I saw a lot of good things. Here are some of my random thoughts. -What in the world was Moochie doing taking the game upon himself in the last 5:00 minutes? Why was he even in the game instead of Shandy anyway. -Shandon seemed sort of bothered for the little time he was on the court. Possibly due to the recent events? -Very nice first game for Mo. Sure, Garnett wiped him clean, but he was guarding KG decently (not great, but average). Garnett's little fade away hook thing is unstoppable, there are only 2 PFs in the league that I think could possibly upset that shot-Ratliff and Duncan. Mo's lack of boards is due to him trying to stop KG hitting the offensive glass (KG got only 2, compared to Nesterovic's 6. I'm fairly sure both came when MoTay wasn't in the game, I recall KG jumping over Los for one of them.) Walt probably got several of his boards due to that. Mo was having his way with KG many times. Imagine what he'll do to the less defensive PFS. -Steve and Cat got 3 steals a piece. This falls under the steals don't necessarily equal good D category. Both improved though. -The center position scares me. Nesterovic tore us up, and Garrett picked up 6 points. Cato's boarding was pretty sad -Offensive execution. I thought some connection was there (Steve-Mo, Cat-Cato). If you turn those 6 turnovers into 2, Steve's game is nice (especially the 8 assists). A lot of those missed field goals were silly, and should've gone in. I think we got a little taste of what our offense could do with those illegal defense calls. Imagine the havoc we could wreak if our offense was firing on all cylinders, and our threes were falling. ------------------ The Serious Police are watching. Follow the rules or be assimilated. Shandon is underrated.
At the risk of oversimplifying matters, there were two games played last night -- the first three quarters and the fourth. During the first three we looked like an out of sync lottery team. The fourth we showed the heart of a playoff team. The difference was defensive intensity. Sure the offense was choas during the first three quarters and not much different during the fourth. If anything, we learned that a strong defensive effort will cover up offensive shortcomings. I was very impressed with Wizard's intensity on the defensive end. He pulled down some big rebounds. Our guards need to involve the big men especially when Taylor was smoking -- 7 of his first 7. ------------------
Hey, umm.... what game was Cato playing in? He's obviously well on his way to leading the league in rebounding. I know it will be hard for Cato though playing next to that rebounding monster Mo Taylor. ------------------ "Somebody DO something out there." -Bill Walton
I wasn't going to post in this type of thread after last night, but have thought about it for awhile and read the other posts, so I changed my mind. 1. Biggest negative - defensive intensity the first 3 quarters. Steveie and Cat were sad sacks out there. What really bothered me was post game comments. Maybe they were just omitted, but neither mentioned poor defense as a problem. It was all about what didn't work offensively. 2. Biggest positive- Motay's offense. He really looked strong. I also thought he did a decent job defensively on KG from a positional standpoint. I believe that no one can stop those jumpers when they are falling. 3. Other positives - Hakeem looked very good on the boards. The one dreamshake was very good to see. Several people said he got schooled by some white guy. I guess the fact he was white makes it more humiliating. Actually, I think Nesterovich can get that hook shot off against just about anyone. How would you stop it? 4. Other negatives - Steve's decision making. This is the reason Moochie played so many minutes. I also watched parts of the Seattle game and parts of the Suns game. Highlight dunks notwithstanding, Stevie has a long way to go to approach Payton and Kidd. Cat may have brought the Rockets close in the 4th quarter, but man, does the rest of the offense stagnate when he has the ball. Everyone else just stands around. 5. Other impressions.- I think an indicator for success this year will be Shandon. When he doesn't get opportunities to score, like last night, I think it will indicate the offense is sputtering. I think if he gets his points, the Rockets will be in the game. I wish the guards would acquire the mentality that mad-dog defense is more important that mad-dog offense. ------------------
My impressions It was clearly the 1st regular season game. I think that a lot of the mistakes that we made are pretty much the result of it being our first game. Francis will definately not keep up this play of passing up easy shots and turning the ball over. He was just too excited, just like his first preseason game. The illegal defenses, the miscommunications(like that last play with Mobley throwing it away to Taylor, etc will disappear soon. As Heypartner has said, Minnesota was letting the one on one go one while denying everything else. And that combined with the fact that the offense was rusty really hurt us. But once again, this is a problem that can be fixed with some more experience. I'm sure that in a few games, our offense will be back on track. After what I saw at the end of last season, I know there is much more in store for us after the team gets more experience and gets adjusted to each other some more. One more thing... we played pretty lousy and we were almost able to come back from a HUGE deficit and win. Imagine if we play decent... ------------------ president of the dan langhi fan club.
