I don't care if the Rockets lost, this game was an incredible gut-check for what till the Dallas game had been a disappointment. They did it without Hakeem as well. Bullard had a game reminiscent of the championship years where he was pure death for the opposing team from the outside. He only hit 2 of 7 3's, but they were killers. Even the perennial nemesis of all things wholesome on this board, Bryce Drew, had some key plays and made a key steal later in the game. Mobley... what can you say? He played today like Francis SHOULD play... under control for the most part. Cato had a solid game with 13 pts, and 12 boards. He had some key dunks off of misses and key rebounds to keep the run going for the Rockets. One of the only negatives I have in this game is that Francis is going back to too much one-on-one play. He ended up looking bad on some of his shot selections. Barkley took a couple of unwarranted shots as well. Of course, the fact that Hakeem is injured for an indefinite time doesn't help, either. Another negative... WHERE WAS SHANDON DURING ALL THIS?!!! I was about to call the police and file a missing persons report... the box score says he played about 22 minutes... I sure don't remember them. He put up 1 shot. Anybody else catch Rasheed pulling Mobley (I think it was Mobley and not Francis) aside and hugging him? He talked to him for about 15-20 seconds during the hug... Another nice shot was Francis on the ground nearly in tears and Mobley on the floor in almost in the same manner. Barkley went by and told both of them to get up and head to the locker room... they had nothing to be ashamed of... Incredible game and hopefully this is a good sign of things to come. I think this loss showed most of us doubters that there is still hope for this team. I'm sticking to my gameplan of giving them 20-30 games before making any decisions about how good they are... ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins... [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited November 26, 1999).]
Excellent DrofDunk. It was Mobley that Wallace hugged after the game. It was also Wallace that was in Steve Francis'face laughing his head off after the free throw miss. Guess he knows Steve as well? Great analysis! Yeah, there is hope. In preseason I thought we were going to be very good, then I have had doubts as recently as the 1st quarter of tonight's game, and now my hopes are up again. It will still be hard to get many wins without Hakeem I think but that could be my "mind" refusing to change gears very quickly. WAY TO GO ROCKETS. WE ARE PROUD OF YALL. HOLD YOUR HEADS HIGH CUS YALL DESERVE IT. P.S. Yeah, I agree, Stevie (I now call him Stevie) had a little too much 1 on 1 early on but I thought he and the whole team were very poised in the 4th quarter (the whole 4th quarter, I think)and any 1 on 1 at that point was necessary. Was that a great slam to put us only 1 down or what. I am hyped!
Steve Francis and Bryce Drew did a great job of silencing Stoudamire, at least most of the game. Good job to everyone... ------------------ "Not NOW, Cato!!!" -Kevin Calabro, Sonics Commentator
With Dream left the game, a seemly sure to loose game for the Rockets suddenly became very competitive.......... ----------------- Lets make #34 a jump shooter!
Caveman, Perhaps it was precisely because Dream left the game that it became competitive. Read my post about Hakeem's injury being a positive for this team. DaDakota
I agree with you 100%. Sometimes I find it so insulting to watch D-I-T for Hakeem. Why does a coach keep going to that kind play is just a big puzzle. But anyway, may be Dream would miss some games and actually give life to the young "buds" to gel without him. Do you agree, DREAMer? ------------------ Rockets' biggest problem is not player talent levels, it is the coach's ineptitude. [This message has been edited by Caveman (edited November 26, 1999).]
very good post. i think that this REALLY IS a moral victory. all the other games that we've lost - people were callin them moral victories. but i think that today was our first real moral victory. think about it. IF francis had played near decent tonite, we would have won. IF hakeem was in the game, i THINK he would have had a positive effect because he would calm everyone down and know what to do out there during crunch time. IF carlos rogers had his usual game, we might have won. If any of the 3 things happened, we probably would have won. And the thing is, that those 4 things usually do happen every night. MY HOPES ARE UP! GOOD GAME TO THE ROCKETS WHO NEARLY HAD A WIN!!
Charles Barkley's Nike endorsed shoes: $140. Courtside seats: $350. Game-worn jersey: $500. Seeing the emotion of Cuttino and Steve after the heartbreaking loss: Priceless. ------------------ WE WILL WATCH THEM FALL.
