Aw hell, Doc's starting a thread in the Game Action forum... this can't be good news... Ya know, it's pretty obvious, but this team is full of role players. I'd like to find one player that plays 2 or 3 roles instead of all these knuckleheads we have that all do 1 thing good and that's about it. When that one thing isn't working, they're pretty much useless for the night. Let's rewind... Even in the championship years we had Hakeem, Drexler, Maxwell, Thorpe, etc. who were solid players and not just role players. They, in turn, were complimented by role players. Hakeem : all everything player. Offense, defense, rebounding, steals, blah, blah, blah, ad nauseum. Clyde : offensive threat, defensive stopper, could pop the jumper, could penetrate, was a 3 pt. threat to an extent, ran the break like no other Rocket ever with the exception of maybe Lew Lloyd, could play 3 positions, could handle the ball. OT : could score, could rebound, could bang. Mo Taaaay Can You Seeeeee? This is a PF. The guy is what? 62 years old now and could still outrebound our PF with both legs tied behind his back. Maxwell : defensive stopper, could kill you with the 3, explosive on offense, could rile up MJ simply by opening his mouth. If you can get into MJ's head, you can be on my team no matter what kinda headcase you are. Was a jackass at times, but had heart. These guys were our starters and were surrounded by role players that complimented the machinery to build the complete war machine. The Robery Horries, the Kenny Smiths, the Sam Cassells, etc. Let's fast forward to the present : Instead of a war machin, we've currently got a couple of patriot missles (yes, the ones that sometimes miss their targets, but sometimes hit them... hint, hint) surrounded by straws that shoot spitwads. Uh... Steve Francis : scores, highlight reel material, plays the point, can play the SG... can probably play the harmonica with his ass better than he can play defense... still a very good start at PG or SG Cuttino Mobley : most explosive first step in the NBA, but you know what? If ya hold a lighter to your ass and fart, that's pretty explosive, too, and it still stinks. There were a lot of people without explosive first steps that did well in the NBA, too. He's still a good addition to the team as long as he doesn't revert to shooting ridiculous percentages. As for defense, he backs up Steve on the all-ass-harmonica-blowers club. Mo Taylor : underachieving small forward blessed with the body of a power forward that does nothing really well at the moment. You won't find this guy on the cover of SLAM or Sports Illustrated... his style of play is better suited to Victoria's Secret, Cosmo, and Young Miss. I think someone in another thread said if we want to upgrade our rebounding at PF, and keep the outside shooting, we should sign Cheryl Miller. Props to whoever said that. Even on his better days, he's a very good scorer at best. If I asked you what's higher, his rebounds/game average or his fouls/game average, would you be able to tell me? You probably would, but hey, the 2 numbers may be closer than you think. And for all you people clamoring about "it was because he played for the Clippers", yeah right. This guy has left the Clippers, is part of a rebuilding team with 2 or 3 good backcourt talents, and is in a big-payday year contract-wise and this is what he gives us. Defense? Harmonica. Ok, maybe the flute. Kenny Thomas : He is Mo Taylor's evil midget twin brother - mini-Mo if you will. As if Mo Tay wasn't a mockery of all things power forward, now we have KT. KT's not so bad, but God, Rudy, can't you find somebody that could pretend to be a PF? Built like a water buffalo and tries to play like a ballerina. Newsflash : Buffalo butts and tutus are a nasty combination. His 3 pointers can be analogous to using a howitzer to hammer nails. Scary site when he misses, yet like a moth to a flame, his rotund gluteus maximus finds its way to the three point line to heave one up. It's a tragic day when you say your power forward is Mo Taylor and your backup PF is Kenny Thomas. I still say my grandma could outplay either of 'em. Matt Bullard : his favorite number is probably 3. Walt Williams : his scoring is like a a hooker's client... comes and goes. He gets hot streaks then disappears for games. Defense? Har Mon Ica. Carlos Rogers : where is this guy? Everytime I hear about him, he's hustling and getting rebounds right and left, yet I never see him getting minutes. Shandon Anderson : he plays defense. His role on the team could be like Mitchell Wiggins... but what good is one guy playing defense who puts up about 3-5 shots a game when nobody else on your starting 5 can really play strong defense the entire game? He's as one-dimensional as Steve, but instead of Offense-only, he's Defense-only, and that's sad because I've seen offensive explosiveness out of the guy in the past. Hakeem of Christmas Present : it's sad when Hakeem has been relegated to a role player, but that's what he is. Remember the days when nobody would try to reject one of Dream's dunks? Now inanimate objects (aka, the rim) do it. Those of you asking for one-dimensional rebounders or one-dimensional scorers (Jerome Williams comes to mind), I'm going to disagree with you. They will not help this team. We currently have the following : C - anybody that can breathe and last the whole game without fouling out or killing themselves. PF - Mo and mini-Mo. SF - Anderson when he's on. Walt isn't dependable. SG - Mobley and Anderson. Good start. PG - Francis. Good start. and... NO DEFENSE Remember the old saying, if your "main thing" isn't working, do something else to help the team. For example, if your shot isn't working, crash the boards, play good D, etc. If Matt Bullard's 3 isn't falling, what is he going to do? Hell if I know. If Walt Williams' shot isn't falling, what's he going to do? Ratchet his defense up a notch? Wonderful, now he can guard a fire hydrant. If Mo Tay can't get his shots... well, you're seeing that now. These guys are all damn-near useless when their "main thing" isn't working. They have nothing to fall back on. At that point, what's Rudy to do? Put in Jason Collier, Kenny Thomas, Damn Lanky, etc.? Oh yay. And you're trying to tell me that adding a Jerome Williams to this carnival is going to help? I haven't looked at salaries or anything else, so I don't know what's feasible, nor do I really care. What I do know is that we don't need another one-dimensional player/role player on this team. We may make the playoffs... whoopee... I've got news for you, there aren't too many teams that don't. Even if we do get to the playoffs, exactly how far do you expect to go with this lineup? I have no idea why I started this thread other than to vent, and I think I just did. I'm going to bed. I'm done. Good night. ------------------ Did you know? Derrick Chievous sucked. It's true. -- from the ClutchCity.net "Did You Know" sidebar [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited December 03, 2000).]
