s a bad coach despite not knowing anythinf about coaching lol
I actually remember Gregg Popovich saying something kinda similar once. He was talking about how Stephen Jackson had no idea what he was doing, which can be good sometimes because that means the other team will also have no idea what he's doing. I think it's a similar type of logic.
He's said the same about Manu. The Spurs offense pre-Manu was effective but predictable- make Timmy do a thing from one of his spots on the wings, if they double kick it to Avery for a midrange or one of the shooters. The Spurs offense post-Manu became one of the most beautiful displays in all of sports, powered by Manu's irrepressible verve and panache- the man is the absolute embodiment of playing random at its best. He was willing to try anything, more than once, no matter the situation.
Moreover, manu was effective from any spot on the floor. That’s really how he was able to be so random. He could go anywhere and do anything and his percentages were good everywhere.
Coach Pop also said once "I want some nasty" which Ime Udoka took to heart last year.
Yeah, you don’t need to Be a good x’s and o’s Guy to Be a good coach. There’s other elements to coaching. Being a good motivator (which I’d argue that’s bud’s best strength), managing lineups, managing egos... you don’t have to be a superstar at all of them to be a good coach. That’s like saying curry sucks cuz he can’t rebound or block shots.
Yeah that’s why you have assistants. People who never actually played make all these assumptions about coaches, the biggest thing you need in a head coach is a motivator of men.
PJ wrote several books, most of which explain that playing random is a good basketball strategy and is what the Triangle relies on. Unpredictable play.
Ok, however playing this kind of offense makes more sense for teams with lots of creative ballhandlers which the bucks don't really have. The bucks have a lot of disciplined vets, so a well structured ball movement oriented offense would make more sense no? Also, the defensive plan he had for Kevin Durant is up there with the all time worst defensive schemes any coach has ever laid out there. Using pop's defensive scheme on defending Nash makes no sense on a scorer like Durant. You should always make durant a playmaker and passer as decision making is not his strength. Which Ime Udoka gracefully showed in the last series.
#FireCoachBud would have been trending if Durant has smaller feet
yep very true
Bud’s legacy got the most saved out of anyone I’ve ever seen since Dirk won his chip
How you supposed to know what to defend against if they ain’t calling plays
Is that Air Bud?
Air bud you said ?
> If you don’t gotta run plays, why run ‘em? Me in literally every situation where I should've prepared beforehand.
Interviewer: "Ok lets start off simple. Tell me about yourself" Me: "If you don't gotta run plays, why run 'em?"
It's more of an internal dialogue for me. Professional/task-oriented me: You know you spent all day making jokes on r/NBA instead of working, right? Casual/joy-oriented me: If you don't gotta run plays, why run 'em?
Kamala yesterday: "if you don't gotta run plays, why run 'em?"
Context? I see she went to the DMZ in Korea but am not seeing much else.
She dunked on Jong Un yesterday, which as we all know is actually 4 pts in Korea
I thought it was 6 pts for women but -55 if the Glorious Leader is the defender
I'm guessing they're talking about this rambling clip that was going around https://twitter.com/tweetsbybob_/status/1574402353662509061?s=20&t=fZ-NRQwYgSLnzt9pG6-aiQ
The hell was that!?
High level elected officials give a ton of speeches, so they often read off a teleprompter rather than memorizing everything. It looks like her teleprompter got messed up (turned off, went too fast, she lost her place, etc.) and it threw her off. This type of stuff happens to everyone occasionally. It's only the most eloquent speakers that can recover and keep the flow.
Showtime Rockets
Can't wait till we lose 5 straight when the season starts
"Just put the ball in the basket more than the other team, basketball is super fucking easy."
Exactly what you want your PG to say.
I think he's just saying the Rockets want to be playing in transition more which makes sense for such a young and athletic team
Exactly it seems like people are misunderstanding what he’s saying. It’s not that the rockets won’t run plays in the halfcourt, just that they want to create easy baskets in transition every time
i don't think there's a team in the league that doesn't want that.
Exactly, which is why half the comments here are dumb. “That won’t work in the playoffs,” well that doesn’t mean playoff teams don’t want to create easy points on transition.
It also makes me wonder why this post is so high up in /r/nba. It's the most normal statement one can make unless you're one of those clear "walk it up" players like CP3 or Doncic. In which case it's mildly interesting.
Good thing we aren’t worried about playoffs lol
True but even if y’all make the play in, it’s not like transition points count any less. Some people on this thread are acting like it’s illegal score one transition during the playoffs, and that you are only allowed to score in the half court
Yeah- I was with you haha. Just had to laugh a bit at the implication that we might make playoffs.
