a study in pork...we don't need any more muslims! gimme some hog, DAMNIT!

Hey Verse?

Do you smell that?

I think it's that time of year...

"HOGMAWS ROASTING...
ON AN OPEN FIRE...
BACON FALLING ON YOUR TOES..."

Man it's game time!! The season will be a good one.

 

Come on heypee. When did I say that Mobes is not the master of the last two minutes of the game. I think he is one of the best clutch players in the game. Much better then Francis right now. But if I remember correctly the GS game he had wasted almost the entire time and barely made the pass in time for Moochie to take an awful shot.

 

R0ckets03,

Come on, where did I say you were wrong . I was just taking the opportunity at your expense to say that most all Mobley's last second misses were preceded by last minute makes that allowed the last second shot.

Oh, and by the way, Cuttino did not throw an "airball" against Utah. What we all want is for Cuttino to see the court more in those pressure situations and find an open man. That is exactly what Phil Jackson told Jordan in the first title to find Paxson open. Can we not allow Cuttino to learn from his mistakes...no, some Mobley hatas still live, and they want his head.

Clutch guys like Cuttino must first look to shoot when open late in the game. Cuttino felt he was open and squared up against Utah; many agree that he had a look, and so did Rudy. Next time, he'll find Francis in the corner of his eye. What clutch guys can't do when bringing up the ball with 7 seconds left ordered by Rudy not to take a timeout is second guess themselves and not look for their shot, first. What he can do is find people in his peripheral vision, through experience. But most importantly, we must get a good shot off. He did under the circumstances, and it didn't go in.

Most people were mad that we didn't take a timeout and blamed Mobley for just running it up court like he was ad libbing, and on top of that missing the shot, when it turned out Rudy called for no timeout in the previous huddle. He missed the shot, and we want his head.

please! read RocksMillenium's post to prepare yourself for more Mobley late game shots.

 

Who can doubt Mobes ego. It's a thing of beauty. I just have to remember Cuttino staring down Scottie to get that warm feeling all over...

But for all of that warm fuzzy fuzzy, I would like the Francisphobes to judge the Francis that you see this year with the Cuttino that you saw last year. Don't forget... Cuttino has more experience than Steve in both college and professional basketball... a year? two years?

Would anyone seriously care to compare the Steve from last year with the Cuttino from two years ago? Huh? Cha. Would anyone seriously care to weigh their data by discussing Steve's emersion into the point guard role? How about the fact that Steve has the rest of the team to answer to?

Cuttino has my respect. He's a great player whose will preempts his skill. But making analogies between he and Steve Francis is fallacious based on length of experience, and based on the role that they both fit for this team. i.e. you guys can quit being dorks choosing sides for two players that the Rockets are lucky to have; we haven't had to do that since Clyde ****ing booger lip mother ****er **** bag ** * *********** ** * made wise cracks about his superior, Charles Barkley.

 

"Francisphobes"

I think verse is saying Francis is not the man until he demands it and executes. Why is that phobia?

There are no Francisphobes. Everyone here is thrilled to see him with the ball. Nobody cringes at Francis. sheesh. What is that you are spewing there? Did you just now think that one up Achebe and are trying to make it sound like you've been dying to say it for 2 years.

By contrast, next time you come to Houston, I'll take you to a game. We can sit down in any section, anywhere, and you will hear the Mobleyphobes....the hatas! They exist. They live. They hate Mobley, and they are vocal about it. They love to ruin your live game action enjoyment whenever Mobley makes any mistake.

There is no way Achebe that you can turn Mobley lovers into Francisphobes. Get lost!

 

When self proclaimed 'homers' detract from one player to build up another player, they're acting like something other than what I define as a 'homer'.

And since you guys the 'Mobley lovers', the oh so emphatic objectivists, constantly slam your own team's ****ing point guard to make meaningless points about Mobley's effectiveness, you get the royal phaser burn when it comes to 'ooh ooh, who is the biggest fan'. Now you're a Francisphobe. Deal w/ it, as TheCat deals w/ getting so twisted and convulted into devil's advocacey that he starts making fun of Collier to defend Jason.

BTW, are you working on that comparison of last year's Francis to the Mobley of 2 years ago? That should be a delightful read. phththththhhhhtt

 

Like I say...do you want to go to a game with me to hear the "objectivists" in action.

