The ones with the best record ever not to go to the playoffs? Do you remember watching the Rockets during the second half of the '00-'01 season, when they put it all together? Do you remember seeing Steve carrying an up and coming team, ably supported by Cuttino Mobley and nicely complemented by a resurgent Hakeem Olajuwon and a red hot Walt Williams? I do, and it is one of my favorite Rockets memories, even if the season did end in failure. Watching the Rockets play so well and put together a playoff run was exciting - both because it was Hakeem's swan song and because the transtition from the old to new guard seemed to be moving well. Now, I reflect on that season not only as a retrospective, but for comparison. How does a young Yao compare to a past-his-prime Olajuwon? Why was that team so successful for that short timeframe? What was different about their offense that could be used to fix ours? To me, the answer is Steve. Even though it was Olajuwon's seeming second wind that fueled that team, Steve carried the Rockets. Rudy gave Francis the freedom to run the offense and he was trusted to make the right decisions. Hakeem had a play run for him every now and then to keep defenses honest and because he still had that ridiculous fadeaway; but those Rockets were successful because Steve Francis thrives with responisibility. Atleast, that's my interpretation. Looking at that season, I think that this is the offensive strategy that best fits our team, atleast until Yao develops into a finished product. Yao should still get plays for him every few times down the court, but not at the expense of Francis's game. The reason: dumping the ball to Yao completely negates the incredible talent of Francis, while Yao can still contribute off the ball through picks, offensive rebounds, alley-oops, etc. Anyway, after seeing that '00-'01 Rockets, I was sure there were great things to come in Houston, and I'm sure I was not the only one who saw something special in that team. I am just trying to recapture that formula for success and apply it to today's team.
Would they have been successful in today's zone defense? I remember that the league said that they implemented the zone in part to stop iverson and Francis from dribbling too much.
Hear Here, Qwerty. Good obvservation. I say it's time we play to this teams strengths with the personel that we have instead of trying to force them into another system and then grip cuz it doesnt work. Let's allow this team to play the style best suited for them instead of trying to make them be something they are not.
Thank you thomp finally some one on here see that the offenses is not getting our best players the ball (francis) in scoring chances.
Sorry to say Qwerty but as montelwilliams pointed out there were no zone defenses then. Rudy simply let Steve and Cuttino run iso after iso after iso after iso. You enjoyed watching that streetball? That type of offense would fail miserably with zone defenses now being allowed.
I did, the zone was legal by then but very few teams used it. They use it now. But that doesn't mean that the penetration game is gone. Philly still do it well enough, and atleast last year, Steve had a better mid range game imo. I agree with that move Steve to the 2 every now and then might not be so bad. Look at AI, he couldn't run the point as pg, but after playing the sg and focusing on shooting, he opened up things for his teamates and as he matured started to pass more instictively now. I think the same can be said about Francis.
Lord have mercy, I'm sure David Stern specifically mentioned Iverson and Francis when implementing the zone.
Walt just delivered what he was capable of (40+% from 3-land) - although that is pretty crazy I'm pretty sure that Shandon Anderson stepped it up and averaged something like 14-15ppg over the last two months - he also shut other SF's down... (then he signed his contract and disappeared!).
He disappeared because we immediately traded him after he signed. wizkid, are you sure the zone was allowed at that point? Coulda sworn there was no zone that season. That was part of our downfall the next season, along with injuries.
I was pretty sure that illegal defense was gone that year, just that few used zone until the year after.
Well I don't really remember anything from that year...but I do think Steve Francis needs to regain his confidence..it seems like he forgot how to score! He looks confused and unsure of what to do...he used to be awesome...like one of the best scorers in the NBA. I think he can do everything that Tony Parker does. He needs to play more like he did when he was an All Star. Play like he did against the Lakers last year when he scored 44 points...and get rid of Moochie. I think we need a veteran point guard to guide Steve a bit...and I think Jackson and Cato need to learn how to shoot or make open shots...or we should play Padgett and Nachbar and Taylor and Piatkowski instead. I don't think Yao is that good..he turns the ball over a lot...he is still our primary option on offense..but it would be nice to see Steve score and do all his exciting highflying stuff and scoring without complaining to refs...and Mobley should just keep on draining shots.
Zone defense wasn't allowed in 2000-2001 season. It was allowed in the 2001-2002 season. It was approved on April 19, 2001 by the NBA owners in a 22-6 vote.
i remember,it rocked when dream started to get the ball again,i bet had they dont that earlier ,we would have made the playoffs, not only that, had we not signed cato for so much,we could have made an bid at cwebb, who wanted to live in a "party town",and perhaps that would have let dream stay, 2002 roster: webber,rice,hakeem,cat,steve (not traded for griffin) the three draft picks, a cheaper cato, walt, mooch (his last good season) ,pretty good roster huh? anyone get teary eyed when dream tore the knicks up?
I'd like to say, qwerty, that I usually enjoy reading your posts, and this is no exception. Let's face it, as much as we all want Yao to succeed and become the best/most dominant center in the league in his SOPHOMORE season, it just doesn't look like he's ready. Sure he's been pretty consistent, but a consistent 15/10 isn't getting our team anywhere. In the offseason, many realistic BBSers said that if Yao got 18/12, then we'd be a lock for the playoffs. Sure 15/10 (or whatever his exact numbers are) is pretty good. But the thing we didn't take into account was the fact that with a Yao-oriented offense, Steve (who still, like it or not, is our best player) would not be able to get his usual 20/6/6, which is what we need from him to succeed. Yao has shown that he is not quite able to bang with the big boys yet. Second best center might be too generous, if you take into account Brad Miller's play as of late (though he's technically the PF, not the C behind Vlade). I loved watching the days when Stevie electrified the court with dunks, crossovers, finishes, etc. I loved the confidence he exuded to his teammates, being the leader of a team of young, but talented Rockets. I know that if everyone would just get off his ass, he wouldn't feel so much pressure to try to please everyone at once. I think it's because of the onslaught of different people telling him different things that he's gotten to be the 5-17 ,5 TO/game, unconfident player we see now. We have to capitalize on our team's strengths, not try to force something. There's a thread titled "Square peg into a round hole" that addressed this issue pretty well.