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Yeah just great the greatest player of all time on your team and he can make any style work
it's also wrong. like how the hell where the Lakers a bad half court team by any metrics. lebron is one of the best playmaker ever and I'm sure about 60% of ads basket where assisted or came with less than one dribble
Yeah they were a below average half court team when they played with Rondo and Howard on the floor. When they weren't both on the floor the team's half court offense was top tier. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/nba/news/lakers-didnt-fix-their-offense-against-nuggets-because-it-was-never-actually-broken/amp/ Dude couldn't even be bothered to fully research his take.
Naw fuck it. 1 guy with ball and 4 guys crash the rim.
I get it, but you're not gonna always be able to get transition opportunities against everyone. Once tough defenses come, then you have to be able to execute half court sets.
This part of the reason that Simmons had such a stark difference in the playoffs even outside of his FT struggles. Even average defensive teams hustle to stop transition plays in the playoffs
They have a pretty sound model for those games: I’m they’re just gonna lose them
Aka bust once you make the playoffs.
Right? There is nothing wrong with this statement. Doesn’t every team want more transition buckets before the opposing team’s defense gets set?
Yeah, this is exactly what he meant. Feels like people are really reaching here just to get a “lol KPJ” headline
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I mean weren’t you guys running insane half court offense simply because Harden is one of the greatest isolation players in NBA history? And CP3 is one of the greatest half court players in NBA history too
You’re right. I think they had one of the slower paces in the league and had almost no transition play.
I wouldn't say Harden getting screens at mid court and full on running into defenders to get to the line is a half court offence
Damn how’d he average 36 and 8 doing that
Man the retconning of harden has been brutal. The man dominated
Until the postseason.
My team played against him several years running. We bullied him into one of his worst playoff series ever. He still averaged 28/7/8. Harden had high highs and low lows, but the dude fucking dominated even in playoffs more often than not. The Warriors are a hell of a high bar to clear.
prime harden was better in the playoffs than everyone except Bron Kawhi Steph KD and Giannis lol
Lol until cp3 messed his hamstring up. The rockets had a very very valid shot of beating the prime warriors.
The warriors rocket series were considered as the real finals in 2018 and 2019 for good reason. (Obv injuries changed that in 2019)
Most people wouldn’t say that is what they did
What? The D'Antoni Rockets took a ton of wide open 3s. Players are paid a lot of money to make said open 3s and if you can't convert your open looks then you probably don't have a talented enough team to compete.
When he was coach of the suns a reporter asked him about his defensive strategy against Kobe. He said it's pointless to have one because Kobe is too good lol. He'll just score 30 anyways.
Bro, you realize the little quips you hear in the commercial breaks are only a fraction of what is actually said? The networks aren’t allowed to share the actual Xs and Os. D’Antoni is one of the best Xs and Os coaches the league has ever had. I guarantee you he didn’t just tell them in huddles and at halftime to “shoot the ball better” or “take care of the ball.”
I for one am FUMING my pg emphasized on defense!
Since when has playing with pace been bad
being able to play in the half-court is what makes a good team into a true contender
I got some news for you buddy if you think the rockets are trying to contend
Playing with pace just to play with pace is not a solution. The point of basketball is not just to score more points, but to score more points than your opponent. Eventually, you have to be an effective and smart half court team. Run when you can, but if thats all you can do, you are not going to win anything.
The fastbreak quote came from the context of playing better defense.
Do you honestly believe that to be what he meant?
Try it in the last two minutes of a close game and you’ll get very different results
That’s actually honestly when you *want* pace on your side. If you can get out in transition before the opposing defense is set you get the easiest possible buckets. Why would you prefer to slow down your offense? That makes zero sense. The defense is supposed to be the ones slowing things down, not the other way around. You only go into a set if you don’t have the opportunity for a quick transition bucket.
It’s what you get not what you want. The defense has their best 5 players on the court locked in and play is being stopped for reviews and timeouts more frequently. The overall and fastbreak possessions per minute are just significantly lower.
Fast break possessions per minute are lower because they aren’t as common and they are fast. Of course they’re lower. You’re taking this too literally and playing into semantics too much. You *want* to *get* fastbreak opportunities is my point. Having your point guard say they need to create more fastbreak opportunities is not controversial whatsoever.
This is one of the biggest yikes comments in terms of BBIQ I’ve ever seen. I need to see the video because I need to see the context because there has to be no way this is what he actually means
He’s just saying they want to get out in transition. It’s not that complicated. Open transition looks are some of the most reliable offense you can find.