Achebe, I see little tearing down Francis. Do you think Calvin Murphy is tearing him down when he yells at Francis to shoot more? Do you think the coaching staff is tearing him down when Francis recalls how they kept preaching to him to shoot more? Do you think we are liars for reporting how Francis slips and falls a lot when trying to do too much? Do you think Francis is tearing himself down when he says he "isn't going to worry about making other's happy" this year.

You are merely trying to strike a divide for no reason other than to label people for fun.

Here, you want some objectivity? Mobley cannot go to the next level until he slows down the game in his mind and starts shooting smoother midranges and starts making the split second decisions to find Rice and Francis open once he drives into the lane.

Aside from Mobley stepping up his defense a significant notch, I've seen far more improvement from Francis in this preseason. I expect Francis to set up his game by taking pressure off himself through running the offense and waiting for the right moment to take over the game for 10 quick ones. I expect Francis to learn better when to shoot and not just passing for little reason other than to call himself a PG. This is well within his game and is instantly achievable.

Mobley, by contrast, as a lot more question marks in my mind. He has to see the court better. I give him no more excuses that a frenetic scorer tearing through intense traffic must focus on the rim and learn to see nothing but the rim first...which makes seeing the court hard to do. Hakeem is a prime example of how fockassing on the rim in essential to scoring in traffic, requiring Rudy to position stationary targets around the court for Dream to pass to if the shot is not there.

If Mobley wants to surprise me this year, he has to get to the rim as always, yet now see when teammates are better options without losing his ability to know when his patented drive was the better choice. That is a tall order, imo, because it requires unbeliavable reflex decision-making.

As for his propensity to shoot when the defenders are backing off him...I've never had a problem with this, just like I've been yelling at Francis to take those shots. He shot 4-5 ones in a row straight over an Stackhouse who was frozen in his footsteps and couldn't jump...yet Mobley still felt the need to fade back slightly, and missed all those shots. This year, Mobley better square up more consistently and not fade when unnecessary, no more excuses that Shandn is not really a better option for a swing pass. We have Rice now, and Mobley better damn well shoot a smoother midrange, or wait for his moments better.

Now, do you want to talk basketball Achebe, or just strike divides. Do you have a take for this thread or not?!

 

Clutch...Hot Topics are perfectly just.

The Recaps....uh. They are your take. And that is what we want. We don't want sterile objectivity. Hell, in my most objective moments, I am a boring read. Go on the offensive when someone says that you don't praise Mobley enough. That's spicy. It's fun. So, I've got some for you!

Detroit game: did you not see that Stackhouse was skunked by Mobley? Zero points, zero free throws! The talk of the game was that 3rd quarter defense...and no talk of the man who guarded the 28ppg player? Feigen failed to mention Mobley, too. Feigen said it was help defense. Uh, help defense will not skunk Stackhouse, because he'll get to the free throw line. Stackhouse was skunked, because he only got around Mobley once (by my count), while Mobley was giving no ground to him to shoot jumpers at ease. I do believe Mobley stripped him more times than Stackhouse got around him.

San Antonio Friday: Did you not see that while Francis was the general against SA, the heroics at the end to win it was Mobley on two unbelievable drives in a row (one with a tackle) after Francis stalled out to SA's smothering D...including another stripped and fall move? Feigen failed to mention Mobley, too. Uh, I presume Feigen saw enough of Francis and started writing his recap before the game was over.

You can't catch everything, and neither can Feigen, and neither can anyone. But it does make us happy when you do see and report it. Many here believe this is a history-making star guard tandem. We like confirmation from local sportswriters, because we damn sure don't get it anywhere else.

ps. Achebe, are you taking notes on how to write with a Game Action take?

 

Verse,

Nice take. Agree, but like Cat believe Stevie has been eatin' bacon during offseason and is primed for a pork ribbin' season. I really think this will be his superstar break-out year.

Jordan is the ultimate hog, but that's because when its on the line he forces other team's to beat him--Jordan. Its a kinda twisted pride, leadership, and competitive streak that your greatest players have.

Here's another example, John Stockton...when the game's on the line he wants the ball to shoot or pass, but he is gonna do what it takes to win and that is the bottomline for a true leader/winner...whatever it takes...

