Ok, I have been watching the Rockets and I have figured out our problem. It is not with our offense, though I think we should post up WAY less. It is our defense, I mean it is lousy....not just bad, LOUSY. Hakeem gets TORCHED by Scott Pollard because he does not play solid D any longer. Barkley has always been a liability on D, and the Wizard is so slow a slug could shut him down. I mean it, for an athletic team, the Rockets put little or no effort into defense. This is the primary reason their record is so horrid. Why is Kelvin Cato not playing? You should never, I repeat, NEVER have Hakeem and Charles in the game at the same time. They are simply to old and slow of foot to keep up. Both conserve energy and it is teaching our young guys to not hustle all the time. Cato and Rogers and Anderson's minutes need to increase. While Hakeem, Barkley and Williams need to decrease. I think Rudy is just too loyal to his habits. This season is going down the tubes in a hurry, and it may not get better for a long time. DaDakota PS. I wish we would have kept Brent Price and traded Drew.
I almost agree totally with you. The problem is the DEFENSE. Even when we cannot buy a basket, the problem is our DEFENSE. I disagree with the negative things you say about Dream and Barkley although they are not what they used to be game in and game out. I agree totally CArlos, Cato and Shandon deserve more time. Lots more time. Shandon should be there almost the whole game with Steve. Carlos can have Walt's job as far as I am concerned. If nothing else, Walt needs to knock down his shots. That is what we have him for. Cato had a sore knee tonight and did not play. TMass has the flu and did not play. I see no reason to not be playing Cato 25-30 minutes a game or until he fouls out. I wonder if someone is working with him in practice? Rudy is loyal to a fault. Sometimes that hurts us but he is also very wise (and I know how corny that sounds)and sees the "big picture" better than us laymen. BOTTOM LINE: I agree the Houston Rockets, my boys, my team, better find some smothering, in your face defense.
Rogers saw big minutes last night against a weak defensive team: 25 min 3-7 for 6 points 2 offensive + 4 defensive for 6 total rebounds 1 assist 1 turnover Also his D did not shut down / slow down Webber (neither did Barkley's D). I see no reason why Rogers needs to get any mo' minutes.
Absolutely, Not only is this the problem; it is the solution to the offensive woes. FORGET DISCUSSIONS ABOUT FIXING THE OFFENSE. for godsakes we are 2-10. Throw everything at the Defense. Get Cato his minutes!!! A Dream/Cato lead defense will deliver transition points. That's what our offense needs....simple point opportunities. And that is obviously all Rudy can give us, a good defensive system...with simple offense. When we got Barkley, we gave up Rudy Ball. There are three parts to Rudy Ball. The Dream, getting the Dream space (which means hitting 3s), and Defense. That got of two championships primarily because the Dream was superman and the Rocket's had excellent defense. As much as I like Barkley, he sacrifices defense because of his size. Rudy is delusional to continue to think the Rudy Ball system can ever work with Barkley. Not because Barkley and Dream can't offer high percentage low post, but because the Defense cannot prevent the other team from getting better looks like it did previously. For this team to improve its offense, it must focus exclusively on Defense intensity and having the correct player rotations to ensure Barkley isn't expected to maintain the awesome Power Forwards in the West. With better defense, the athleticism we all know exists on this team can get offense clicking in transition. I say, Cato gets 30-35 minutes, and we consider a Dream, Barkley, Cato front court at times in order to get Cato these minutes.
I guess no one wants to talk Defense. Come-on Rocket's fans! If we start winning, it won't be because Rudy had some magical enlightenment concerning coaching a new offensive scheme.... It will be because Rudy will realize, he is more comfortable coaching defense, and he will start rewarding focusing on it like we did in the championship years.