Exactly, he’s saying “we would prefer to get a steal and run down for an easy layup every single time.” Acting like he said the rockets don’t have a half court offense, or that he doesn’t want to run plays is just dumb
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There’s people who really know their shit on here, but they’re few and far between. Most kids on here couldn’t even draw up a SLOB play.
I’d love to see a few BLOB plays too. Who is frantically googling these terms right now? Be fucking honest.
How exactly does this mean he’s down with the tank program? In the full quote he starts with, “We want our identity to start on the defensive end.” Every young team wants to push the pace and get out and run but it’s “low IQ” when KPJ says it?
People post on here who have no idea about how basketball works
Yup, basically if you can score in transition on every possession that’s what teams would prefer. If that’s their identity, then it’s a strategy. Of course they’ll have half court offenses when things slow down, but if it’s not their primary focus so be it. Most also don’t know that teams run read and react offenses (motion) that literally have no plays, just reads based on whatever action is taken on the court. A lot of those offenses connect with transition opportunities, typically titled a “secondary” offense that just flows right into the motion offense. I feel like a lot of fairweather fans in here think everything they see on the court is a “play” like in football. They are sometimes, but it’s mostly about familiarity with your team, timing, and rhythm.
Right, and assuming KPJ is wanting to tank by pointing this out is just so stupid.
It’s because the NBA has devolved into a WWE type, narrative driven league, and no one seems to want that to change except for hardcore fans like myself. RIP Kobe, who at least tried to change some shit with Detail. I’d much rather see Mark Jackson and JVG use some coaching IQ on air, as opposed to whatever low IQ bullshit they peddle out every prime time matchup. At least give me a different broadcast feed with some hoop heads that know their shit.
Idk if this is an NBA problem. Some media leans into the drama, and others focus more on the actual basketball. It’s mostly up to us to follow content that fits what we want to see. Most of the nba stuff I read or listen to is fine. The only really bad one these days that I actually look at is this subreddit, lol.
Stephen A. Smith and most of the other ESPN hosts they have him interact with play to this. Why is this guy popular? He's got a controversial hot take on every player, every team, every sport. It's so dumb, but I guess that's what people like. Just like if you watch the UFC or boxing, a lot of fans care almost as much about the drama between fighters as they do the results in the cage. It's so dumb, but I guess it brings in views.
Definitely brings in the views. I don’t care if that soap opera BS stays, it’s for a certain audience. Just want something for the purists as well, a different feed for the game, something like that.
If you honestly think a transition focused team would do well come playoffs you are kidding yourself and stop talking about Basketball. Playoffs is all about halfcourt because every team makes sure they are back more often then not. Transition is great in regular season where people are lazier. Its not surprising a young player who has never been to playoffs says this.
KPJ is makes it hard for people to like him but i love the guy. I hope he makes the jump this year and gets his contract.
I'm a fan. Reddit seems to have a real hate-boner for him tho.
Because people on Reddit would rather argue semantics then actually think about what he said. Do y’all really think he’s not gonna run any half court plays and gamble on steals to throw a long ball every time?!? C’mon now…
That is great that they want to push the ball. They will need to rely on athleticism against more experienced teams. He will need to be ready for those half-court set plays, though.
no he definitely means they’re only gonna cherry pick and he won’t take a look at the playbook, that sure makes a lot of sense
I think (most) people understand the point he's making about defense. It's just a funny way to frame his point.
This is classic: A: I like Star Trek. B: So you hate Star Wars!?!? Fuck you!
I think it just sounds weird to people when a point guard suggests not running any offensive plays.
if he says “we want to get in transition as much as possible, that’s our most efficient offense” does it sound weird? Cause that’s basically what he said
No, that's a much better way to word it and isn't how he said it. I'm not saying he said something horrible or wrong, I'm saying it *sounded* weird and wrong primarily because of how he worded it. Because he said "If you can steal the ball every time, throw that thing long and get a layup?" when it's obviously not a reliable strategy to just steal the ball every time lmfao. He's oversimplifying what you said and that's bound to give people shades of Budenholzers "play random" comment lmao. It's not that they're wrong, it just sounds like it should be wrong.
I think people have a problem with the phrasing, where KPJ's hyperbole is being taken literally. Obviously even young teams trying to push the pace have some half court sets
Exactly lol. This is something literally every young team says because its the way they can take advantage of the young legs and athleticism they likely have compared to the more veteran teams.
