The Rockets have been playing great lately, unfortunately we still haven't learned how to close out games. Williams and Anderson are still struggling in the offense. Do we have any hope? What do you guys think?
I think without a doubt the Rockets can turn this season around. I'm still of the opinion that the post needs to be de-emphasized more. With the post still being the focus of the offense, you've got a bunch of new guys that are still trying to figure what each other can do. There are some keys to the Rockets being able to turn this season around : 1) Francis will have to play under control. He's got to cut down on trying to do the "impossible" and work on getting assists before getting highlights. 2) Francis needs to cut down on turnovers that are a result of him palming the ball or trying to pass the ball where there is no pass to be made. A lot of this also results from #1 above. 3) Barkley needs to stay healthy. I think, he's the biggest veteran influence on the younger kids on this team. Hakeem's great if you want to visit the oracle on the mountaintop and obtain seeds of wisdom. Barkley, on the other hand will get in your face and tell you what's up, straight up. Hakeem says the right things, Barkley flat out tells you that you're playing stupid basketball. Case in point was when he and Rudy screamed at Francis during the game for making a bonehead decision. At the same time, Barkley is susceptible to one or two bonehead decisions during a game, and he'll need to control those as well. Barkley's also this team's enforcer. We need that influence in a Rockets organization that always comes off as passive and often fails to have that "go-for-the-throat" mentality. 4) Ideally, I'd like to have a Derek Harper on this team to help aid the development of Cuttino, Bryce, and Francis, but I'm not sure that can happen. 5) Shandon outright disappeared during this Portland game. The boxscore says he played 22 minutes with 1 shot. No wonder I hardly noticed the guy. He has GOT to become a legitimate offensive threat to take pressure off the inside guys and the PG. His defense needs to become solid game-in and game-out because our small forwards are not defensively inclined and it's almost a bet they're going to get eaten alive by other teams with talent at that spot. He's got to at least be able to shut down opposing 2 guards for us to stay in the game. 6) Cato needs to get more playing time. When the guy gets minutes, his hustle is addictive throughout the team. I love the way he scraps for rebounds... now I just wish he'd play a bit more under control so he can avoid foul trouble. 7) The team as a whole needs to be able to cut down on silly turnovers. This will hopefully come in time with playing together as a unit (I sure as heck hope so). ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins...
I think we showed all the poise needed in closing out the game tonight. A couple of shots did not fall but were close. I can't ask anymore than that. They made the right decisions, they did not panic. I, for one, am very proud of them. This season can certainly be turned around but will be an uphill climb. Which is okay. We only need to display the same fire in the gut and poise that we showed tonight against a very talented team (hate to admit they are talented but it is a no brainer).
yes, there is hope. walt williams is just in a slump. he is perfect for out d-i-t offense. i am really worried about shandon on the other hand. even though, he has had some good games, i know that this d-i-t offense is not suited for him. fortunately, it is not suited for some other people also, and that is why rudy will be forced into creating more running and cutting plays. we are getting better and better at running(less turnovers on the break) so shandon will find his role there. but we can't have him only scoring on the break. we got to have some plays set up for him in our half court game. while i know we have some, i was disappointed that we didnt use them against the blazerz. but all in all, i hope that shandon will find his role here. everyone kept on sayin that pippen should have been more aggressive. now, if pippen couldn't do it, what makes u think that shandon can do it? we have to help him out more... then he will find his role
Cato didn't step up at first, but he finally did by firmly grabbing rebounds and swatting shots, he should not be afraid of foul trouble and remain not so aggresswive. He's got to know his role, which is to play defense and grab rebounds, while score off good passes from teammates. I don't wanna see his air jump hooks. If he is aggresssive every game and stay out of silly foul trouble he would be a force in the paint.
I'd agree about Cato. If anyone can really make a big difference this season it is actually Cato (aside from X player we might acquire). We see games where two or three out of the big three have good games and we still lose. Even if we had totally solid games from Mobley and SA, we might still manage to come up short.
