Here's one for you Crispee

I think most people on this board would contend that Francis is more important to this team than McDyess is to the Nugz...he's the PG. He makes it go, instead of making it go dribble.

What is this, another thread to point out Rudy's a dumbass? Bottom line, if he was, he wouldn't be coach. In Riddy we trust.

 

Record without Francis: 1-16
Record with Francis: 10-8 (including the last game against the Jazz)

Next question.

 

Don't try so hard leebigez. I agree more with your preferred style of playing basketball than you might think. Do I really come off sounding like I don't think there is anything wrong with our execution or limited system?

I think the only difference between you and I is I think our system is limited, not because Rudy can't coach or the system itself has nothing more to offer, but that Rudy has thoughtfully chosen a system to match strengths *and* limitations of the players. And, right now, the player limitations are preventing the system from revealing its potential by producing the easy buckets that perimeter flexes can produce. You seem to say the complete opposite that the system limitation prevent the players from getting easy buckets or reaching their potential.

Another difference is I tend to acknowledge what the opponent defense is doing to expose our player limitations.

As arguments go, this seems like one big Chicken or Egg paradox.

Anyhow, I make no predictions. And I'd rather you not come back to this thread and claim "I told you so" if we lose tonight. That is nothing but a sucky thing to do to the BBS.

 

You ask if this team has so much talent, why does the record not reflect this talent? This question can be answered simply for this is not a paradox. Talent is not equivalent to expertise. While someone may be talented, that does not necessarily mean that the person has developed his or his talent.

While you discount the notion, the excess of injuries and the fact that we have four rookies on the team do explain the discrepancy between talent and record. Steve Francis was out for much of the season. The record reflects that. Cuttino Mobley's performance has been hampered by two bum ankles. I think he should go out for a while. Rice, extremely talented as his past performances have shown, is out for the year as is Maurice Taylor.

Eddie Griffin is developing, but has not reached his full potential. Oscar Torres has demonstrated his potential. Terrence Morris has yet do show what he is capable of in regular season play. Tierre Brown has gotten very little time which is also true of our sophomores.

So if we add up all the players who are new to the game at the NBA level with the ones who have been injured we get ten (10) players, while talented, are not able to play to their potential during all or part of the season. This would leave the fate of the Rockets season in the hands of five players: Moochie Norris, Walt Williams, Kenny Thomas, Kelvin Cato, and Kevin Willis. A line-up of these five guys would probably not win very many games. Actually, of the five, Thomas, Cato, and Williams have been out a few games as well due to injuries.

Really, I think the Rockets have done remarkably well considering that Francis, while important, has not been the only player injured for a limited or an extended period of time. If healthy, the Rockets would be vying for one of the top four spots in the division. Realistically, their season is not over yet. They have nine games to make up on the Jazz in the remaining 47 games. That's a doable goal despite, and perhaps because of all the injuries we have suffered this year.

 

We have usually been missing 3-4 players at a time which really hurts our scheme as we have to chip and change all the time. No way would T Mo have started a game this season if Walt and Glan were healthy. I doubt Eddie would have had as much playing time as he has had if Kenny had not been injured and Mo out for the season. We had to start Oscar Torres who can hardly speak english I don't know about Denver but I think Houston had the worse hand of cards then they did. Might I add, season isn't over. Kick back and watch our record improve.

 

lee: You are so obvious, it is painful. Did you even read the Chronicle article today that talked about the impact of losing Francis to the Rockets and McDyess to the Nuggets? You should.

The key difference here is that we aren't just missing Franics. Currently, we are missing 2 of our 5 projected starters and one is playing with two bad ankles. At one point (for about 4 games) we were missing 4! There were times when we played on the floor 4 rookies (two undrafted, one 19 and one second round pick) and a 39 year old.

I see problems with the system as well but mainly due to limitations of both players' abilities and time to practice them. They began their FIRST round of 5 on 5 practices last week since the second week of the season. At that time, they were still dealing with unknowns and players who didn't even know the system.

But, I guess I'm just wrong. It's all Rudy's fault. There I admitted it. Git riddy of RUDDY.

This forum is really beginning to suck.