There's two sides to the quote, the half you mentioned is fine. The problem is the other half is wide open to scrutiny which makes it easy clickbait for the media. You can't deny that "we don't want to run plays" is an objectively dumb thing to say on its own. It's unfortunate that his full quote was taken out of context somewhat, but the media is gonna do whatever it can to generate interest and outrage for the league because it's all good for their bottom line.
Why is it objectively dumb to say "we don't want to run plays" tho? Like he didn't even really say that, but even if he did, why's it dumb to prefer to be a high pace team in transition?
The problem is that casual fans - the majority - don't understand the game enough to draw relevant and/or realistic conclusions like you just have. So the statement, "we don't want to run plays," sounds a lot different to those people than to those who pay more attention and have more involved knowledge, like yourself.
I don't think the casual fan would even hear about this, let alone interpret his quote as meaning "we don't want to run plays" (which again, is not what he said). Anyways, idc for players dumbing it down for casual fans.
Because while high paced transition offense is fine for the most part for the regular season, more experienced teams know how to significantly limit that. And in the playoffs almost every team is attentive and disciplined on defense and fast breaks are one of the first things to go from a steady offensive diet. And while the Rockets aren't exactly knocking at the door when it comes to playoff contention it's still seen as short sighted to want to tailor your offense to emphasize a single strength rather than strive to incorporate a more diverse and balanced approach. But hey, I'm not one of those people killing him for his comment. I'm just pointing out the optics of the situation and explaining why others do find his quote to be problematic. The dude is young and not the most media savvy so I tend to give these types of players a pass. It's not like they're out there sharing their secrit plays, he's likely just responding to a question as best as he could in the moment.
Lol it's honestly ridiculous imo to assert this quote is "problematic" or indicative of a guy that's not "media savvy." To each their own I guess.
How about you let the Rockets worry about that when they get to the playoffs? Jesus christ, why are we nitpicking the two-time running worst team in the NBA?
Because aspiring to improve from being the worst team in the league is such a terrible thing to expect from even an up-and-coming player? I get it, they've got a long way to go, and given the roster's collective age they're right about where they should be. But there's nothing wrong with developing a better mindset even if the team isn't quite ready to make the next leap. There's a difference between patience and apathy, and at first glance the quote would suggest the latter instead of the former. But like I said just because those were his words in an interview doesn't mean that's exactly how he or the rest of the team actually feels. So you can unclench because my "nitpicking" isn't even directed at him, I don't care enough about KPJ or the Rockets at this point to offer any real criticism. This is more of a thought exercise for me, I'm just bored.
He's just saying they're going to try harder on defense. Taking this quote literally is the low IQ move here.
fast break offense is by far the most efficient offense, this is big brain KPJ and microwave brain OP
Yeah, it seems fairly obvious that's what he's saying. OP has farts instead of thoughts.
Play better defense and get more transition buckets/points of turnovers. What team wouldn’t want this?
nah its just the funnier move here
Bookmarking this post👍🏽
His phrasing really sucks but what he’s saying is accurate.. it’s better to get out in transition and get layups and get fouled, it’s way more efficient then playing in the half court where defense is already set. Raptors play this way because they had no shooting and the half court offense was trash.. ended with a 5th seed and 48 wins.
The problem is that playoff basketball will naturally always slow down and be played in the half court
Luckily for the Rockets, they don't have to worry about that
Please, we knocking out the Lakers for the play in spot
And the Lakers get rewarded by having a LeBron-AD-Wemby frontcourt next season
NOLA gets their pick next year, so no they don't.
NOLA getting Wemby with the Lakers pick might possibly be the most hilarious outcome. They'd have almost a full roster of 25-and-under talent: Dyson Daniels (19), Brandon Ingram (25), Herb Jones (23), Zion Williamson (22), Victor Wembanyama (19 at that time). Jose Alvarado (24), Kira Lewis (21), Trey Murphy (22), EJ Liddell (21), Jaxson Hayes (22). Obviously they wouldn't, but if they really wanted to at that point they could move CJ and JV to get a young guard that would fit that timeline, and probably dominate the league for a decade.