I know Rudy preaches Defense, but he does not seem to reward playing time based on defensive performance, WHY? Did you guys see the Sacremento game when late in the game, Hakeem went out to double the ball on the sideline and Pollard made a backdoor cut to the hole, Barkley just watched it? Hakeem just shook his head, that says it all. We need people who will play the D and let the offense come to them. DaDakota "Defense equals wins...it is a simple game"
Unquestionably, we need to play better D. But first, we need better matchups on the court. Play Cato at center and then you can afford to have Chuck and Walt play cuz you have a good shot blocker to back them up. If you have Anderson and Rogers in there, Dream at center will be fine because they are good defensive players. The one thing I will never understand: why do we refuse to switch on the pick and roll? Give me an educated answer so i can finally have an idea of what Rudy is doing. ------------------ Rudy must go! Rudy must go! Scarface owes me dinner.
Barkley is a defensive liability, always has been, because of his size. It's ironic that Hakeem would shake his head at Barkley for missing an assignment, because I see Barkley shaking his head at Hakeem for Hakeem's stupid passes. We can say all we want about the peripheral players (francis aside), but Dream is a terrible passer and Barkley is a terrible defender. Because of that dichotomy, Rudy is stuck using a simple offense to suit Dream, and a sacrifice D to get Barkley on the floor, since he's much better than Dream at passing and accommodating other offensive schemes. So, that's Rudy's problem in a nutshell IMHO. My solution involves first realizing the old Dream cannot be taught new tricks on offense (he looks lost when playing outside "Rudy Ball"). Second, we can't play Rudy Ball without great Defense. Third, great Defense is impossible with Barkley at Power Forward. Solution: focus the rest of the season at developing defense intensity and maturing Cato. Let's go big. Forget the small forward position as being something that must be filled by a pure small forward. I want to see Cato, Dream and Barkley on the court together. I don't want to talk about that disrupting our offensive sets. This is about Defense to create transition points. I don't care if it works or not from an offensive half-court set standpoint. We need better Defense to drive our transition game. saying stuff like Williams and Barkley can't be on the court together, is only exposing our problem....offer some solutions. And forget about offense for this thread...let's see what we can do to place the best defense on the court, and give Barkley 33 minutes...that's the challenge to this thread.
So is the Defense that much Better now HeyP and DaDakota???? ------------------ "What is it with this girl, has she got beer flavoured nipples??" - Heath Ledger in 10 things I hate about you
Wow, A blast from EARLY last season. Our defense is not that great this year either, but I think it is not for a lack of effort. I will tell you what though, Hakeem is playing MILES better this year then last. DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
So, was this back when I was "belligerent". hehe. No one responded to my "challenge". *sigh* This was in my fromobile period when I "killed a lot of thread". lol. To answer your question Smeggy, the damn injuries are preventing us from seeing the full defense. But, yes, I believe everyone has improved their defense somewhat. And I see more activity and better rotations, that come from playing more together. More still to work on for sure. Like learning to play with a center. In a nutshell, our offense is still ahead of our defense, though.
Did you enjoy that Dadakota!!! Yeah, it is definitely better, but still has a long way to go before it is demonating and intimidating. Improvement will come with time and the other way of improving the D is to cut Walt and Bull's minutes way down, and stop playing guys that are defensive liabilities. I notice in that thread no one made mention of poor perimter defense, think everyone was still in cloud nine about getting Steve. Smeg PS Get into the CBFanClub thread, now that's even more of a classic!!!! ------------------ "What is it with this girl, has she got beer flavoured nipples??" - Heath Ledger in 10 things I hate about you [This message has been edited by SmeggySmeg (edited December 20, 2000).]
Dang, when I read the first post I was like "Umm, isn't Barkley retired now guys?" LOL Then I checked the dates. ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
Its just smeg going retro again ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Smeg, What made you look back that far? DaDakota ------------------ If Mankind evolved from Monkeys and Apes, then why are there still Monkeys and apes?
DaDakota, i was actually looking for the link for HPs clutch plays, and then stumbled upon some old threads which i loved and thought were interesting comparisons on todays rockets. Love the thre Dadak Smeg ------------------ "What is it with this girl, has she got beer flavoured nipples??" - Heath Ledger in 10 things I hate about you
Naawww HP..say it aint so!!! You?? Belligerent?? BTW..I have taken over as the "Thread-Killer" champeeen of the world!!! ------------------ Go Give Blood!!!!