Kudos to the Rockets for their winning record... gained without the services of Eric Piatkowski, Adrian Griffin, Mo Taylor and maybe even Eddie Griffin. That list includes at least two and probably three rotational players. That missing veteran influence will help when it returns... maybe even Eddie Griffin.
Saneness...ahhh thank you.. Rockets 5-2 going against a team better suited for the Rockets to beat tonight..I see them being 6-2 tomorrow. all without 2 deadeye shooters and adefensive minded backup. some need to just accept the fact that the better team whooped us last night...that wasnt the way I wanted to see it, but it is hardly surprising. We will get better. We still have a long way to go.
I think we could have really used EG's length and quickness last night. He is probably the most equipped to match up with Dirk, although, thats not saying much since EG is a work in progress on man to man D. I thought JJ did an admirable job on Dirk, considering he was giving up 6 inches. Last night exposed one of the downfalls to having Cato at the 4 in that he doesn't have the experience or skills to go out and guard guys out on the perimeter. Adrian Griffin has pretty long arms for his size. I wonder if he would be an effective defender for Dirk.
I agree...I think it is amazing that we are competetive, much less have a good record, with our two (and pretty much only two) power forwards unavailable. What other team could say that? We actually played Dallas better last night than we did last year - with a full, more talented team (and Dallas is more talented this year). Sure, Cato has done well enough, but he is not really a PF and is only playing about 25 minutes a game. Pike will also be pretty big. He is a quick scorer, so even with fewer than 20 minutes, he can really help out. I heard the guys on 610 say A Griffin will not play much when he comes back - that there is no room for him. I disagree. I think he should play SF before Boki (meaning back up JJ) and PF before Braggs and maybe even Padgett, depending on the game matchups.
Several Rocket starters had stats nearly identical to their counterparts - JJax to Dirk, Francis to Nash, Yao to Jamison. 2 places where we lagged were Mobley to Finley and our bench. Like him or not, Mo Taylor is another big and relativley mobile body...especially against Dallas's second unit. The Rox poor outside shooting allowed the Mavs to sit back in a zone surrounding Yao and Cato. Padgett had an off game but the likelihood of Padgett and Piatkowski being off on the same night is very low. Having an offensive threat like Pike and a defensive threat like Adrian Griffin gives the Rox an extra wrinkle or two on the nights when Mobley or JJax is having a subpar game. I'm encouraged by the fact that in 3 prior home wins, Dallas had averaged 118.3 points and we held them to 97. We had an off night shooting, it's going to happen. We were able to hold the Mav's to 80 FGA's...their fewest of the season...fewer than any team that beat them... LAL 89 - DAL 83 WAS 89 - DAL 85 TOR 73 - DAL - 82 A few baskets by Pike or Taylor and an extra transition D stop by AGriff and who knows...
You're right. I lapsed into a game action comment because I actually got to see a Rocket game last night... all the way here in North Carolina.