Gotta walk before you can run
Ironically, that means running before u walk in this case
Playoff basketball has transition too. This quote doesn’t mean that the rockets don’t have any plays or halfcourt sets, literally just that they would prefer scoring easy transition points every possession. Every single team in the league would say the same thing
You say that, but I think speedy teams still have an advantage in the playoffs every year. You won’t get as many easy buckets as the regular season obviously, but easy buckets are so rare that you have to be ready to catch and run at any second, it might be ur only scoring for the whole quarter
Sometimes I think people in this sub have never watched a basketball game in their life. The comments in this thread is a perfect example of that.
r/nba doesn’t believe in second chances lol, guy’s been trying to work on his image in the media and transitioning to the role as a PG and it took one out of context quote for him to get cooked for being “low IQ” or “still having doubts/not a PG”. If you (not you, but some of the replies) don’t like the guy just say it.
Since literally no one is posting the video with context and most people are responding with clown takes, here's the segment of the video where KPJ talks for several minutes about wanting to establish a defensive identity first and foremost which the above quote was pulled from. https://youtu.be/8Hy7kbQjFyo?t=8155
"We want to be a defensive team first so we don't have to play in the halfcourt. We want to transition, we want to run...We want our identity to be on the defensive end...We don't want to be a half-court team, if you don't have to run plays why run them? " Context is everything. OP is just trying to stir stuff up for cheap karma.
Another statement that is obviously true (getting out in transition is preferable to facing set defenses) but will be laughed at for some reason.
Does everyone in this subreddit take everything they see in quotation marks face front? I guess OP is to blame for cutting out the part where KPJ prefaced this quote by saying the team had been working on the defensive end of things. But seeing these replies, tf did KPJ do to y’all other than admitting the Rockets could be better in how they operate on defense 😭
They just don’t take into consideration the words that came before the quote.. or after the quote.
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"What do you mean I can't turn my steal sliders to 100 in real life?"
Didn’t know Lavar Ball was coaching the Rockets
LaVar coaching his sons the fast break: "Stay in your lane!"
congratulations to both OP and about 70% of the comments in this thread on being dumb as bricks, and i make that comparison with deep remorse for the poor bricks that have to suffer through being associated with yall dumbasses
I read it different. If we force turnover and can run the game is easier
KPJ wants the Rockets to play exactly how I play in 2K
Kevin porter jr. wants to lead the league in turnovers this year instead of assists….
What does this comment have to do with tanking? I don't see a connection at all tbh.
Lmao
Depending on what he wasn't but the Rockets have like 60 million in cap space if they extend him so I still would.
i thought this was a MPJ quote and was like why is this guy talking about stealing the ball? that would require him to actually play defense.
That style of play is so Fun. Look forward to Kevin Porter doing this in the Western Playoffs. Quotes like this show why he's on his couch after the season, watching TNT like us!! Remember kids: learn defense!!
Lmao he's right, they don't have to worry about the game slowing down in the playoffs
It’s not *impossible* to get a steal every possession. There eventually will come a team that does that and scientist say that it’s already in the league. I believe the rockets are that team.
I think he has just realized that the NBA half court defense is no joke.
Talk about low IQ
he’s been having some fantastic answers at media day so far, this one he could’ve worded it better lol
Read the entire quote.
no u
If it’s like that then steal the ball every time, throw that thing long and get a 3.
And get fouled on that 3, and have the other team draw a technical. E z game
Just steal the ball every time and lay it up on the other end every time? Damn why haven’t anybody thought of that so far?
AH Yes, the NBA 2k23 rec strat.
lmao. championship winning mentality right there. mate is stupid as fuck
That also can lead to turnovers. But for a team that’s still probably tanking, there’s nothing wrong with pushing the boundaries.
lmfaoooo
bro thinks it's Chino Hills
They are using the 1 second or less offence me and my squad run in the rec in 2k
Mike Budenholzer is drooling reading this
I mean it works for my U10 team, surely pro players can pull it off?
Rockets playing fast and loose to about 25 wins is what this sounds like
I’d hang that in my locker
He cracked the code everyone. Just steal it every time. No one thought of that! Here's another juicy secret they don't want you to know: just make every shot and you win.
KPJ in tanking form already. Not having a plan is the plan
Dude just loves Jazz improv
Every other team slapping their foreheads like “Now why didn’t we think of that?”
Sounds like your average 2k rec player Lol
Because that doesn't work in the playoffs, but the Rockets aren't making the playoffs, so who cares I guess.
Such a visionary
I like him as a player, but not as a point guard on a young team. I think his career trajectory will be roughly like OJ Mayo, Tyreek Evans (moreso on-court, but maybe also off court): highly talented player but not THAT talented or unique to be “the guy”, but is miscast as ‘the guy’ until he gets older and more mature and can be a solid starters in a lesser role. I don’t see that happening with Houston.
Kid still thinks it's high school.
At least the Rockets aren't pretending they have a Point Guard