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Sunday November 9, 2008 0:31 AM

Tunnel Vision


Seeing the game through the eyes of Gersson Rosas

Jason Friedman
Rockets.com Staff Writer

Houston - Note: This is Part II of Rockets.com's three-part series in which we watch an entire game with a member of the Rockets' braintrust in an effort to glean insight from the men who help make the big decisions involving the team. Click here to read Part I in which we spend an evening with Houston's VP of Basketball Operations, Sam Hinkie.

Why on earth are we going to watch a basketball game from the mouth of a tunnel?

That’s the question that keeps swirling around my mind as I stand next to Gersson Rosas, the Houston Rockets’ Director of Player Personnel. Since my company for the evening is a highly-respected member of the Rockets’ front office, I assumed we’d be watching the club’s home opener from some sweet seats behind the bench, or maybe even one of Toyota Center’s sweet suites. But, no, we’re standing just outside the home team’s tunnel and this is where we’ll be for the entire game, semi-obstructed view and all (at various times security personnel, fans and even the Rockets Power Dancers make it difficult to see the far end of the court in its entirety). This is the vantage point from which Rosas views every Rockets home game.

The question is: Why?

“From a scout’s point of view, you want to be as close to the floor as possible in order to fully comprehend all of the intricacies within game,” explains Rosas. “For example, our coaching staff develops a game plan and you not only want to see if our guys carry it out, but in what manner they go about doing it. You want to see the interactions between the coach and players, the players as a team, and the team versus the opponent. These intricacies reveal important insights, both good and bad, into our personnel.

“Standing in the tunnel is not the best view point to analyze what worked in terms of the overall strategy, offense and defense, but I feel that by being as close to the floor as possible I can get an essence of what’s going on inside the game, in terms of pure basketball.

“Some of those details get lost when you sit in the stands. And it’s important to me to get a feel for the emotion and frustration of a game – basically just all the stuff the box score doesn’t cover. That to me is a scout’s true value. There are certain things which tell you a bigger story about what’s going on overall. Many times those things can prove meaningless, but when they are meaningful they prove to be special. For example, observing our young players development has been very exciting and you can trace some of their maturation to early signs like Aaron Brooks’ poise in pressure situations, Luis Scola’s pre game approach, and Carl Landry’s vigor and motivation in games. Those small details let us know how far along our guys are in their development cycle.”

Rosas’ background is filled with scouting and coaching experience, so it’s no surprise he relishes every available opportunity to get a feel for the players and the game. His is the sort of subjective approach people don’t mention much anymore when discussing the Rockets. Ever since Daryl Morey took over as General Manager, the mainstream’s focus has understandably fallen on the analytical emphasis employed by the team - it’s new, novel and, in some circles at least, a little controversial. But to a man, everyone within the organization preaches the importance of blending the two viewpoints together and there’s perhaps no better way to see that belief in action than by witnessing the interaction which takes place among the various members of the Rockets’ brain trust.

“No question,” says Rosas. “I think we all truly value different information. We want to find out as much information as we can on a player or a situation, so we can make the best decision possible. I think the key is having an open mind on both ends. Coach has a better feel for his players and for his team overall than we could ever have. But at the same time, our focus is on posing the right questions in terms of the personnel perspective. For example, talking to our coach and staff and asking, ‘Hey, how comfortable are you with this guy? Why do you think you need or don’t need him? What do you feel about his strengths and weaknesses? Do you feel like we’ve got to upgrade here? Should we go in a different direction in terms of the type of player we have?’ So information from both perspectives is vital and feedback is exchanged in both directions.

“I think Daryl and [Vice President of Basketball Operations] Sam Hinkie, with our statistical analysis programs, get a good feel for what quantifiably is happening on the court, and then our scouts’ and coaches’ feedback play a key role in marrying the two subjects together.

“Our guys will be the first to tell you: the numbers don’t tell you everything. Basketball is still a team sport where chemistry, along with other multiple factors, makes it a challenge to put together a winning team; unfortunately numbers don’t correlate it all together. I think what makes it work for us is that Daryl is very open to the fact that we have to be balanced and as thorough as possible to cover as much information from both analytical and subjective view points. Because how well you know your team and how well you know your players can really give you a leg up when you have to make personnel decisions. You don’t want to give up a guy to a trade or free agency too early, just as you don’t want to wait too long, either, and our balance in our approach, on both ends, gives us an advantage.

