Let's face it. The Rockets' biggest problem this season, when it boils down to it, is that they simply can't put the ball in the basket. Sure, the ball movement has been more like bowel movements, but even when the Rockets do pass the ball around, there's no one on the court that can shoot the rock without dribbling a hundred times first. The Rockets need spot-up shooters. Guys like Rick Fox, Robert Horry, and Brent Barry would be perfect. That's one of the reasons why I'm happy Glen Rice is on the team. Every good club needs shooters. The Lakers wouldn't have been champions without the outside shooting of Fox, Horry, and Fisher. It's also why I miss Walt Williams and Matt Bullard. The Rockets have NO ONE they can count on to hit a few threes. Francis, despite his good percentage from beyond the arc, seems hesitant to take open threes unless he gets a running start. Mobley just doesn't hit them enough, and he usually has to take a few dribbles first. Posey is not a shooter. Griffin thinks he is, but we all know he isn't. Mo's range doesn't extend past 15 feet. Yao will never take a three (and he shouldn't). The Rockets need guys to provide good spacing. The offense always seems cluttered. That wouldn't be the case with a few Bullards set up around the horn. Every championship team has one or two stars surrounded by outside shooters. It's time for management to stop focusing on athleticism, and to get some serious bombers on the squad.
It makes me cry when Yao passes over the defense out of a double team to somebody wide open on the arc, and the recipient looks like a frozen deer. You're right, we need somebody that can pull the trigger without creating their own shot.
I don't agree. What good is a shooter if he gets the ball with 1 second on the shot clock and a hand in his face. You know why the Mavs hit all their 3's last night? Because their PG was driving in, drawing 2 or 3 people to him and then passing out for a wide open shot. Contrast that to our PG...who drives in..draws the 2 or 3 people and then jumps in the air hoping to get a good look and tosses up another brick, or a last second pass that turns into a nice turnover. Here is the difference between Nash and Francis. Nash rarely leaves his feet without a plan, he drives in seeing all that is on the court and quicky ascertains which play will work, pass or shot, then executes that play. Francis tries desperatly to get by his man..then jumps in the air BEFORE he has an idea of what to do or who is open. One player is good for a team oriented game, the other is great in a one on one street brawl type game. Since the NBA is a team game, you see how good the passing teams are doing....look at the Mavs, Kings, Pistons, Nets......they are good for a reason...they share the ball, and play as a team. Sharing the ball does not mean you pass it into a crowd just before your feet hit the ground..... The Rockets need to realize one thing...and one thing only. The ball moves faster on the pass then the dribble....they have not figured this out after 4+ years. Ridiculous. DD
I know what you are saying DD, but I think my point still stands. What if Francis finally figures it out? The Rockets STILL don't have enough reliable outside shooters. Even if Steve got Posey or Moochie the ball wide open behind the arc, they still aren't reliable shooters. Sometimes, Francis does exactly what you want him to, and his team mates still brick open shots. The Rockets need shooters.
ZRB, How can you know if the other Rocks are not shooters? I mean Nash set his guys up for WIDE OPEN looks. The Rocks never get that.....I think EG, Hawk, Posey, etc..etc..would be able to hit a much higer percentage if they were that open. DD
I agree DD. Its crazy that Rice is the reason why we lost because h's hurt, but when he's in the game, the other team takes it to him constantly and scores almost every time. The recipe is easy and you don't have to have 3pt shooters to do it. If anyone have ever watched even a young glen Rice, most of his points always came inside the arc,not outside. Its just like you said, when the pg or sg leave their feet to pass the ball, they already kill thier options. Its crazy and senseless especially with the way Posey is playing right now. He's bringing everything we need to the table and making plays defensively that Glen Rice could only dream of making. He and Morris would have been bette options on Dirk last night than Taylor or Griffin. Once Dirk puts the ball on the floor and starts scoring like that, its going to be a long night for a team.
Exactly ZRB! I understand what Dakota is saying, but let's say we do get open three's. Who on our team has proven they can consistenly hit open shots? Noone! Everyone is extremely inconcsistent to just downright poor. The Rockets are one of the worst shooting teams in the league, and a weakness like that is going to hard to overcome. With that being said I totally disagree with the "trade for a point guard" bandwagon. I say trade for someone who won't shoot 4-14 or 2-12 every other game.
Sorry DD, but no way. None of those guys are pure shooters. Sure, they might be serviceable, but noone would ever mistake any of those players you mentioned as "shooters." One of the worst shooting teams in the NBA, I tell ya!
