Finding A Balance: Rockets Use Film Study To Improve Transition Defense
HOUSTON — Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas took a different approach when holding practice inside the Toyota Center Friday afternoon.
Instead of on-court workouts and drills, Silas gave the team a recovery day following their three-game road trip, which concluded with a 15-point defeat to the Dallas Mavericks Thursday night.
Silas encouraged his players to get treatment or enjoy their time off at home. But he did spend a half hour with players breaking down film of their dreadful performance inside the American Airlines Center.
"Sometimes you don't see it during the game," Silas said. "When you see how we gave up 25 fast break points, you don't see it the way we just saw it. It helps the accountability and the learning part, which goes hand-and-hand."
Transition defense was the primary focus of the Rockets' film study. Tari Eason believed that the session went well, given that it gave the team a chance to find a balance between crashing the glass for an offensive rebound or getting back on defense.
The Mavericks came into the game averaging a league-low 11.2 in fast break points. But given the indecisiveness between going after an offensive rebound or getting back in transition, the Rockets allowed Dallas to score 14 more points.
In a loss against the Boston Celtics Tuesday night, Houston gave up 24 fast break points.
"I think it's all about playing hard," Eason said. "We are a young team, and people are expecting us to do both. Us crashing the glass helps with our offense. We are not going to shy away from that. But we do have to make that second effort to get back."
The Rockets have pride in their offensive rebounding. They currently rank first in the league after averaging a league-best 13.5 offensive boards.
Houston will have a chance to put their film session to use Saturday night during a New Year's Eve showdown against the 18-18 New York Knicks. New York currently ranks 19th in the league in fast break points (13.3).
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
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