“We don’t always agree on everything and we’ve had some very heated debates about drafts, trades and free agency, but you know what, the great thing about Daryl is he’ll take your input and use it. For our personnel department and as a scout that is very important. And as a result, no matter what the decision, and who’s right or wrong, at the end of the day we agree or disagree as a team and we move forward as a team. Even on the personnel side, we win and lose together as a team.”

Speaking of winning and losing, the game is about to tip-off. Everyone is eager to see how the new look Rockets perform after a preseason filled with plenty of positives, but one which also didn’t provide much in the way of on-court chemistry since so many players were still working their way back from offseason surgery.

Not surprisingly, Ron Artest sets the early tone with his energy and intensity. The guy has been a beast from the day he arrived, showing off a work ethic which is second to none. He is almost always the last man off the floor at practice, never leaving until he’s pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion with a wide variety of shooting drills. It’s admirable to be sure, but the question has to be asked: How much is too much?

“It’s a concern, not just for Ron but for all our guys,” conceded Rosas. “The tricky part is that’s what he knows and that’s who he is, and you don’t want to reel in the guy so much that he loses his identity. A guy like that, he’s used to working in that structure and the danger is that you take him out of his comfort zone and it takes his confidence away. So I think it’s a double-edged sword. The tough thing is that a lot of those guys set up that regimen early on in their careers and then as they get older, the workout – along with the long season and grind – really starts to weigh them down, but you have to find a common ground where the coaches and players are comfortable.”

I ask Gersson how sensitive topics like this are handled by the organization.

“We go to the coaches with an open mind about subjects or trends, good and bad that are standing out,” he says. “So we will discuss, for example, if someone’s performance is spiking at certain points, taking a dip late in the game, or if a guy is struggling on back-to-backs, we’ll go to the coaches and tell them, ‘Hey, this is what we’re finding. What do you guys think?’ And sometimes the coaches will tell you, ‘You know what, we don’t see it, at other times they will say maybe there’s something there,’ and either way it’s totally fine. The important thing is communication, bringing things up so you can discuss as a group and that at the end of the day make us a better team.”

The game moves into the second quarter and Brent Barry steps on the floor. It’s crazy: The guy only averaged about seven points per game during his four seasons in San Antonio, yet everyone within the Rockets organization gets giddy when discussing his value to the team. Crazier still: They appear to be right, because every time Barry has the ball in his hands, good things seem to happen. In other words: Brent Barry is to the Rockets’ offense what Shane Battier is to the Rockets’ defense.

“That’s a good comparison,” says Rosas. “I think his overall feel and how detail-oriented Brent is offensively is similar to Shane's defensive understanding. We always talk about Shane’s impact on our overall defense in terms of our transition defense, as a communicator for us, and in terms of being our leader on the defensive end. Well, Brent has the potential for a similar impact on the offensive end for our second unit, with his shooting, spacing ability and as a hard cutter- even at his age- where he gets guys open because teams have to be aware of his activity.”

A few minutes later, Rosas’ keen eyes have caught something else: Carl Landry took a feed in the lane on his way to the basket before momentarily gathering himself so he could explode to the hoop off two feet. End result: He gets stuffed by Memphis’ Marc Gasol. Rosas says Landry’s foray to the rim could have been successful if he’d jumped off one foot instead – a point of emphasis with the club’s development program.

“All our staff works pretty closely together in terms of emphasizing to the bigs and the guards the importance of beating defenders to the basket,” says Rosas. “It’s very important for guards, but because of the way that Carl plays above the rim, a play like this is something we’ll break down in film to show him that he’s got to try to use the right technique there in order to get a cleaner look at the basket. There are obviously certain situations where you want to use two feet but when you’re cutting to the basket and you want to beat your guy to the rim, you’ve got to go off one foot.”

Meanwhile, the game has turned into a sloppy, grind-it-out slugfest of sorts. With 2:59 to go in the first half, the Rockets have scored only 35 points and lead the lowly Grizzlies by a mere three. Suffice to say, this hasn’t been the sort of grand opening the Toyota Center faithful were hoping for. Even from inside the arena, you can already feel the venom and vitriol bubbling to the surface as message board denizens decry the sluggishness – especially offensively – of their team. Hey, fans will be fans – that’s the roller coaster they ride. But I’ve always wondered: How does a pro like Rosas handle times like these?

