anybody here the murph on 610 this afternoon? heres a breakdown: *he was pretty adamant about Francis NOT being a point guard. * he thinks the Rockets need to bring in a point guard, slide Francis over, and keep Mobley as a 6th man coming off the bench.(mobleys too talented to let go) *said next year all roads go through Yao and (direct quote: "You cannot win, and you will not win, unless Yao Ming is the new sheriff in Town!" *he did want to coach and did speak with CD about it, but at that time the Rockets had already made up their minds about hiring Van Gundy. He understands and is cool with it. *he feels the players need to get rid of the ego! and be realistic and accept changes *He also believes Nachbar was caught up in the numbers game last year but he thinks Van Gundy will give him a fair shot and Nachbar will get playing time next year. This was actually pretty interesting because when talking about Nachbar last year he compared the situation to his playing days when the Rockets selected John Lucas with the number 1 pick and the coach at that time came up to Murph before training camp and hinted to Murph that Lucas would be their guard and Murph said -yeah, the shooting guard. I got the feeling Murph used that comparison to point out that players should earn their spots by their play and no spot should be predetermined like it was with Glen Rice and Tmo over Nachbar. Thats the way it sounded to me.
Missed that, thanks TS. Proves what I've always thought about Murph: Once you get past the bad suits, singing, and chocolate chip cookies...he knows his Rocketball. Although personally I've cooled on the "Francis to the 2" idea.
I completely agree. Especially with what the Lakers are doing, we need as many scorers as possible. The Lakers got Payton, who can give you 20 a night, Malone who's still good for 20, and Kobe and Shaq who can go off for 30, 40 or even 50! The Rocks would be better off having a scoring point guard now.
He also said the power forward position needed an upgrade. Said we needed a guy who could pull down 11-12 boards, score round 11 and block a couple shots. Ben Wallace? Dennis Rodman? Who is he talking about? Kind of surprising there aren't more posts in this thread, even though the board's been down. He was INCREDIBLY frank. Especially about coaching and the guard situation (Q: What if Cat doesn't want to come of the bench? A: Well, he'll just have to deal with it -- followed by something to the effect of the Rox have been a lottery team for a long time and the guard situation has to change.). Also, though he tried not to say it, he clearly wanted the coaching gig BAD, asked for it, and didn't get an interview. Any chance he got, he'd talka about how good he'd have been. I'm a big fan of CM as a player, not a fan at all as an announcer. But that interview was kind of mindblowing. Too bad more of you didn't hear it -- I feel sure we'd have had a good talk about it.
Calvin really does know his Rocketball.. most cant get past his silliness and bad suits.. If you pay attention when they talk during the games...some good insight can be had. oops, 2 unpopular viewpoints expressed by me in one night.. I can feel the flames brewing.
I agree. I was wishing that when Rudy stepped down, Calvin could get at least a shot, but they had their mind made up. His basketball insight is very good during the games. He gives good ideas and stresses passing and moving the ball. I think he really held back on Rudy t because they're good friends.
He also took a shot at Mo Taylor. He praised Taylor's shooting but said he is not what they need at power forward. He seemed to place alot of the blame on the rockets for Griffins lack of development. He said they need to settle on a position for Griffin and that Griffin will be "simply awesome" if the Rockets allow Griffin to run the floor. He made alot of solid comments and didn't seem to worry about hurting any of the players feelings. He was never rude, and tended to work things nicely, but he didn't pull any punches. He said he wanted the Rox coaching job but knew realistically he didnt have a shot. He said he wouldn't have hired him either from the perspective of Les Alexander, butthe team can't take a risk on an inexperienced coach. Judging by some of the things he said, I think he has atleast some say in the direction the Rockets are taking. I dont know if he has input or is just told of the direction the club will take.
He also said although EG is young he needs to show much more desire and make himself a spot on the floor (find a niche, or create a niche) and he dissapears way too much (too passive). He said that was mostly attitude. He said he would like to see Griffin bulk up this off-season. He needs more weight to be an effective 4 in the long run. Some of that is stating the obvious, but he said he thinks EG will do well with a strong hand to lead him.
I agree that Taylor just doens't seem like the right fit for this team. I liked what I heard about Griffin. This guy really has the talent to have been the 1st player drafted. He's hanging out on the 3 point line when he should be posting up getting rebounds, layups, alley opps, dunks, and blocks. What the F^ck is he doing playing the 3-pt shooting game? He's not that good of a 3 point shooter. But his footwork is good. As I remember, there weren't too many time players blew past him to get to the rim. His defense is there, his offense isn't(but because he doesn't assert himself) But, remember when Keeny Thomas started with the Rockets. All he used to do was shoot 3 pointers. Then he developed. Could that happen with griffin? It better.
Calvin is Calvin. He speaks his mind and goes off the handle. It was his nature as a player and it is his nature as a person. He has a big ego, like most of these guys. He was my hero as a player and I love him as an announcer. I've met him a couple of times and he is a genuinely warm person and funny as hell. But, I don't always agree with his analysis of the game. I have often thought he is way too inflexible to coach, nevermind the fact that he has not taken a shot at coaching in the years since he retired. I'm sure he wanted to be the coach, but he has no qualifications and no experience.
No way, man! He was a gold gloves boxer. You DID NOT want to mess with him during his playing days. He wouldn't back down from any fight and he usually came out on top. Don't let his size and silly personallity fool you...he could kick your ass.
What team? Houston is in transition. A second unit of Cato and Taylor is a formidable frontline. Like him or not, Taylor is the best PF on the Houston roster. University (Square Peg) Blue
We cannot give Taylor away until we have proven that when plays break down we have a go to scorer who will put the team on his back offensively. Taylor was this man last year and single handedly sparked many comebacks. Without him there is no way we would've fineshed as close to the playoffs as we did.
damn!! seems like i missed a good interview. sounds like he addressed almost all the major issues concerning the rox right now. thanks for the recaps.
That was really in the paper. Jim Mac was lobbying hard for Calvin, he was even on the radio saying as much after he bought that "ad". BTW, shouldn't incite be spelled insight? Although Calvin did have a tendency to incite other players during his playing days.
