Still confused as to Rudy's Substitute pattern and Starting Rotation. 1. As the 3rd period is ending, Hakeem has a whopping 7 minutes again. So even if he plays all 12 minutes he once again will be around 20 mins. This can't still be an injury or Catch his wind thing. No one can tell me that Cato is better than Hakeem right now. Whats the deal? 2. Bullard at Power Foward is the biggest Joke. Right now there are two players who should be starting at the position over him. Cato, and Thomas....nuff said. 3. Steve Francis is the Rox best player, but once again hes going to get under 36 mins for the night. I believe that I saw that of all the starting point guards, Steve gets something like the 15th most minutes. Without Hakeem as a legitimate scoring threat in the post, Francis is going to die off of double teams. Williams and Bullard as a dish out is nice if Francis was driving the lane and kicking out, but its not happening as much with the impending double. And Bullard and Williams for 3 works for like 3 plays before teams just start doubling on the perimiter off of Steve. There has to be better ways to get your best player off. This is truely maddening. I know its the 3rd quarter and the Rox are winning (losing a huge lead) but I genuinely feel that Rudy has secondary motives. Part of me still thinks Rudy is not too keen on winning games, and is not taking advantage of what the Rox have as a team. I still believe: Hakeem/Cato about 35/13 Cato/Thomas about 28/20 Williams split with Bullard and alot of time to Carlos once he gets back with a shaking of Anderson. Anderson/Mobley for about 35/13 Francis for at least 38 mins a game with Drew getting the other 10 Is a team balance that could win the Rox a playoff birth.
You gotta get Mobley more than 13 minutes. I do agree that Hakeem should be playing between 30 and 35 minutes, though. ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.
Mobley needs more than 13 minutes. That said, I agree with you... and I sincerely doubt that Rudy is "showcasing" Air Bullard. Francis is coming off an injury, so perhaps that's understandable... but I don't know why Thomas and Cato aren't playing more. I don't want to say Rudy is tanking quite yet, but it's suspcious. Maybe he's rewarding Bullard for years of faithful service. Walt is playing well. Oops! I just noticed a little fact... Francis and Dream both have 5 fouls... that could explain things for tonight at least. [This message has been edited by haven (edited February 15, 2000).]
If NBA Courtside Live is correct and Cato had 24 min and Hakeem had 20 min, then who the heck was playing the other 4 min at Center? Miller didn't play. ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.
as you noticed, francis was in foul trouble tonight, thus the lowered minutes...rudy appears to be in a pattern of cato playing the 1st and 3rd quarters while hakeem plays the 2nd and 4th...hard to argue with keeping cato in the entire 1st quarter when he pulled in 10 rebounds...also, if you noticed that while bullard started, he only played 16 minutes while thomas had 32...i don't mind seeing bullard start as he has the ability to get the rockets off if his shooting is on, while thomas needs to be in the flow of the game (rebounding, defending,etc) to be effective...since there is not really a flow to the game at the start it's not a bad idea to have thomas sub...once rogers gets healthy, i'd like to see he and thomas split the minutes while bullard comes in as needed...
ds: what you are missing in your simplicity of minutes is that this is a guard-oriented team that goes small...ala phoenix. Francis, Anderson and Mobley play minutes together. That creates several mismatches. We can continue going "small" like this while we have shot-blockers underneath. that said...I still love your idea of featuring Hakeem and Cato together.
This Francis sitting on the bench for so long is becoming complete horse****! Francis ranking behind 14 other point guards in min/per/game is complete horse****! What ever happening to a rewarding a player with his hustle by letting him play with 4 fouls. Geez, players play with 4 fouls all the time, but not Francis he almost sits the entire second half. Why does Francis sit down for the whole second quarter all the time, okay he comes back in with 4min left...that is bull****! Writers all over the NBA write complete pages about how much talent this kid has yet he can't even beat out Bryce drew for large minutes. Why doesn't he recieve major playing time like the rest of the elite? Remember this is a kid who was named player of the week! This is complete horse****!
ROCKETBOOSTER, Do you live on a ranch by any chance? ------------------ I have a dream.........his name's Hakeem.
Heypartner... No I agree with you about being a guard orientated offense. But when your best player only averages 34 mins a game, is a rookie, is only 21, and full of energy, something isn't adding up. I recognize Drew needing some time, but Francis has had ample time to recoop. Hasn't been complaining of being injured, but why cant the man get minutes like the future star he is? Francis didn't pick up his 3rd foul until the 8th minute of the 3rd quarter. And didn't come back untill halfway through the 4th. Hardly foul trouble. I think the Rox have to have at least have one decent post up weapon to give Francis some breathing room out at the perimiter to break down defenses. No one on the Rox squad but Hakeem demands any respect inside. Hakeem had only 7 mins of playing time with something like mins left in the 3rd quarter. With I believe 2 fouls. Hardly foul trouble. I understand that Matt Bullard isn't finishing games, but why not give the starting nod to a more capable Power Foward? Why not Cato along side of Hakeem? Now that is the best chance Houston has of winning lots of games. A solid lineup that can block shots, has a 3 point threat, a slasher, and a light em up point guard. Insted I have to watch a limited Center in Cato, who doesn't even want the start. With not near enough offense to help out any of the perimeter guys. A power foward who doesn't play D and also likes to hang out around the 3 point line, cant hit a shot that isn't a set 3 pointer. and another of the exact same type of player at the small foward spot. Its maddening. Truely. Ive always been under the impression that you play your 5 best positional players. Regardless.
