This being the first pre-season game that I've seen this year, I have to say I was pretty happy. As B mentioned in another thread, the first half saw the Rockets take the lead but lose it when the second unit came in. Starters were as follows: PG Norris SG Mobley SF Williams PF Thomas C Cato I was really surprised that Mobley played, but he was the best player on the floor for both teams early on. Walt looked good and Cato started out strong. Of the second unit, only Eddie started out good by hitting 2 3's and blocking a shot. In the second half, the Rockets held the Pistons to no field goals for over 11 minutes and they were able to erase a 58-52 halftime deficit. The Rockets wound up outscoring the Pistons 24-6 in the 3rd quarter. Moochie came on in the 3rd as he led the Rockets surge. Cato continued to play hard as it looked like he was playing to prove a point. Terrence Morris really played well in the second half as did Damon Jones, who was lighting it up. Eddie continued his fine play and even Dan Langhi did okay in the second half. Darren Kelly got to play but didn't do anything. Tierre Brown did not get to play. Oscar Torres hit a 3 in the first half, but he didn't have a memorable game. Yes, it was the Pistons and yes they were missing Ben Wallace and Stackhouse had a nightmare game (I think he wound up going scoreless). However, you had to love the results if you were a Rocket fan. Man, this team has lots and lots of potential. Remember, there was no Rice, Francis, or Willis. A couple of other things: 1) What's up with the black armbands that some of the Rocket players were wearing? Norris, Morris, Williams, Mobley, KT, and Langhi all had them on, mainly on their left arms. It seemed that the number was 41. Isn't that Glen Rice's number; however, it seemed that Langhi's and Morris's were different numbers. Does anyone know the significance of this. 2) Mikey Moore of the Pistons must be one of the most tattooed players that I've seen since Rodman plus he has a mini-fro. Very odd-looking player, but he's decent for the Pistons. 3) Believe it or not, this is the first Rockets game that I got to see with Bill Worrell and Calvin Murphy. Boy, does Calvin get on your nerves. Lots of luck in understanding him! I sorta cringe at listening to him doing color for the majority of the season. He went on and on about some pictures that "Clutch" drew up of him and Worrell. Plus he had a zebra suit on at the beginning of the game. BTW - Final Score was Rockets 103, Pistons 85.
Manny, good observations. Of all our players. I thought Damon Jones raised his stock more than anyone else on the floor. He is quick and has a good sense of when to pass and when to shoot; and he can flat fill it up. If it comes down to him vs. Torres, I would go with him in that he can play the one or two and has a couple of years of NBA experience. Wonder why Griffin only seems to receive the ball 20+ ft. from the basket? I know he can shoot the three, but his future is closer to the hoop. Would love to see his low post or wing game. And Langhi was pretty solid both on offense and defense. Morris didn't shoot well, but his rebounding and defense were pretty good. And as for Cato, that's the first time I've really seen some fire, spirit, and a sense of team play from him. He actually smiled. I don't want to delude myself, but I really liked what I saw...at least tonite. He could really make a difference!! Should be a fun year.
When we went to that Griffin-Morris-Langhi frontline it was insane. It should be illegal for a team to have 3 6'10'' players with mobility, athleticism, long arms, and outside shots. Morris and Griffin just play so effortlessly. It's like they're in a contest on who can use less energy, they make things look so easy. I think the biggest thing I've seen, is that Rudy is using Morris mostly as a 4. The only time he's been used at 3 is when he's in the lineup with Steve, and not always then. It looks like he's going to turn him into a Robert Horry now, rather than wait till he gets slower. Morris's post defense has improved, and he's got good rebounding prowess as well as shotblocking. Griffin is playing mostly the 5. If he develops as a 5, with his combination of defense, rebounding, and THREE POINT RANGE, New Jersey, as well as the Wizards, Clippers, Hawks, Grizzlies, Bulls, and Warriors will be kicking themselves over passing the kid up. He didn't look entirely in the flow at times, but part of that can be chalked up to being in a lineup with all new Rockets except Langhi, and no Francis/Moochie to direct. Looking forward to Willis, adds a dimension of toughness. If he helps Cato focus, this team could be ready for a DEEP playoff run right now. A 40 point backcourt, combined with one of the best shooters in the game, an awesome bench, and potentially one of the most solid 5 tandems in the league (if Cato stays focused), this team has great chemistry young talent, and a few veterans mixed in. We were able to hang with the Twin Towers (first quarter) without Rice or Willis, and showed what's likely to happen to a team without an inside presence in Detroit only using the bench brigade. Let's get ready for a fun season!
