The reason for our losing is not Rudy at all. The reason we are losing is because of Moochie Norris. He is not allowing anybody to get the ball except for himself and Griffin. In order for us to play better than we are we need to become more team oriented and stop worrying about "me, me, me." Once Francis comes back we will start back on our winning ways.
I'm not at a TV right now - but am I seeing this right on NBA Courtside - EG is 6-7, 16 pts, 3-3 on 3pt's? Anyone? Is he really kicking that much ass?
I only get to watch these games if they are on TNT, but from what I've seen, tierre brown is a pretty controlled ball handler. I've seen one play where Cuttino was the accidental point guard and he was almost forced to pass. Needless to say, the goal was successful. From time to time, cuttino should be point and moochie should just roam to confuse the opponent. Rockets look competitive. I was only upset in the first half when the staff took Willis out at the end of the first half to inject Cato. Cato made a dunk, but b4 that, Willis seemed to control the rhythm of the team during that glimpse of chemistry to catch up to the Lakers. I think the Rockets should pay respect to Willis and let him start. Cato looks flabby, lazy and without fire. As I've read b4, I agree that Moochie does dribble more than Tierre. the Lakers just nail their shots from the perimeter. 3 minutes to go and Williams just stole a pass and got rejected for a fast-break layup. Then fisher shoots the 3 for a fast score after the rejection. The story of the unfortunate rockets
"He is not allowing anybody to get the ball except for himself and Griffin. " That's probably because Griffin was on FIRE! I'm sure Rudy had something to do with that as Moochie and Eddie were playing a two-man game most of the first half. Anyway, who else was he going to give it to...Mobley was off, and the rest of the team was basically standing around.
The only problem with Willis is he has bad hands. It's hard for him to catch the ball under the paint. I think that's the only reason we should leave Cato in the game in crunch time because I remember the last game against the Lakers where steve made a great pass in the paint to Willis and he bobbled the ball out of bounds for the last play of the game.
Moochie has the best Assist to Turnover ratio on the Rockets, yes he gets caught having to jack up a shot late on the 24 second clock, but that can be solved with more cuts and double screens at the high post. Moochie is playing just like a BACKUP PG should, I think the real problem is Cuttino. DaDakota
I don't think it's the coaches or the players really. Other than the elite teams (LA, Sacramento), what teams can compete without their franchise player? How many games would MN win without KG? Or LA without Shaq even? I'm not saying that the Rockets don't have their problems (I hate Moochies dribbling the life out of the offense) but really, how can they compete when their best player is out. This is true of almost every team in basketball. What were the Bulls like when Jordan retired? .500 at best and thats with Quitten and Kukoc. I don't remember Moochie trying to carry the team on his shoulders last year. I remember, "alright, Moochies in, sparkplug", not "Shoot, Moochies in, here we go again". 90% of the shots are taken by Moochie in the last 2 minutes o the game because he thinks not of himself as a back up but as a starter who needs to carry the team. Thats what I think IMHO.
Should Norris be a playmaker (assist man) or a shooter? I think playmaker, but I agree we need some motion in our plays, like some cutters to the basket, so that norris would be obligated to pass.
But how many assists in the last 2 minutes of the game? My theory is that Moochie is just trying to do too much late in the game, scoring wise. I like it when the superstar takes over in the final minutes, the way Jordan used to and the way I hope Steve will when he gets back, but Moochie isn't qualified to take that role and it seems to me with the way his ball hogging goes through the roof in the final minutes, that this is what he is trying to do. Does anyone out there know how many assists Moochie had in the last 2 minutes of last nights game, or any game he has started?
It would be nice to run into the offense and cut the constant trying of pick and roll only to be left with a long 3. If we try a pnr and that doesn't work a backside pick flashin to the ft line would yeild a good shot. We have too many times that the shot clock is running down and wind up with a **** shot. Tierre Brown gets us in the offense quick with dribble penetration into the d. Plus when he gets the ball, he's pushing the ball up the court.
He had the ball, he was just to busy driving into three defenders and ignoring a wide open Eddie Griffin on play after play. Moochie played horrendous down the stretch.