First, let me say I didnt see the game, so I cant say anything from direct evidence. But from highlights, chat, and stats, here are some thoughts. One-on-One's: I don't like then too much. Rarely is there such a disadvantage that an ISO works every time. Further, it causes ther est of the team to get "un-involved," in the sense that they arent moving around as much, their offense and defense get sloppy too. Remember we had this problem a few years ago, where the rest of the team would just stand around while Hakeem carried the team. Shandon Anderson: What is the best defenition for SG?? I dont know, but I have to assume it involves shooting at some points. And Shandon can do it. Yet, he never gets as involved in the game as he should. Two things need to happen-Shandon needs get more aggressive, and Steve and others need to look for him more. If Shandon acted a little more selfish and Francis acted a little less selfish, they would be an AMAZING backcourt. We only lost by eight: Sure, the Rockets played horrible most of the game. And sure, their defense needs a lot of work and their offense could use some tweaking. But, after all that, they still only lost by eight in the end. Imagine if they can actually fix these problems in the next few weeks. They have the POTENTIAL to be great. Will the ever reach that potential is the question. Cato: Cato has to play much better for us to win. Cato's poor play is what has me most worried. Undoubtedly the Rockets got some offers over the summer for Cato, and some were probably not bad. But they, like many here, chose to wait and see if Cato was really working hard over the summer and things would improve. So far, it looks like the leagues leading rebounder has gotten worse. Our EXPENSIVE center of the future MUST improve. Those are my thoughts. Tell me if they are way off as I cant watch the games where I am ------------------ Remember.... You are not really drunk until you must hold on to the grass to keep from falling off the earth.
"Francis dribbled with his head down all night." Yeah, this can only be done if you have eyes in the top of your head, and are conveniently bald, like another unnamed glideful retired Rocket. ------------------ She hates testicles, thus limiting the men she can admire to Democratic candidates for president. -- John Greenway, "The American Tradition", on feminist Elizabeth Gould Davis
YES!! Finally, someone sees it...sorta. It's not even when Francis is at the 2, the Rockets were more effective when Moochie was running the offense. I'm not saying Moochie should take the reins of the team, but it's clear, IMO, that Francis still isn't totally comfortable playing the 1. Anyway, I totally agree that we are running too many ISO's. It's just like the old days where we were running a 48 minute half court offense except that we aren't playing team basketball. Hell, the whole friggin T-Wolves team even said it!! All that one-on-one basketball isn't going to win many games. It's got to change immediately or we are looking at another LONG season. ------------------ Thought of the day... Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
I want to address these two points.. First, Francis is Brandon's b**** and I can't stand it. It goes back to last season when Francis was abused by Brandon. They play a similar game except that Brandon is a better PG, meaning he distributes the ball better. Francis still has that SG mentality. If you notice the best PG's in the league(ie. Payton, Kidd, Brandon) are not the first option on their team. Yes, they score, but they bring the ball up the court and get their teamamtes involved. Francis still looks to create a shot, then pass. I agree that the kid is good, but he isn't dominant. On the Steve Javy note, I knew we would lose this game(99% anyway). Even though the game wasn't decided by Javy himself, everytime his crew is on the court, the Rockets are at a disadvantage. I'm not saying we lost because of Javy's crew, but it's really strange that when he is on the court it turns into a Rockets "L". ------------------ Thought of the day... Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?
Kneejerk Reaction Well, okay it's the first game. The team did not have a 1 in the win column. No need to panic. No need to make wholesale changes. No need to start looking for the proverbial scapegoat. I read a lot of first impressions at CC.NET today and most were fair and accurate. But just grab a beer. Relax. If anyone thought this was going to be an easy season, when all we managed to do over the summer was add a Power Forward (the same one that most people were praising this AM) then you missed the focus and intent of the off-season. Off Season Tasks 1. It was to keep the core of the team together. Mission accomplished. Mobes is signed. Carlos looks real healthy. Hakeem has some bright spots and a new outlook.. Cato was admonished by mom and argues a little less with officials. Walt seems to have his sealegs under him and translates to equitable production in the scoring department. 2. To improve execution. Not the "Old Sparky" state answer to capital punishment, but the ability to take all those diagrammed moves we talked about in practice and video session preps and make them come to fruition in a game. This takes time. In realtime game situations. For the most part, most plays were executed poorly. Even the successful ones. We looked more preseason than preseason. The First Game Some strategy, especially the mainstay of the previous teams, including: the post, the driving lay-up by the "Ferraris" and the hot perimeter shot-takers breaking opponents backs all were a planned part of last nights game. But were not executed. Spacing sucked. When passes were there, it was thrown slightly off target or nervously too fast, or so slow they were telegraphed to all those watching the game. Including all the Timberpuppies. And, you know, they know how to capitalize on mistakes. We had an obscene number of trips to line. The relative poor shooting belies the true definition of "Free" throw. A seventy % clip is not going to help things, even during the best of games. Unless that improves, and I mean drastically improves any fantasies of playoffs, etc ... are just that ... Fantasy. My Most Immediate Impresions 1. Mo Taylor looked good. He was effective and executed his game pretty well. It appears as he was not demanding the ball much and relied on his guards to get him the ball. Hopefully when they play more together, Francis and Mooch will key him up, especially when he's hot. Frankly Maurice took what the defense gave him and used his experience and skills to score repeatedly. I even thought his defensive assignments were handled better than I expected. (I did not have big expectaions!) His movements, especially on switch-offs were accurately performed, but so just so slow, it made the move virtually useless at times. Survival and the need to impress some other teams GM's, just may make him learn to be more defensely quick, maybe more anticipatory than last night. 