Cato had a fine game - there wasn't one play from him that was discouraging. The rockets only got one block - 3-4 goaltending calls on Griffin - but you could tell that the Pistons were intimidated around the basket - their shots were tentative and they missed a lot more than they should have. It was a lot of fun to get out to Compaq center and cheer the rookies on. They did a lot better when Cuttino stayed out there with them in the first part of the 4th quarter - he gave them a bit more stability and confidence.
My primary observsation was how much Detroit sucked. They are forced into starting Barros and Curry, two older players most known for their bench play. Stackhouse is their only playa and he had an off night. I was impressed with Rodney White. He is going to be a good one. I thought the Rocks struggled a bit without Francis in the lineup. He really sets the tone for the Rockets when he is in the game. Everytime I see him I become more impressed with TMo. He has such a fundamentally sound game. He defends and rebounds wel. He works well within the offense, finding the empty spots. All this game for a rookie Griffin at times impressed and at others struggled. He missed his first shot badly, which was a three, but bounced back to finish 3 for 5 for 3 pointers. The last three pointer he made was well behind the arc and nothing but net. Griffin struggled at the defensive end in the first half against rookie Zelijko Rebraca, who easily out muscled him in the paint. Griffin was playing the 5 at the time, so he was not in his natural position. Until Griffin fills out, he may very well struggle against the power players. Langhi got some significant minutes in the game. Rodney White punished him on the D. On the O, Langhi turned into a black hole and played 1 against 5, albeit with some success. As I was telling my friend at the game, it really looks like Langhi's future with the Rocks and the NBA in general is to become the next Matt Bullard. Their defensive skill is about the same. Lanhi has a more versatile O game, but in the end his job will be to sit on the three point arc and wait for the ball to rotate to him. Cato had a solid game. He even hit a 10' jump shot which ratlled in.
please, please, please...I want both Torres, and Jones on the team. both have impressed me much. I also was very happy with the play of cat and Griffin...
Torres and Jones would be good additions to the team. Oscar was not his best tonight, but I think he only played in the 2nd quarter. I think Jones shows more maturity running the plays than Moochie. Moochie made some good shots, after some really bad plays. Is it me, or does this guy run around in circles until he forces a bad pass? I think Bill & Calvin were right on the money, seeing the problem with the dribbling. Moochie is good when he plays to win, and he SUCKS when he hesitates and is afraid to shoot the ball. Cato, great game. WHY IN THE HELL DOES KENNY shoot so many three's. Its like the 2nd comming of Charles Barkley. After all the years of Hakeem and even Barkley showing the post up presence, has Rudy just totally forgotten how to call those plays. Eddie showed some great moves in the summer league, and I know Kenny Thomas can do more than just shoot 3's and try to slash through 5 people from the 3 point line. Cuttino, shot horribly but had a great defensive game. He still looks a little rusty. Langhi, looked good but appeared to be forcing up shots (rather than passing) to make sure he got some stats for the night. ADD FRANCE, RICE & WILLIS and this is going to be one fun year to watch.
The first home game I watched this preseason ... I wish they had run some low-post plays for EG. Looks like he felt quite comfortable shooting from the outside. TMo was impressing me the most tonight. He was so smooth on the court. NO! He doesn't look like a rook to me. Cat was still forcing the action on several occasions. Probably because he was one of the best players on the court. He felt he needed to do just that!
Remember the quick starts and how many 1st quarter points Mo T recorded last season? I wonder if the Rocks' are deliberately trying to get Cato off early in the game for the same reason. (I must confess a lack of viewing time as League Pass has really been spotty with the preseason coverage).
