-Rockets summary- Another meeting Rockets players, not satisfied with 3 1/2 hours in practice on Monday, met again Monday night in a players-only meeting at the team hotel. Players said they generally talked about the same topics covered in that day's tape session in what amounted to a team pep talk. "It was our first one of the year," Rockets guard Steve Francis said. "It was to get everybody back on the same page. Guys had kind of drifted away from our offensive and defensive schemes. Everybody agreed on that. Hands down, there was overwhelming agreement from everybody." Francis said most players said the same thing, but several players said that teammates did express their frustration. "It was an opportunity to talk," Eric Piatkowski said. "Guys went ahead and expressed the thoughts and feelings they had. That's good. Some of the guys, I didn't know they were feeling that way. The nice thing is everybody likes each other and gets along well. A lot of teams in the league, everybody doesn't get along. We have that going off the floor, but when we're on the floor, we need to become more cohesive and trust each other and play more together. "There's no reason to get so frustrated. We lost two games in a row to the world champions. They're playing awfully good basketball now. They've been playing their system for a lot of years. Our guys are still getting comfortable with it." Yao Ming, asked about the meeting said, "I don't speak English." In truth, he understood enough. "We have to trust each other," he said. "And we have to take responsibility. We can talk about it all the time, but sometimes when we're in the game, we forget. It's something we need to strengthen on the court. It will definitely help." http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2301701 Dec. 16, 2003, 11:50PM Scoring remains lost art in setback to T-Wolves By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle MINNEAPOLIS -- The Rockets had a timing problem. After the game, they were angry and hurt. They were embarrassed and determined. The game meant something to them. But timing is everything. Earlier in the night, if they cared at all, it didn't show. Having gone from humbled to humiliated by San Antonio, the Rockets accomplished both in going down meekly 92-75 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. And if they learned anything from the previous failures, it seemed to be how to concede quickly and provide the hecklers with easy ammunition. "There's nothing that I can say," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy, appearing more disgusted than after any game or practice this season. "I don't think there is any reason to comment on anything. We were non-competitive after the first five or six minutes. I'm not saying every player, but as a group. We didn't compete as hard as you need to compete in the NBA. We need to get the effort back to a semblance of a winning spirit. We're not playing hard enough to win." For most of the night, the Timberwolves toyed with the Rockets, certain that there was little the Rockets would bother to do about it. Sam Cassell and Kevin Garnett, the greatest trash-talking combination in the history of the NBA, or at least since last season when Cassell teamed with Gary Payton, didn't have to say a word. They did of course. But they taunted the Rockets with their play, working harder while still making it look easy. Cassell entertained himself with finger rolls that no one deigned to challenge, no-look passes that flew past stationary defenders, jump shots in which he did not need to jump. Garnett, like Tim Duncan last week, did not shoot well, but he still dominated. He swatted six shots and worked so hard he was celebrated with two standing ovations with the fourth quarter still left to play. "Their three showed up," Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "Our three didn't." Mobley would say nothing more. "It's as simple as that," he said. But it might not be that simple. Cassell, Garnett and Latrell Sprewell, the only Wolves scorers in double figures, combined for 58 points, 17 assists and 24 rebounds. Mobley, Steve Francis and Yao Ming combined for 26 points, seven assists and 14 rebounds. Mobley had as many turnovers, four, as points. Yao played 28 minutes and grabbed just two rebounds. But as outplayed as the Rockets' top scorers were, the Rockets were overwhelmed in every way as the Timberwolves took their lead to 26 points before clearing the bench. After they were outworked in two games by the Spurs and spent a marathon practice and team meeting discussing the lessons learned, the Rockets simply took another embarrassing loss as if they no longer believed there was anything they could do to stop it. "The only concern I have is are we getting complacent?" Rockets forward Maurice Taylor said. "Are we satisfied with where we're at? Nobody in this locker room should be satisfied with where we're at. We shouldn't be satisfied with the record (13-10). We shouldn't be satisfied with the rate of improvement. We shouldn't be satisfied with anything that has to do with our team right now. "I think to a man we have to want to get better. Everybody has to look in the mirror and just say they're not doing enough. I believe in this team. I believe in the guys we have. But we have to perfect our craft. We have to work harder in practice to hit open shots. We need to do the things we need to do as players, outside of what the coaching staff has us doing, to win basketball games. I love our team. I love the way we're put together. But we can't get complacent with losing. We have to want to make that jump. We have to want to get to the next level." For a third consecutive game, the Rockets challenged their franchise record for lowest-scoring game. This time, they reached the magic number 67 when Alton Ford scored inside with 2:16 left. The offense did look different for a while. But generally, the improved ball movement allowed the Rockets to miss better shots as they made just 38.9 percent. The Rockets were officially toast, however, when Garnett said so. He blocked a Francis shot, then with Taylor hanging on to his left arm, redirected an alley-oop pass for a three-point play with his right, giving Minnesota a 25-point lead and earning his first ovation. When he swatted away the Rockets next shot, he was given another ovation, having demonstrated the difference between the teams. "He plays so hard and with so much passion," Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said. The Rockets should have taken notes. It would have been their greatest accomplishment of the night.
