Why is Moochie Norris playing in the 4th quarter of close games?!? What is the point? I don't care how many buzzer-beaters he has hit, he should only be playing 3-4 minutes spurts in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He slows the game down considerably and takes the ball out of Steve and Cuttino's hands. There is absolutely no excuse for him to be in there late in the game! One might argue that by playing Norris at the point guard, Steve Francis is freed up at the shooting guard. However, this is hardly the case. Francis is not a player that gets off by getting open and running through screens. All of his points come off of his own dribble/penetration. With the current lineup, Tomjanovich essentially has Norris dribbling 10 seconds off the clock and then passing to Steve or Cuttino who dribble another 10 off to create their own shots. With Steve at point guard, he can just bring it down and create from the start. I don't expect this team to win but I atleast expect progress and right now I am very frustrated by Tomjanovich's decision making.
Mooch was in the game to guard Steve Nash. Neither Francis or Cat could stay up with Nash. The Mavs used the PnR beautifully to get mismatches with Mooch. I would like to see the Rockets play a zone defense (3-2) or (box and 1) when Mooch is in, to avoid this problem.
Exactly. Why in the world was Moochie in there while Cato, playing his best game of the season, was on the bench. Rudy T is seriously close to needing to be replaced, either that, or Moochie as some sort of dirt on him. We'd have at least 8 more wins I'm guessing, if Moochie wasn't on this team.
I agree on this game. Moochie made several ill-advised shots, passes, and was a sieve defensively. In a game in which cato throws up 18 points and 15 boards in 24 minutes, there's no reason for Norris to be in there down the stretch, playing the way he did. The Mavs weren't exactly going small to force Rudy's hand. Steve had a poor first half. It's forgivable. Cat took some bad shots. Oh well. Griffin missed shots he should hit. He'll get them next time. All three are big parts of our future. But Moochie is a role player to begin with, and I just can't see the logic behind him being out there not making a positive influence, considering how the Rockets were dominating in the 3rd quarter with Moochie out, and Cato in. Maybe some playoff team wants a backup PG. I hope CD rids Rudy of his strange obsession with playing Mooch in the 4th quarter, regardless of how he is playing, or how others are playing. I just hope this doesn't make Cato regress. Cato is probably the only player you can't criticize in this game.
Seems to me that the Rockets were ATTEMPTING to force the Mavs to go small. Much has been made about how the Rocks play Dallas tough because of their small line-up. I'm like you on this one cabbage. I think they would have been better off going big especially when Bradley fouled out. Even if they didn't go big, I'd like to have seen someone who could legitimately guard Finley because Cat was getting hurt at times.
In hind-sight, maybe. But Cato was in the game w/ 3 minutes left. He got an offensive board w/ 3:19 left. Mooch came in at 2:55 for Cato. The Rocks were down by 5 and needed offense. Cato cannot create shots. That's why Mooch was there.
Bob, what have you been drinking? If Rudy ever puts Mooch in for defensive purposes, I will say he has absolutely lost his mind. Mooch is the worst defender on the team that's not on IR (Walt). I haven't seen anyone that Moochie can guard. There was one play last night (and I swear I'm not making this up) where Mooch's man was dribbling to the base line. Moochie was perpendicular (shoulder to chest) to the guy, running backwards! It was the damnedest thing I've ever seen a guy do. I guess, giving him the benefit of the doubt, he thought he was funneling his guy to the big men????
The game was already a lost cause because Moochie was in the game. You keep relying on data from an internet play-by-play that has already been found to be in error. Rudy made many substitutions in the 4th during the crucial stretch in which the Mavs built a sizeable lead. At one point, Griffin (who was a shot blocking, lane clogging monster) was out of the game. Yeah, Mooch came back in later, but at that point, the error had been made. Even in the game highlights (as seen on NBATV and ESPNews) showing the crucial shots the Mavs hit to open up the game and re-establish the lead, you can clearly see Mooch is in the game and either Cato or Griffin is not. I seriously beleive that the Mooch, Francis, Mobley combo is Rudy's close out lineup. He expects the 3 guards to finish off the game. Last night it backfired. Rudy has to recognize that the 3 guard isn't a necessity anymore. The Rockets now have big men, who play big. Play them or at least don't bench them late in the game when they are dominating in some manner.