http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/bk/bkn/rox/2188677 The problem was not that the Rockets were giving up layups. To say they were giving up layups would be kind. Defensively, they began the preseason worse than that. "Everything," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "We gave up everything." Layups. Wide-open perimeter shots. Shots in the lane. Fast breaks. In the first games under the coach who arrived with a glowing reputation for defense, Rockets defenders were traffic cones. But in the preseason, the scoring by Rockets opponents decreased in six of the final seven games. The only exception was the 79 points the Nuggets scored, and that was 20 points shy of their preseason average. The Spurs' 63 points were their fewest ever in a game, preseason, regular-season or postseason. None of which means the Rockets have become a great defensive team. Nor were they a terrible defensive team last season. But as much as Van Gundy insists his reputation is incomplete to the point of being inaccurate -- he preaches balance in all things -- the Rockets might have to become shut-down defenders to excel in the loaded Western Conference. "We're trying harder," Van Gundy said of the improvements this month. "That's the first thing. When you try, you have a chance to do better. I thought we did a better job of taking away the basket area and taking away the 3-point shot. Now, you can do both, but you need guys who will make multiple efforts to do both. We have to continue to grow defensively." The Rockets had already shown improvement defensively. In the 2001-2002 season, they ranked ahead of only the Bulls in opponents' field-goal percentage. They were 20th in opponents' scoring. Last season, they improved to fifth in opponents' field-goal percentage and eighth in opponents' scoring. "Even though we didn't make the playoffs, that's damn good to be (eighth)," guard Steve Francis said. "I think there will be a lot more ball pressure this year. We're definitely looking forward to getting out and denying the basketball. Even our big guys are going to push out beyond the free-throw line." Van Gundy's defenses feature little risk-taking behind that ball pressure and generally force few turnovers. But last season's Rockets ranked 28th in turnovers forced. And when the Rockets computed the points scored per possession -- a Dean Smith formula that coaches consider a more telling statistic to measure defense -- the Rockets allowed .894 points per opposing possession, which placed them 11th in the NBA last season. (The formula adds field goals attempted, free throws attempted and turnovers and divides by points.) The Rockets came out as better than average, which, considering their below-average offense and 43-39 record, seems about right. But for the Rockets to move up into the Western Conference playoff pack, they must improve defensively. "He is very, very focused on defense," center Yao Ming said of Van Gundy. "Of course, there's improvements that can be made. The success we had in preseason, we're doing pretty well. I think we're communicating a lot more on defense, so we're coordinated better, we're cooperating better, so that just creates better defense." One change Van Gundy cited was the move of Kelvin Cato to forward. Cato brings better size and rebounding than the other Rockets power forwards. Cato, who flailed wildly as a shot blocker in his early days with the Rockets, has become disciplined against pump fakes, an improvement that will be tested against the West's All-Star power forwards. "Cato, I think since he went in the starting lineup, we played better defensively," Van Gundy said. "He is a good defender. He's smart, so he knows schemes and how we're going to cover things. As far as closing against fours, the perimeter fours, that will be a lot different. If we have to adjust ... we'll figure that out as we go." The next step has been the understanding of roles and responsibilities. As much as all good defense begins with trying to play it, Van Gundy's emphasis on help defense demands that players are positioned correctly. When defenders were in the wrong position in the preseason, Rashard Lewis and George Lynch took target practice. When the Rockets began to understand and execute the defense, the Kings and Spurs' shooters had defenders chasing them to the 3-point line. "He's demanding more as far as everybody being in the right positions offensively and defensively," Jim Jackson said of Van Gundy. "You have to be there to be a good defensive team. "There's ways you help. If I'm a guard and I help a big man, then another guard has to help me. If a big man comes to block a shot, I have to come down and block out his man. That's why he's really drilling us on help defense. "Now we're starting to catch on a little bit as far as why he wanted you in that position as far as cutting off penetration and layups. It's all starting to come into view." ---- 這是篇不錯的文章，有興趣的人可以耐下心來把他看完， ---- ꐊ --

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