Im seriously starting to doubt if you guys actually watch the game or just look at he statistics. "Francis was in foul trouble" ,or "Francis could still be injured." C'mon fellas players play with 4 fouls all the time. Did he have 4 fouls at the end of the first quarter? Why did he almost sit out the whole second quarter then? I mean it just starts to add up, all the idle time on the bench. Your player of the week, possibly Rookie of the year, averages almost 15 minutes on the bench a game. Why? because of Bryce Drew?
Dreamshake, thanks for noticing what I've been seeing all year about Francis's bench warming. It's complete horse****, I tell Ya, Dreamer. But Bro I have to disagree with you on Dream/Cato issue. Cato is much more suited for this type of guard oriented offense that evolves around Bryce Drew. Hakeem is playing 15-20 minutes a game and that is perfect. Cato rebounds, runs the floor, blocks shots, and gets the hell out of the way on offense and thats what we need. It's very important for every player to make their game fit around Drew. It'll take time but they'll learn soon enough if they can keep that scrub Francis on the bench.
One possible explanation for Francis' (lack of) minutes is Rudy not wanting to run him into the ground in his first year. When Isiah Thomas was GM of the Raptors, he had a running disagreement with then-coach Brendan Malone, that he was playing Damon Stoudamire too many minutes in his rookie year. Isiah didn't want Damon to burn out after one year, mainly because the team wasn't going anywhere anyway. Malone was worried only about his job, so he refused to cut Damon's minutes, thus hopefully improving his chances of winning games. Of course, Isiah won in the end, as Malone got the axe at the end of the year. Isiah and Rudy are both pretty smart guys, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're using the same line of thinking here. Not to mention, we already know Francis is going to be great, I don't think him playing every minute of every game this year really helps him or the team that much. He can also learn by watching. Drew needs to play too, so the Rockets can figure out whether or not he'll be with us for much longer. As far as Bullard starting, I really think that's an indication that Rudy is trying to win some games, as well as develop for the future. I think he just wants one guy out there who's a veteran and a stabilizing influence, maybe not getting as rattled as some of the younger guys. It doesn't really bother me that he starts, because when the team gets closer to its peak, there's always going to be a Bullard-type player out there on the court anyway (John Paxson, for example), if not starting, a key part of the rotation. [This message has been edited by TheFreak (edited February 16, 2000).]
Freak, you explain it perfectly. How many times have you heard about the "Rookie Wall"? Francis has been given a lot of responsibility for a rookie, so I'm sure Rudy is just preserving his health and fitness. Besides, the rocks more than held their own whith Drew on the court. Rudy's sub patterns are generally reactive and predictable - he will make one when either a) A player gets in foul trouble b) Makes a couple of errors c) Gets abused by his opponent As far as Bullard starting, how can you fault that. I've seen NUMEROUS games where the double threat of Williams and Bullard open up the first quarter with three or four(or five or six) 3 pointers between them. So what if Bullard's game is one dimensional. There are plenty of one dimensional guys in the league who aren't 6'11" and can't light it up from outside the arc.
See Freak and Davo, people just look for any excuse to bash Rudy T. I think he has done a marvelous job of completely retooling this team, and keeping them somewhat competitive. I agree with Freak about the rookie deal. Why have him burn out? Why risk further injury on his knee? He still has the indirect hernia (whatever the hell that is). He was in foul trouble. As for Dream, I just haven't been real impressed with him since he's come back. I like him splitting time with Cato. I would like to see them both in there, but I do believe that Cato should be starting. I guarantee you if Francis and Dream had either picked up another and final foul, or gotten hurt, the same people would be blaming Rudy for NOT taking them out.
Rocketman95...Please direct me to one line where I am bashing Rudy in this thread. As to foul trouble, I thought I pretty much ended the speculation on that. Neither was in foul trouble till the end of the game. Injuries to Francis? Its been a few weeks. That injured knee wasn't hurting him enough to not jump around at the Dunk contest, or play in the rookie game. I think its a non issue. Besides is anyone else listing these as problems besides Rudy excuse makers? Freak...I could understand your thinking on running Francis into the ground. It makes sense. But playing a young guy, with all that energy 4 more minutes a game shouldn't hurt him too much. And it would contradict what Rudy has done with his stars of past. (playing them 40+ mins) How can you sit your unquestionable best player, one of the 4 best point guards for over a quater each game? As For Hakeem. Ive been really impressed with his taking of the new role. He said he didn't want to interfere with the developement of a new strategy, and so far his molded his game around the young guys. I still think he needs to start along side of Cato. I still think its time to get him 30 or so mins a game. And if you want a calming veteran presence on the floor to start, why Bullard over Hakeem?
I agree with Freak, Rudy is doing what needs to be done. I was a Rudy-basher myself previously but these last games when he abandoned the inside-outside offense, my perception changed. He is saving Francis for the big finish, as young and energetic as Francis is, Rudy knows that there is limit to that energy. Remember those days when Hakeem was playing huge minutes? Look at this knees now. Remember, Rudy is a big picture guy... so let's give him a break.
Olajuwon plays best with 25 min or less. This allows him to play the fourth strong. maybe he will be able to dominate in the crunch time in the near future.
francis picked up his 4th foul with between 7 and 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter (almost 20 minutes left in the game)...i would say that is being in foul trouble...
