Everyone is talking about the defense without Hakeem on the court. My question is why wasn't Cato on the court during the 4th? I don't think he was hurt and maybe not deserving of the money he gets but he has been known to be a good defensive center and block a few shots. Anyway this loss really hurts but I think we have a real shot of making up 3 games this week on the wolves with them going on the road and us playing some easy games. ------------------ Tennessee is a suburb of Houston. Go Oilers....
Woodlandsboy, My gut instinct is Cato is pulling a Two Sandwiches and getting on Rudy's nerves. Cato is in the doghouse in a major way, imo. My guess is he had one game against Chicago, and immediately demanded more playing time.
I would go with small lineups in the second in third quarters to help pull away, or to help come back. If Hakeem wasn't available, Cato should have been played. The way I see it, the Rockets should always have a 7-footer on the court if there are more than one available. Perhaps you're right about Hakeem not being able to play the entire fourth quarter, but he should at least play 9 minutes of it. Coming in at the six-minute mark is often too late. He should be brought in around the 8:30-9 minute mark. It is true that his mere presence often discourages players from driving to the basket. That would have been very useful during that stretch in the fourth quarter when the Mavs were scoring easily. Players take it up to another level in important games, and I think Hakeem would have been able to handle a little extra work. Especially since he was having his best game of the season. Anyway, this still does not excuse putting Walt on Finley and not sending help. Finley was scoring far too easily on Walt for my liking. It doesn't really matter anymore. Its not like the Rockets are going to be involved in any playoff intensity games again this year. Still, I bet if it was game 7 of the Western Finals against Dallas, Rudy would still go with the same defensive lineups, so I give up trying to argue against them. ------------------ "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning how to put food on their family while being put to death."
I also think that the Rockets are like 25-5 or 24-6 when leading after 3 quarters this year. So that stat alone will discount the notion that they blow leads. ------------------ Rockets Season Ticket Holder