La Surgeon d' Kerplunk Got home late from the road tonight and you made me laugh my everloving ass off. Thank you. I miss your posts,brother. I am going to start a "vent thread" for every game. (No I'm not, but what a hell of an idea!) Thanks,man. 's all around ------------------
Hakeem is a role player because that is all Steve, Cat, and Rudy will let him be. Same thing applies to Taylor. Its time for the guards to do their jobs. Those are: Making open shots; hitting free throws; and getting the frontcourt involved. I think that the starting 5 + Mobley is a good group, but the rest of the team is a group of nobodies. ------------------ If I make this shot, the Rockets will win tonight. If I miss, they might still win, but I doubt it. If I make two in a row, Florida's votes will actually count.
Oilepre: i do not like your sense of humor DOD: You rant n' magnify many problems, yet you leave not even a cubic space for a solution. Nobody, can help, yet, they all suck, you say. You've noticed all the faults so distinctley in every Rocket Player, Oilepre, gave you a hearty pat on the back. The only solution to your ranting resides in RealGm it seems if that. Dod, you need to take a lesson from the American Indians by having the patience of a warrior and not the impatience of a women. ------------------ Were all in this together...whatever the hell it is -Rocketbooster [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited December 03, 2000).]
Yeah, and we all know how the American Indians dominate the world now... *sigh*. Patient warriors tend to miss the battle because they're sitting on their butts waiting for the battle to come to them. And as for the "impatience of a women[sic]", see my Cheryl Miller comment above. It's not about pointing out the bad and pointing out the good. This team is not among the dregs of the league (a la the Clippers and Da Bulls). That's not what I'm saying. I just chose to state why I don't think we'd do well in the playoffs. If Francis/Mobley have a bad game, we're doomed. In retrospect, I probably goofed calling Francis "one-dimensional". He's not since he can distribute the ball and score, so maybe I retract that. Besides, like I said... I needed to vent. I'm feeling much better now. Go Rockets. ------------------ -------------- Did you know? Derrick Chievous sucked. It's true. -- from the ClutchCity.net "Did You Know" sidebar
Yes, but if the battle is constipation like you describe in the top post, you better be sitting on your butt with a lot of patience. And heypee knows about these things.
I saw an interview with Charles Oakley. He came right out and said what everyone, but David Stern, already knows. "There are only 4 or 5 guys in the league that people want to see, the rest are just role players." The NBA is filled with players who only do 1 thing great. Yet the owners offer them millions of dollars to do that 1 thing. Now little Johnny in grade school watches ESPN and see's Kobe dunking, or Shaq breaking a backboard, or Reggie Miller knocking down another 3-pointer. Do you think little Johnny will go out and practice defense? or passing? or learn fundamentals? Didn't think so. This is the state of the NBA. Style and Flash and not much substance. Hope your happy David Stern. ------------------ In order to be a success in life, you need 2 things: 1. Don't tell everything you know. [This message has been edited by BobFinn* (edited December 03, 2000).]