This was the first time I've seen many of these players in extended minutes. Impressions below. Norris—great penetrator, disrupts other team’s offense, incredible energy, but plays with his head down too much Mobley—most impressed by his defense. It looks to me like he shoots the ball too jauntily though. Williams—better at everything than I thought he was except shooting. Made some nice passes. Thomas—only advantage he’ll have over most PFs is quickness, and that only by a small margin. Easily the weakest starter in my opinion Cato—very impressive. Alters shots inside, grabs rebounds right off the rim, can draw fouls. Needs to work on that turn around jumper though (after he missed one, I saw him practicing his stroke while waiting for people to line up for a free throw). He doesn’t extend his arms properly Griffin—he really can shoot threes! Within two years he will be one of the five best shotblockers in the league. Definitely is a nineteen year old though. Morris—caught flat-footed on defense at times, also committed several stupid touch fouls, also needs to box out better. Still, except for one drive he played within his game, rebounded well, altered some shots, good finishing & should’ve had a chance or two for a three point play. Jones—his line looks good, but I was not impressed. He had a couple flashy assists, but he looks to shoot first, and that is not what the rockets need in a 3rd string PG. Defense is a little suspect. To me Jones is a big drop off from Norris Langhi—can shoot very well and can even drive & handle the ball better than I thought, but has no court vision whatsoever and is not someone I can imagine others on the team will enjoy playing with. Defense is flatfooted, average at best. Torres—looked quick on defense. Could be a stopper. Bad decision maker on offense.
They dribbled around far too much at times, but part of that is probably new faces and getting to better know each other's moves and spots. Francis would have improved on that, as would veterans like Willis and Rice knowing where the open spots were. The first half defense was porous, the freaking Pistons shot like 65% without Stackhouse getting a single point. It was good to see the team respond to an obvious half time talk from Rudy to limit the Pistons to 6 third quarter points. Defense and spreading the ball around can win for this team. 6 double digit scorers and one with 9 points. Excellent!
I am going to talk about Cato a little bit. Now, I will be the first one tell you that I was stoked after seeing Cato go off for a triple-double in a pre-season game a couple of years ago. With his disappearance after signing a large contract, my support of him disappeared as well. But now, I see (and hopefully will continue to see) the Cato that everyone was expecting to see. Three things stood out for me, regarding Kelvin yesterday: #1 - Did everyone see that nice pass from Cat around the base-line to a cutting Kelvin? He missed the dunk due to a foul, but, instead of being a cry-baby, Kelvin pointed to Cat and said "nice pass." It wasn't just what he said, but how he was saying it. He had a huge grin on his face, pointed at Cat and you could see the energy/effort of Cato. I mean, he even walked over and gave him a high-five and went on to sink both free throws. WOW! #2 - Now, I am not sure if the officials gave Cato credit for the block or if this was one of the "phantom" goal-tendings. But immediately after the whistle blew, DET. or HOU. had called a time out. As Cato was walking to the bench (oozing with satisfication of his play - IMO), Rudy grabbed Cato and patted him on the back, kind of gave him a mini-hug and was genuinely was happy with Cato. Both of them were grinning from ear to ear. That was not fake ego massaging. Both Cato and Rudy were very pleased with his play. A great sign if you ask me. #3 - This came from the pre-game show. Cato was the guest of honor, if you will. Kelvin said some things that were very encouraging. For example, he said that he wanted to play harder and accomplish more, not because he wanted to prove people wrong (about his contract), but because he really doesn't want to the city of Houston to hate him. What maturity. Then Cato goes on to say that he hopes that the fans will forgive him for what he said last year (about leading the league in rebounding) and he will continue his improvement so that he doesn't let the fans down. WOW!!!!!!! Now, I know a few of you out there will say this is just pre-season and he is just blowing smoke. But here is my response to that.....why would he have to blow smoke with contract in hand? Why would be apologing to the fans? Why not continue to sulk and be dead weight? I am encouraged. I like his play, considering that he is grossly out of shape. If he can get back into game condition, stay injury free and keep this focus, the Rockets WILL DEFINITELY BE THE TEAM THAT NO ONE WANTS TO PLAY IN THE FIRST ROUND! Good work Cato. You got this fan back, just don't let us down again. We all understand bad games now and then, but if you can keep this kind of effort up, the whole city of Houston will Luv ya! FC