 

Leebigez,

While I disagree with your views of the Rocket's talent & potential, I won't dismiss your concerns as irrelevant. However, since all your posts seem to be critical of the team's players, coaches, front office, decision making, player rotation, offensive & defensive systems, etc....., I have a couple of questions for you.

Is there anything about this team that you actually like? Can you see anything that would be considered, by most people, as a positive?

 

<B>I know after that tangent, posters will bring out the fact that "Mo Malone" Taylor has been out and Glen Rice has been hurt, but are any of these guys as important to this team as McDyess to his? I don't think so. </B>

Of course Taylor isn't as important as McDyess. However, Francis, Taylor, Rice, and the numerous other injuries at various times (Cato, Thomas, Mobley) combined ARE more important than McDyess. The fact that we have an equal record with substantially more injuries should tell you something. You compare McDyess and Francis and say that's a wash. But then you use McDyess again when discussing Taylor and Rice, which makes no sense.

 

Taylor isn't as important to the Rockets as McDyess is to the Nuggets. That much is obvious because Antonio is a franchise type player, much the way Francis is, and Taylor, while being a star player is not going to carry a franchise. That doesn't mean he isn't important or valuable to the Rockets because obviously he is, but the comparison is just wrong.

 

The Rockets are like the Sixers. One player decides if they are a lottery team, or a playoff team. It's going to be that way until Eddie realizes his full potential. The Sixers are crap without Iverson, but Finals material with him. I believe the Rockets have all the talent to contend with the Lakers in a few years, it just needs to be developed.

Tonight's game is a big test. With Steve, the Rockets are top-5 playoff team material. I would like to see them take it to the Nuggets, who are still missing their franchise player. The Rockets should win this game by double digits. There is no excuse for a loss. While a two point win will give me a rush, it certainly won't please me in the long run. The Rockets have only won ONE game this season by double digits. They should make that two tonight.

The next five games are a huge test, but are all winnable because aside from tonight, they are all in the east. This current Rockets lineup is not an 11-24 team, it is a 10-7 (Utah game ignored) team. Now is the time for them to separate themselves from the mediocre teams in the west, and make that push for .500.


Oh, by the way. If the Rockets don't win their next five games, they will be off to a worse start than the 99-00 season, 16-24.

 

well, what crispee, ZRB and Jeff said.

i don't really think we lack sheer basketball talent by that far... but something perhaps composing and an element of it.

i find it really troubling how ?most? of the Rockets wins come down to the wire and within a few points this season... while their losses can be definite losses.

hard to pinpoint what the rockets are lacking... some kind of winning intensity? i feel too often the Rocks have their head-in-a somewhat-bent-down-position instead of a pumped-up-and-ready-to-dominate-the-other-team state.

it's not that every game is an ordeal to a rocket player... the losses have been tough which is understandable. but a confident certain set of players come out to make every losing game a winning one and every winning game a possibly blow out one - which may be an aspect of basketball talent... and the rockets seem incredibly deprived of it (and incapable of the latter) this year

 

i think the difference is that we have a nick van exel - a guy who can win games himself. sure, he can lose alot but it prevented us from going 1-15 without dice or anything like that.

 

can i get a link to that article? thanks.

 

heres an odd one...

record without wahad: 5-17
record with wahad: 6-6


wahad, not mcdyess, is our savior

 

I'll say one thing for NugzFan,

Denver is more disrupted losing their absolute stud PF than we were losing Francis.

This is not a who is more a stud argument...this is statement that teams built around stud PFs are going to be more effected by losing that PF that teams built around stud scroring guards are going to be effected by losing that guard.

Losing McDyess robs them of their defensive philosophy and their offensive philosophy. Losing Francis robs us our main playmaker and stud, but we didn't really have to throw our playbook away, like Denver surely had to do.

I mean, who on Denver is going to draw major defensive attention to the low post to help their perimeter. It's not like our system is really built around Francis making our low post more effective, since our centers just plain suck and our PFs play on the perimeter anyhow.

Denver is so underrated by Rockets fans, it is silly.

 

now will you shut up NugzFan.

 

what the hell did i say? i just pointed out the fact that nve prevented us from going 1-15, whereas you guys didnt have type of player. i didnt say dice is better than francis.