DoD, i understand the point you are tryingto make, but i thinkyour evaluation of our [players was lacking severely. For one, if Stevie isnt scoring he usually has a good night in the assist colum. sometimes he compensates with a few extra rebounds. a guy sike steve isnt a pure scorer. he is a well rounded player that usually helps the team in some way. even if he is not scoring. infact if he is scoring he actually hurts the team, because in making his 25 pts or so he usally takes a ton og shots to do it. shots that our big man could use to spread the offence and help the team win. now Cat is more you "one dimentional" scorer. however this assesment is unfair as well. sure the guy can score. he is fun to watch. but when he fails to score his 20 pts he will get 8, but he will get 4-5 assists, and 4 boards. its rare for him to have goose egs in all catagories. granted he does not compensate as well as steve, but he does help. now i am going to mention something about los, and mo,and kenny now that is floating around a few threads. sure mo starts kenny is #2, and alot of people want los to get more time. fine if the starter is sucking(which he is) you should mix things up. but if that #2 guy is sucking worse, than you need to improvise. i guess the problem for me is that the coaches havnt given one player 34 min per night every night for 3-4 games, and let him get comfortable with the start. sure mo kinda got this chance, so than we should have given KT those 34 mins, and let him get comfortable. the team cant get comfortable with a guy who plays 22mins one night, 37 the next, than 14 the night after that. give the players concistance and they will perforb better. However on that note. some times the players game on a particular night, or his minutes played are greatly affected by outside circumstances. what if los is always late top practice. what id he slacks off all practice. than ofcource rudy will punnish him on gamenight. even if it hurts the team, as a coach you must enstill authority. Mo might have sat out the end of the game because of something he did or said to upset the front office, or coaches. i really dont know, i just know that these things are possible, and players minutes are routinely affected by this kind of stuff ------------------ Hanta-Force Paintball http://www.hanta-force.com
LOL this dude lights us up every time so i shouldnt be lauging but this was a good one. ------------------ the nuggets suck...i know, i know!
DoD: I laughed....I cried. I wanted to punch you in the face but punched myself in the face instead<fight club> . And the Espy goes to, "Mr. Dunk"...hehe. Damn role players...get some new skills! Carlos and Dream know wazup wit da skills. Bullard is about as useful a C3P0...just stick him on the 3 pt line and give him the ball. KT's intentions are good but his layups are whack. Shanderson's on a funded vision quest. Mo is looking to make less than he makes now next season . Mobes is a one hit one-der...err...I mean...wonder. Francis is set to turn on the afterburners or be criticized for not enuff offensive firepower. Wiz is searching for more tricks from his bag of magic...lately it's the "air 3" trick. All and all....a little more magic, cutting down on the harmonica chops, and ridding the curse of the layup could go a little ways toward the big "W". Our biggest problem... none of our big men can consistently put up the well-rounded numbers we need from at least one of them now(20+ pts, 10+ rebs). As a result, the guards are the main thrusters of our offense and, when they run out of fuel, we crash. Surf ------------------
voice of reason, i disagree in saying that when francis scores it doesnt help the team. He should look for his shot alot more. He score his 24 yesterday on only 15 shots making 11. He does not have a high field goal per game average ------------------ www.truebballfansite.homestead.com
DoD, Great post, love the mix of humour, wit and spot on well deserved comment. I agree whole heartly with the general role playing theme of your post. And the take home message is their everyone does their one (maybe two) things but excluding Shandon (and he doesn't shoot) for no one this thing they do well is not DEFENSE, which if your shots aren't dropping or the assists aren't happenign or the boards aren't falling your is always something a player can fall back on and make a contribution to the team, this is what is missing from this team, the ability to make no statistical contribution to the team, ie play D. Just my rant but i am sure the criticism police will tell me off cause why critise cause .500 is good enough these days. Smeg ------------------ "It's incredible to see how he [Mobley] can beat his guy one-on-one every time. That is a tremendous talent. The combination of Steve and Cuttino, I think, is wonderful in the backcourt." --the Dream
Guys, chill out. The post was damned funny... and probably only 60% serious to begin with. ------------------ Shandon Anderson rocks. The lottery sucks. Playoffs 2001.
Agreed. I took back the comment about Steve in my later post. It was stupid for me to say he was "one-dimensional". ------------------ -------------- Did you know? Derrick Chievous sucked. It's true. -- from the ClutchCity.net "Did You Know" sidebar
yeah Dr the Points, assists, rebounds and Turnovers make Steve definitely Multi-Dimensional ------------------ "It's incredible to see how he [Mobley] can beat his guy one-on-one every time. That is a tremendous talent. The combination of Steve and Cuttino, I think, is wonderful in the backcourt." --the Dream
Haven i'm chill. Dod's funny, i know this. He formed an impenetrable bubble around every Rocket player. It was done well, too well. I do not have any needles to burst em' with. ------------------ Were all in this together...whatever the hell it is -Rocketbooster
I Got It!!! All we need is to trade for draft picks and get Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Eddie Griffen, and Terrence Morris. Then we can trade future draft picks for Shaq, KG, and Grant Hill. THEN WE WONT BE ROLE PLAYERS!!! ------------------ The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why i didn't get more meat, ill just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where ive hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?