“I choose to look at the positive,” he says. “I feel that if we’re going to be successful in the first stretch of the schedule here, we’re going to have to do it defensively. I know patience isn’t always easy for fans or for us, but the team is in transition in terms of new personnel and injuries and unfortunately it’s a process; you can’t cheat time or experience, it comes on its own. Our goal is to play great basketball all year, but it’s more important to peak late in the season and for the playoffs.”

I have a sneaky suspicion that response isn’t likely to quell the madding crowd. I tell Gersson that the cynics would say he’s merely attempting to cushion the blow if a slow start actually occurs.

“I would just respond to that by saying we have so much faith in our coaching staff and personnel,” says Rosas. “Not to put all the pressure on them, but people don’t realize what a great accomplishment that 22-game winning streak was last year. The coaching staff did not have a full-fledged roster during that streak, and they put that thing together in such impressive fashion. We know our coaches are going to put our guys in position to be successful night in and night out. It might not be pretty every night, but Coach Adelman’s results speak for themselves – he’s one of the winningest coaches in the league for a reason, and it’s because he’s got a great feel for what he’s doing and has experience in every situation.”

Rosas then expands upon that point by relaying a story which sheds some insight into what makes Adelman so good, and also such an easy person with whom to work.

“Heading in to the 2007 draft, we were very thin at the four-spot,” Rosas recalls. “Chuck Hayes was a free agent and the trade for Luis Scola had not yet happened. We had a chance to move up and take Carl Landry and as a staff we felt pretty good about him, but we were concerned because we didn’t want to put coach in an awkward situation where his only option was a rookie second-rounder playing at the four-spot heading into the season.

“So Daryl went to coach, told him about the situation and that Landry was the guy we liked and asked Rick how he felt about it. There are some coaches that will tell you, ‘Hey, don’t give me the rookie. Go find me a veteran because that’s our only chance to win.’ But Rick was unbelievable. He said, ‘Look, you guys give me players that can play. If you guys believe that they’re talented and have the ability to fit within our system, then I’ll do my best to make it work. Bring us some talent.’

“Rick gets it. He has a great feel for what players can and can’t do, and he puts guys in position to be successful because of that feel. It makes our jobs better because we know that if we bring a guy in here and we’re honest with coach and tell him that this guy can do A,B and C, but can’t do D, E and F, coach will put him in a position to play to his strengths.”

It takes until the final quarter, but the Rockets finally manage to put some distance between themselves and the determined young Grizzlies. The key play occurs when a still–hobbled Tracy McGrady drives into the lane and dishes to Rafer Alston for a back-breaking three-pointer. It’s exactly the kind of play Rosas expects to see T-Mac make en masse this year.

“I think it’s going to be an interesting year for Tracy, Rosas says. “I think you’re going to see him more as a playmaker but I also think you’re going to see him pick his spots offensively. He’s going to have more of an opportunity to do either, whereas before, when the defense overloaded on him, he was very restricted in what he could do. Now he has the option to create for his teammates or look to score as matchups will be more favorable and no longer will teams be able to just double him without fear of one of our other guys hurting them.

“Tracy is a guy who’s more comfortable being a playmaker than a scorer. He made his money in Orlando doing all the scoring because he understood that’s what his team needed from him, but I think the guy’s first instinct is to ask, ‘How can I make the smart basketball play?’ and most of the time – with the defensive coverage on him – that’s going to involve passing off to a teammate. In that way, he’s very different from your typical, ‘I’m going to go to score at all costs’ mentality that some of the prototypical scorers have.”

With game one of 82 in the books, Rosas’ reward is that he now gets to go back and watch film of the game we just witnessed. The tape will shed light on all the strategic things he missed out on the first time around. He’ll also consult with his eyes and ears on the bench, Shawn Respert and Brett Gunning, to get up close and personal accounts on everything relating to the players’ attitudes and psyches.

The reason behind this is simple: in basketball, just as it is in every other aspect of life, knowledge is power. So the more perspectives you have at your disposal, the better; whether they’re viewed from up close, far away, in real speed or slow motion.

Or even, sometimes, from a tunnel.

Got a question for Rockets.com? Send it to Jason Friedman.