I'm tired of these f*ckers always talking about what they need to do and then continuing their same mediocre ways. WTF
true true. i've seen enough talkin and not enough walkin. no one, not even some eskimo in an ingloo in alaska, doesn't know what's wrong with this team. stop with the damn obvious "should've"s and "need to"s and please damn it do something about it. or else history will repeat itself, as the prophet gundy foretells.
WELL. What exactly did they say in this players-only meeting that caused them to lose embarrasingly by 17 points to the T-wolves? MUTINY????
yep. we've been hearing the exact same thing over and over. well f*ck it..... it's time for a change.
It a conspiracy thing according to the fly on the wall - the players are tired of having to play tough D game in game out and trying to get Rudy back as coach. The loss was pre-meditated and everything went according to plan.
After a meeting in which they decided to trust each other, and be more of a team Cuttino Mobley brilliantly declares: "Their three showed up," Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "Our three didn't." At least Steve kept his mouth shut. I'd rather have MoT taking Cuttino's shots. He hits a much higher %, and can actually carry the team when needed. MoT scores consistently all the time, as for Cuttino, regardless of the game situation, he scores when he fels like it. I don't care what he CAN do, I care about what he actually does. This Cato at PF thing finally got old too. Our F's are too unathletic, and our G's are too stupid. That's the problem with this team. It's nothing they can fix on their own, but it's something that a trade would fix IMO.
A fly on the wall at the Rockets Players only meeting....... Francis: Ok guys what is our problem? All: We Suck Francis: ok, let's go out and show the Wolves what Rockets ball is all about! Isn't it getting tiring hearing all this TALK from the Rockets like they know what their problems are, yet at the same time they never fix them in the game? It is like someone saying "Yeah, I know, I have a gambling problem" and then they ask their buddies if they want to go to Las Vegas for a vacation?
Sane, Is that the same Mo Taylor who has had shown the inability to even get off a good shot the past 3 games (i.e. he has been getting stuffed left and right)?? And what's wrong with Cats quote?? I mean, unless you don't want to believe that Cat is the 3rd best player on the team, behind Yao and Steve, then his quote is spot on. Our best three players didnt do enough to offset what their best three player's did.
I don't see what's wrong with Cat's comments too, but it seems like everytime he opens his mouth & says something like "next game is a must win situation","The Mavs got lucky, we'll be ready next time", "We must prove ourselves... " etc., I start having some bad feelings because he/the team normally don't back them up & we normally see an ugly loss afterwards. Bad luck charm?
also in the chron Fan of Sprewell Once considered the prime example of a player who could not be coached after choking his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, Timberwolves forward Latrell Sprewell dramatically remade his image while playing for Jeff Van Gundy in New York. Van Gundy said Sprewell, who was one of the Knicks' most popular players, was among the easiest players he had as Knicks coach. "The thing I loved about Latrell was he got a second chance and he made the most of his second chance, and very few people make the most of their second chance in life," Van Gundy said. "I loved he was direct in his honesty. You asked him a question, he gave you an honest and direct answer. You didn't have to beat around the bush, tell him three good things you liked about what he was doing and then get around to the point. He wanted honesty. He gave honesty in return. "It didn't have to be childlike, `You're doing really well in these three areas. What I'd like to see you improve on is.' You could just be direct. And then if you asked, "Latrell, what do you think,' if you didn't want to hear the answer, don't ask because he's going to tell you what he believes. "I had a lot of easy guys to coach there. He was one of the easiest." -------------------------------------------------------------- Coach: good job player x, your formally non existent defense is getting better, and you are looking to your teammates a little more, and im glad you lost some weight, but you sucked hard on the court the past few games, can't score and continue to can't score while not passing to open people, plus you dont move unless you have the ball. player x: Wowie! Thanks coach! I play great defense, don't I, huh? think maybe i can be an all star again? even if i'm not, im sure the coaches will vote me in for my great defense! I'm going to go out and reward myself with an root beer float. Neato! be more like latrell and cut the " Gee golly, i feel like im on a roller coaster and im in the front seat! this is sooooo scary and new but also fun and im the leader in front!" crap and stop trying to act like a star and just be one....uh...player x.
I seem to remember a lot of players meetings last season as well. Didn't seem to make any difference in their play. There just isn't any chemistry with this group of players. Even the great chemsitry between Steve and Cuttino has vanished. None of their games mesh well together. And it's not like you can force chemistry with a meeting.
All these meetings and all these quotes. It sounds to me like its all for face, because they are not doing anything about what they decided when they get on the court to play. The Rockets do NOT play Team Basketball!! JVG should make this his number one objective this season. You cant have a Team playing good Offence or good Defence without them playing as a Team first and foremost!
They are like children.....the problem is they WANT to do the right thing, but they don't yet know how. It is going to take some time... DD