******************
I'm reminded of the one of the Ranger's mottos: If you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying hard enough.

 

Cocky ballhog or not, did someone else notice this francis quote from, the chron:

"This is our team, and it will be our team for the next couple of years," Francis. "I respect what the Rockets did those two years when they won championships. A lot of people dwell on that so much. They had probably the best center that ever played basketball playing his best basketball then.


What did he meant by next couple of years? Isn't that when he becomes a free agent?

I don't like the sound of this at all.

 

Gimmee a Pork Buffett. This is Houston after all and should be all you can eat for 4 quarters.

My problem and desire for the team is that they don't step away from the table in the fourth quarter and let the other pigs eat.

Its "playing to win" vs. "playing not to lose". Last season, we would see 3Q of solid team pigishness, then the fourth would roll around, they would be up a dozen or so, and then start playing like they were afraid they were gonna give up the lead. PLAY TO WIN PLAY TO WIN PLAY TO WIN DAMMITT!

I can't give any specific example but this seems to me like a problem which has consistently plaqued our pigs for years.

I don't know if its coaching or human nature, but dammitt, I don't care who on our teams is makin' bacon but don't stop cause you think you've had enough!

By the way, great post verse!

 

Pretty funny thread -- don't consider it offensive; I just thought you did it for shock value.. but in these times, you can never be sure.

Anyway, Francis looks good in the preseason and could definitely use some more ball hog in him. But they're still young. I think it does take time to learn how to use your ball hog skills to make not only yourself better but also your TEAMMATES. If the planets align correctly and both Steve and Cat can do it at the same time, watch out for a 60-win season, if not more.

For now, though, Steve doesn't always know when to turn it on, and Cat doesn't know when to turn it off. Jordan was the same way early in his career, and ditto for Hakeem.

 

I wouldn't go crazy analyzing wording here. That's when you're bordering on an unhealthy association with basketball.

Anyway, what would you have said instead? I think that wording is how I would have responded. Would you say "for the next decade or two"? That sounds awkward in normal conversation.

Don't worry -- the Rockets will surely max out his contract, so if he leaves it's because he's not happy. And if that's the case, then Cat will kick his butt since he signed a deal because of Stevie.

 

Since verse said it, what if Francis is the secondary player here, not Mobley? The Pippen to Mobley's Jordan?

To answer that question, we must know the answer to a few more.

Would Stevie be OK with not being "the Franchise"? I think so. He already defers to Mobes on late game shots. He pulls in the boards, can put up points and always talks about dishing the ball and getting everyone involved.

Does Mobley have the scoring ability to put the ball in the hole 25-30 ppg? Doesn't have to be this year, but in the next few? Tough question. Based on what I have read here about his quickness, I think he might.

Many people thought Pippen might have been more talented than Jordan or a better all around player. That might be the case here too. But Pippen never had the killer instinct. He never wanted the pork. Mobley has it. Does Francis?

Final question. Does EG make all of this a mute point by making it clear in two years that he is the superstar that will be the man on this team?

Verse, I ignored this thread for days because of the title, but I must say, this is some awesome stuff.

 

In this wacked out simile, metaphor or whatever you want to call it, (I never was any good in English class ) we have an absolutely fascinating discussion.

Let's separate for a second the carnivorousness of these three players briefly and take a look at first the position and then the talent themselves in the context of who has the potential to be the biggest superstar 3-5 years down the road.

Position
Francis - PG
Tough to really be the superstar from the point because your whole job is to get everyone else involved. Possible, but tough. Magic did it, but not many others as far as true superstars. It is why Iverson moved to SG.

Mobley - SG
Used to be that the SGs were the superstars in the league. Is that still true? I think that might be changing but historically, you could be a superstar from the SG position. Heck scoring makes a superstar shine brightest and that is what SGs are supposed to do.

Griffin - SF, PF, C (pick one?)
I think it is obvious that Cs can be superstars. They are some of the best ever to play the game. I think it is tougher for SFs and PFs, although I think the tide may be switching for SFs to control much more of the game, making superstardom easier.

Now, I understand that anyone can be a superstar from any position. This is just a discussion of what positions make it easier.

I'll look at skills in a second.