Hey all, Just wanted to add my two cents about the game. Man, after the first quarter, I just felt like leaving and not wasting my time, but I was like, nah, I've been waiting the entire year for this game - can't stop now. The game was much more interesting than I ever thought it would be - think about it - our team, considered a doormat at this point, giving the best of the best a run for their money - man, you could almost sense the fear in the Blazers - even Snotties face was all tensed up on the bench. WHAT A GAME. Major props to the entire team - GREAT JOB GUYS - made me feel good all over again - you know what I am saying! I am sure everyone thought this would be a blowout, but we took them to OT - which I think is a real acomplishment, and even there, we were oooooh so close - this is where the missed free throws come into play - man, I would have given anything for a win, but this shows that this team is for real - and it can really play - the lottery will have to wait a lil while longer till the Rockets are part of it, thats my opinion. Lets see what happens on Wednesday against the Suns. GO ROCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Man, I am just so freakin proud of the team right now - and how about Drew, he really played excellent - he had like 1 TO. and made some really excellent shots - like that awesome shot he had in the lane - it was awesome. OK, I'll stop now - heheh, I am just too excited - we ACTUALLY matched up with the best - and nearly had the upset. OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN!!!!!!1 WOOOHOOOO!!! Before people start thinking I have really lost it, I'll stop - hehe, changes need to be made, YES, but credit is definitely due!!! Later all, Rockit
All i ask for is the "heart" to come out in their play..........and after tonights game I think that we saw a team leaving it all out on the court.....I am so happy for Bullard, I think he is a smart offensive player, can make a lay up, knows when to swing the ball....and his a pretty good sharp shooter.....we couldnt have asked for a better play at the end of the game, great pass by St. Francis, the shot just didnt fall for us.......NICE GAME ROCKETS
Doc, you said it all. Except this...when Bullard had that release on that three at the end.......ooooohhhhhhh....nnnoooooo. Whew ! I just wanted the team to put up a good fight. They did that and then some. Again, we see the potential. Mobley played like a true 6th man. We haven't had that in a while.
Okay after getting my frustration out about Bullard receiving so much playing time I feel more optimistic now. I hate to say this, but we would have not even be in this game if Dream did not get injured. Cause Kelvin Cato was awesome. Cato played with tons of energy for the first time this season. He was causing all kinds of havoc on the defensive end. it was good to see Cato finally get some playing time. [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited November 26, 1999).]
Saying we would not be in this game without Hakeem's injury is so ridiculous. Hakeem's presence inside could have prevented two or three shots, not to mention he was shooting well when he left the game. It always amuses me when people say that Hakeem is in the way. You're getting it all backwards... It's BARKLEY that's in the way... For all his points and rebounds, look at how many times he turned the ball over or jacked up a three tonite when we needed to execute a play. Look how many shots he had to take to get those 13 points of his. Maybe we would have won the game without him in there, too...
Axeman, Constructive counter : How many times have you seen the Rockets on a break or just trying to push the ball up and see Hakeem running in 8-10 seconds after everybody else is down there. They then wait to do the usual : Get on the left side of the goal, is Hakeem open? wait... here he comes... ok... is he open? no? ok... pass it around. I don't think the Rockets are as good a running team with Hakeem in the lineup. I'm going to probably get flamed for this, but... if I were forced to make a choice, I would rather have Barkley on this team than Hakeem at this stage of their respective games. He still runs his butt off up and down the court till he's on the verge of collapse. Hakeem coasts most of the game and it helps to aid in offensive stagnation. Hakeem's presence in the middle definitely helps on defense, but guess what? I think Cato is a better shot-blocker at this stage if given the opportunity and also assuming he doesn't foul out in the 1st quarter. I've got all the respect in the world for Hakeem, but I don't necessarily agree that we came close to winning this game because he was out. However, it's got to be frustrating for young legs to sit around waiting for a pass out from the post to pop a jumper. I saw Cuttino do things tonight I RARELY IF EVER see the guy do... it's hard to take guys off the dribble towards the basket when you have a Barkley and Olajuwon camped down low. Anyway... I understand your point. To say we don't need Hakeem and definitely would do better without him may be taking it too far... just trying to point out the "other side". ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins... [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited November 27, 1999).]
With all due respect to Cato's game, I thought Sabonis lit him up. But Cato made some big plays and warmed up as the game went along. My point might be it is a match up thing in determining if Dream or Kelvin should be in there. Dream still has twice the talent Cato does but not the energy. So let's let Rudy decide when and how. But I would like Cato to get more minutes. I have said it all along, but he needs to step up like tonight, like the preseason game against the Cavaliers.
Bballfanatic, You said exactly what I believe. Yes, Hakeem has much more talent, but he just doesn't have the stamina to go full-speed for 82+ games. Cato can be an equally good defensive presence in the paint against some of the lesser-known centers. As for lighting Cato up... Sabonis had 10 pts, 9 rebs, and 5 fouls. Cato had 13 pts, 12 rebs, and 4 fouls. Cato played much more minutes. But here's the key... if the Rockets run, Sabonis is almost neutralized on one end of the court because he can't keep that pace up for more than 20-25 minutes a game. Cato can outrun him all night long. ------------------ Rocket fuel pumps through these veins...
