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Tonight should test our so called "Thin Frontline"

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by DearRock, Oct 26, 2001.

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  1. DearRock

    DearRock Contributing Member

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    From Espn to Fox Sports.com to CNNSI to Sporting News with our friend Mr Murphy, the story line is the same. They have all lamented the fact that our frontline is our major weakness and would be the reason for us being kept out of the playoff. It is one thing to correctly identify a weakness but it is another thing to accurately value that weakness and correctly placing it in the overall scheme of things.

    Why is it a weakness exactly? Is it that our frontcourt players cannot demand a double team? It is that they have no low-post moves? Or is it on defense? Is it that we cannot stop anybody? What does our frontcourt have to do to be competitive? Let us consider the standard, Shaq. He should give 30 points, 13 rebs 3 blocks, 53% fg, 55 %ft, 4 assists in a typical game against the Rockets. What must the firm of Cato and Willis do for Shaq's contribution to not be the factor in us losing those games. I would guess that they would have to provide 20 points, 12 reb, 3 blocks, 49% fg, 70% ft, 4 assist. In other words, if they do that and we lose, it should not be said that it was because of our front court. I believe that we can meet that objective. It is safe to say our frontcourt is not our strength but let's not get carried away.

    Tonight our "Thin Frontlne" will get a chance to show even after made thinner now that Thomas is out.

    Moving beyond frontcourt issues, surely the pundits seem to have missed a lot of other factors.

    For print publications including the preview magazines, I can excuse them because they do have the benefit of updated information. However in the live, real-time world of the net, all of these outlets have chosen to disregard all the current information and put no stock in them. I refer to our preseason play, the acquisition of Rice and Willis, the accelerated development of Morris, and Torres, and the rehad and upgrade on Kevin Cato as factors to be taken in consideration when projecting the 2002 fortunes for the rockets. Most of these factors were not so glaring two months ago.

    None of these outlets have spoken about our backcourt's reaction to the defense to date and the fact there seem to be more open shots than before. Rice has spoken loudly about that. To me this is a critical point. No one has mentioned that we are commited to running and have the greyhounds at various positions to that. No one seem to have considered the fact that the Rockets could be one of the best defensive teams in the league. I would match this group with anyone in the league: Willis, Cato, Griffin, Morris, Torres, Francis (among pgs: 1st in rebs, 2nd in block and 7th in steals) , Mobley. At the same time no one has mentioned that this team has no problem scoring.

    The Houston Chronicle's preview is up soon. Hopefully, they will pay attention to these issues and team speed, defense, shooting ability, depth, etc.
     
    #1 DearRock, Oct 26, 2001
  2. H-town#1fan

    H-town#1fan Member

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    Excellent takes! I understand you fully. Critics do not know nearly as much as the everyday fan who follows the Rockets every single day. We see the differences up front in a magnified glass. We see the little improvements from last year, but to us they are huge improvements. I see the that Francis is a totally different player from last year. He is running more, getting the team involved earlier and then he takes over the game in the end. Exactly what we need from him. What else the critics do not see is the chemistry on this team. I think chemistry is way underrated. You can't measure chemistry and chemistry will make or break a team. Every piece that CD and RT put on this team is a piece of a puzzle. There is one true superstar and everything else is built around the Franchise. I commend CD and RT for the moves they have made under the circumstances that they were in. We will make the playoffs this year and there is no limit to where this team can go. All I know is that the pieces are there and everything else just needs to take time.
     
    #2 H-town#1fan, Oct 26, 2001
  3. Rocket Addict

    Rocket Addict Contributing Member

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    If this San Antonio game is any indication, it looks like the so called "experts" have no clue. I am going to love watching them pull their foot out of their mouths all season long...:cool:
     
    #3 Rocket Addict, Oct 26, 2001
  4. crash5179

    crash5179 Contributing Member

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    The students passed the test. Now on to the real world. 1st up Atlanta!
     
    #4 crash5179, Oct 26, 2001
  5. DearRock

    DearRock Contributing Member

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    Just for the record, I ordered Digital Cable and NBA League Pass today, so that I will see all the game in CT, god willing. How sweet it is!

    A cousin was in Jamaica last week and said he saw Griffin in the Rockets game against Pistons and believed he was a special player. I told him that was not Griffin who was out, it was Morris. Folks the rocks got two lottery picks in the draft.

    Defense, Speed, Depth, ability to score and dominant backcourt were all featured in of all places the Allamodome.
     
    #5 DearRock, Oct 26, 2001
  6. RocksMillenium

    RocksMillenium Contributing Member

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    It's amazing, Terrence Morris is essentially a lottery pick. He was projected to be a lottery pick 2 years ago, and he and Steve Francis were supposed to be the missing pieces to take Maryland to the Final Four and the national championship. Now think about this, Francis leaves early but Morris helps carry Maryland to the Final Four anyway! We got a steal folks. Morris didn't change, just opinions of his did. This guy is a lottery pick plain and simple.
     
    #6 RocksMillenium, Oct 26, 2001
  7. DearRock

    DearRock Contributing Member

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    So how did we stack up in that preseason game? The following suggest we held our own:


    Team.....: Pts.; Reb; FG%; Bks
    Rockets: 32 ; 26; 43%; 11
    Spurs : 42 ; 26; 39%; 6

    Now! SI calls the Atlanta Hawks frontline, in its preview, the best frontline in the East. So we will see! Tune in tomorrow.
     
    #7 DearRock, Oct 30, 2001
  8. Rocket River

    Rocket River Member

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    how thin is our front line?


    Murtoch: Thin
    Riggs: Very Thin

    [after Dixie's house blows up in Lethal Weapon One]

    Rocket River
     
    #8 Rocket River, Oct 31, 2001
  9. DearRock

    DearRock Contributing Member

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    The numbers on our "Thin Frontline" from last night's game:

    Team.........: Pts.; Reb;... FG%; Bks; Turn.

    Rockets.....: 34.. ; ..26;.. 47%;..4;......3 ;
    Hawks...... : 44.. ;.. 29; ..43%;..7;.....11;

    There are a lot of things that I did not like about our performance against the Hawks; however, none of them had to do with our frontcourt.
     
    #9 DearRock, Oct 31, 2001
  10. DearRock

    DearRock Contributing Member

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    The thin frontline (4&5) saga continues. The Rocks were out performed thanks to some poor shooting by Cato, Griffin, and Morris. The numbers

    Team.........: Pts.; Reb;... FG%; Bks; Turn.

    Rockets.....: 27.. ; ..29;.. 33%;..2;......6 ;
    Hawks...... : 40.. ;.. 30; ..48%;..5;..... 3 ;

    Up next: T-pups
     
    #10 DearRock, Nov 2, 2001
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