2. Cuttino is a scoring machine. He is as good as all the accolades that he has or will have coming his way. I have not seen many teams contain his game over the past two years. I don't see that changing this year. He is fast. 3. Clutch Free Throws by the Catman saved the FT highlights from mediocrity. Those blatant misses by the others was not a healthy stat to take away from any game. The fact that this team's game will get them to the line more than the majority of other teams, should cause some direct improvement in that area. Unfortunately, up to this point, that is an area that RT leaves to "the players to decide, who needs extra practice or time ". One of the downfalls of being a "player's coach", I guess. But they at least need to be reminded of the importance. Those missed 14 shots was more than the difference in the loss. 4. Steve Francis is a dynamo. But he still is his own worse enemy. Gary Payton can get under his skin with the first sentence in his patented trash repertoire, then play him like a puppet for most of the night. Terrel Brandon historically also upsets him without too much effort. Brandon's repeated offensive-push style and over the top loop passes (to a waiting seven-foot sprinter, but who cares), makes Steve take valuable minutes, sometimes a full game, to get his head straight. Brandon makes the simplest pick and rolls seem complicating to Steve. It's uncanny. It is as if Steve becomes baffled and runs all over the court in defense. He spent a lot of effort out there last night. A whole lot of effort. But he spent a great deal of that time, reacting and not acting. Franchise has all the skills that God has allowed, yet he tries so hard to directly involve himself in every play. On drive after drive last night, his teammates were standing ready for a higher percentage shot, but watched as another turnover or missed opportunity is chalked up. If there is anything I would say to Stevie is that sometimes the better part of valor is in discretion. In his case, a "superstar-to-be" PG needs controlled involvement of his teammates. I could care less about the turnovers as long as the assists are way up and he is involving his teamates. Everything else will look after itself. 5. One of the downfalls of a young team is that they try to force their game down the throats of the opponent. Sometimes all you have to do is take what they give you. A trait of successful teams and players is adapting readily to what the opponent has left open. Attempting to repeatedly jam a square peg into a round hole is fruitless and frankly, not very attractive. In contrast, I mention Maurice Taylor's demonstration of taking what they offered. Don't give me any inside, okay, I'll take it outside. But Steve Francis did not. And to a lesser degree Moochie, also. This is deadly when it is you PG. Your tempo man. Your distributor. Your threat assessor. If they stop the main ball handler consistently, they stop your team game. Plain and simple. (Note: I felt If Shandon Anderson had played a little more last night he would have found different ways to be effective. That is the deceiving part of Shandon's game. He takes what they give him. KT actually does a pretty good job of this also. Especially when he is overmatched.) 6. This team will get better. They were within minimal digits at the latter part of the game after being down a couple dozen or so. They never gave up. They have heart. They have talent. They have good preparation. They just need to play smart. Cheers.
Good post Oily one, That is the crux of the matter, the Rockets do not play smart. It is just REALLY bad to have the player making the most mistakes be your PG. Francis needs to slow down, and take what the d gives him. I remember one instance where he had a WIDE open 3 late in the game, and he opted to drive, and got called for the offensive foul. Disgraceful display of smarts. It takes some players YEARS to trust your teamates, I think Hakeem should sit him down and have a chat with him about responsibility, and teamwork. Hakeem took 10 years to trust his, hopefully Francis is a quicker study. DaDakota ------------------ All you MO-FO's better stop ripping off my lines !!
Very disappointed at their lack of motivation in the first half, 'specially on D. Bad shooting you can get over pretty quick. Bad D is just demoralizing. More drills... Very happy with the 4th quarter, even with the last minute (OK, last 6 minutes) fuq-ups. Glad to see that they can turn around by 17 or so and make a comeback (OK, 26), but they still need to learn how to finish. You can finish by holding a 1pt advantage with a single rebound, or you can finish it with a dunk and a foul to go the other way. All that matters is timing. Throwing it away with 5 points to gain and less than a minute to spare is not a way to win. Neither is missing consecutive FTs with 6 minutes to spare... Needless to say, more growth is needed. A few bright spots, though: 1) Mooch is turning out to be a pretty damm good PG (a true PG, at that) - he was definitely a CBA steal; 2) Taylor at least went up for a few offensive rebs - I was afraid that he'd settle on easy ones to pad his stats, and he shot well, too; and 3) Cat is still taking those idiotic shots when necessary (let's face it, at this point we're almost relying on them). Ah well, it's only one game... And personally, I'll put it off to bad luck against Minnesota on Halloween. We do perform statistically poorly on both counts... ------------------
Maybe Francis Dribbles with his head down because of all those Palming calls. I think these calls are getting out of hand I mean after 3~4 calls they kinda stopped calling illegal Defense on KG hanging in the lane. [I won't even mention Steps he took or camping in the lane on the O End] Rocket River ------------------