DCkid, Who were the pure shooters on the Rockets 2 championship teams? Elie, and his set shot...... Kenny and his sideways spin shot. Horry and his "I dont want to shoot" shot Mad Max in his Cuttino shot? I mean these guys were not pure shooters before they came to the Rockets, but they got wide open looks. Most NBA players can hit a WIDE OPEN 3....my point is that we have no idea...as our guards NEVER pass the ball to get that wide open look. DD
Are you kidding? Those four guys were as pure as you can get! I don't care what their shots looked like, they usually went in. Sure, the open looks helped, but those guys would blow away any shooter the Rockets have now, except for a hot-shooting Rice.
A good shooter by nba standards from 3 is 40%. I'm pretty sure none of those guys during those yr shot 40%. That tea was a volume 3pt shooting team and not nearly as accurate as say Utah.
Look, I'm not saying that the Rockets don't need better ball distribution (in more ways than one), but the shooters they have now are just not good enough. Eddie's shot has regressed, Posey is a slasher, and Mobley is not a spot-up shooter. The Rockets need three or four Matt Bullard clones if they are ever going to average near 100 points again.
I'm with you Dada since shooting percentage has a direct correlation with shot selection. The Rockets rarely have open shots and prefer to shoot off the dribble or force one up with seconds on the clock and a man in their face. That's why they average just around 42% as a team.
Don't ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, compare MadMax to Cuttino. MadMax brought a lot of other things to this team, mainly defense. As far as comparing the current Rockets shooters, to the group who won championships, its ridiculous. Who's going to hit threes consistently on this team, Posey? Mo Taylor? Eddie Griffin? Mobley and Rice maybe. Moochie? Compared to Kenny, Elie, Cassel, Maxwell, and Horry, its not even close. And if you think our shooters are as good as Dallas's that's even more ridiculous.
Gabriel, My point is that all those guys got WIDE OPEN shots off of double teams. We have that same ability, but we don't utilize it. My point is, how the heck do we know how good our shooters are until they play in the same circumstances. If we passed the ball, I am sure that our shooting percentage would go up significantly. Heck, it is not our offense that is the problem, it is our defense...Offense takes time, and comes and goes, defense requires hustle and effort. We don't have it. DD
The thing is , scoring 100pts isn't just a recipe to winning. You can throw steve kerr, pat garrity,reggiemiller and what ever else good shooter out there , but they must be able to do something besides stand out there and shoot. If Garrity was so good, why are the Magic trying to get some kind of inside presence? They score points because they advance the ball quickly with the pass, play unselfish and have some semblence of an offense. It doesn't hurt when oneof the top 5 players in the league is as unselfish as Mcgrady. Shooters isn't the problem, its smart leadership which the Rockets lack.
Leebiez, look at Bullard 2 seasons ago. He mainly sat out there on the 3 point line, and he was instrumental to many of those wins. The Rockets were playing just like today, but Bullard bailed them out. Many occasions he was lighting it up like Finley did last night. Nobody on this current squad can do that! and we need somebody to clean up our guards mess!
Why in hell would the Rockets need scooters? What is that going to accomplish. Come on, this is a crisis. This is serious people. Scooters.....geeze.....
Hmm...WE NEED A SHOOTER! We also need SMART LEADERSHIP! We also need a SOLID POWER FORWARD! We also need a BETTER GAME PLAN! We need a LOT! But yeah. I think we should start with acquiring a shooter. We really need one. Nobody can shoot. The only person on our team that can catch and shoot is Terence Morris. But he doesn't make his shots consistently and is terrible on defense. We need a good shooter who can also play defense! Would it be better to have a good shooting guard who can shoot and play defense or a big power forward who can shoot and also play defense? We also need leadership! If we get rid of Cuttino Mobley, our problems will be part solved! We need to bring in a veteran...someone like Avery Johnson or Gary Payton. And I would really like Elton Brand! But without any shooters, the opposing team can just deny Yao and Elton the ball. We would be hopeless without any sharpshooters. And our game plan, I guess it is OK. But we could do better. In the 1st half of the Mavericks game, we were doing brilliant and playing some motion offense. Everyone was delighted...THEN...2nd half. Mavericks take the lead...and our Rockets just break down. Maybe only Francis and Mobley broke down...but then that caused everyone else to panick. We need leadership! We need somebody who can play INTELLIGENTLY! It will never happen...losing hope
