Evaluations

First off, I thank Jeff for all the hard work and garunteeing me to be a rocket fan for the rest of my life.

Also, thank you UPN. Even though I'll suffer greatly in the school department for the second year in a row due to having all 82 games, it'll be well worth it.

Now for some game thoughts:

Rebounding:

the rockets lack it, at least offensively. They rank around 25th in the league in offensive rebound percentage, meaning when they miss a shot, they won't get another chance. Teams worse than them at this are Washington, Boston, New Jersey-lottery bound teams.

Hopefully when Cato comes back he can help. Bust for now, the teams best board men are KT, Dream, and Collier. Dream's never been a great Off Reb guy, and KT is 2nd string. Taylor just isn't getting the job done. He's averaging 3.3!, yes 3.3! total a game. I don't know if it's effort or positioning or what. But the man is huge, and he needs a lot more boards. On the offense, since he mostly plays 12ft and beyond the basket, he's never there for the offensive board. Once could assume that the guards would be inside when this happens, but many times I see EVERYONE outside, sort of like in a semi-circle.

This leads me the the second area of analysis: BALL MOVEMENT.

They lack here too. Just listen to Calvin Murphey on TV. They go one on one way too much. Back in the day, it use to be one on one backin it in with the big guys. Now it's one on one with the guards. They do have set plays; they just don't run them enough. They have so many players that demand a double team that it gets real frustrating when they don't crisply move the ball around. Hopefully in time this will improve greatly.

Defensive rotation

The rocks are inconsistent here, but so are most teams. Since Cato's been out, no one other than Dream has been able to sufficently guard a man in the post. As for the guards: Steve, Shan, Cat and Mooch get beat sometimes, Wizard get's beat all the time.

Francis:

I too agree somewhat with the wuss theory in the other thread. Maybe he's just being too selfless in trying to help the team. A couple of times tonight against Kobe (a 1st team defender), when he felt like it, Steve just blew right to the bucket. He just doesn't do it enough.

Bad bounces and bad hands:

A lot of it has happened lately and has added sufficently to why they lost. This area for sure will improve over time when the team gels and learns eachothers tendencies. It's like the chemistry developed between a QB and his receivers.

Taylor:

I don't like him so far. Currently, at his best, you'll get scoring from the perimeter. That is not what this team needs. This guy better start playing with his but to the basket or he might adversly affect the team. What the rocks lack (rebounding, inside scoring) is what this guy has the physical ability and talent to do. I hope he'll develop into that type of player.

Collier:

Whether you like him or not, he's being as productive as any other rookie in the league.

Turnovers:

Stop Palming. That should cut back about 20% of the turnovers.

Overall I'm not suprised or disapointed with the team's performance so far this season. I still throw things when they lose. But all I can do is hope things get better.