Okay, I want to know what everybody really thinks about the 3 guard line-up that Rudy loves to use so much. 1) Do you love it and wish that he used it for most of the games? 2) Do you detest it and wish that he would never use it or use it sparingly? 3) Do you not really care, i.e. you are neutral? Personally, I detest it because KT, Cato, and EG have all played well and deserve to be on the floor in the 4th. Plus Willis and as much as it pains me to say, TMo, could sub in for one of those 3. Moochie should sub in only for Francis or Mobley. No way all 3 should be out there at the same time in the 4th. Alas, Rudy is so damn stubborn, I'm wondering when he'll finally scrap it.
Hate it. Unless it's working. Moochie is just a liability most of the time except for last second game tying or winning shots. Our play selection actually looks exactly the same to meno matter what, ISO someone on the elbow, drive, defense collapses, wild pass out, and every once in a while we score.
Exactly! A little under 2 minutes in the game, Rockets are up by 4.. dribble..dribble..dribble.. Moochie then passes it to Kenny Thomas for a 3! Airball Charlotte misses, Campbell offensive rebound, leads to 2 points for Charlotte. Next possesion.. a little under 1 minute in the game, Rockets are up by 2.. dribble..dribble, dribble.. oh look 4 seconds left on the shot clock now! I'll pass it to KT at the 3 point line again! KT not liking the 3 point shot is forced to drive into a tough situation with the clock running down, shot hits the side of the glass Charlotte misses, Campbell offensive rebound, leads to 2 points for Charlotte. The rest is history.
Moochie is the last guy we need on the court, if we need baskets. If we just need to burn clock, with a 20 point lead, then he's the man.
TOO FREAKIN MUCH DRIBBLING Mobley, the Little Dribbler, KT: stand there for 10 seconds, dribble for 10 more, and if you don't shoot make your teammate shoot a desperation shot. It's a culture of selfishness. We are LAST IN THE LEAGUE IN ASSISTS. This team is either uncoachable or uncoached...either way it's not pretty
For all practical reasons, he's useless. BUT, since I want a good pick in the lotto, I'll accept him for the remainder of the season.
Great topic. I think in a couple weeks, I'll start a similar one about our "big" front line. It's not so much the 3 guards, as much as how Moochie lacks control. We've seen Francis have the ability to thrive at the 2, and Mobley as a 3. Some of the time, Moochie plays well, and its effective. More often than not it seems he doesn't. Some situations, it's worth playing because its the best lineup. Francis and Mobley should be in during crunch time unless they're hurt or fouled out. The 3 other slots go to whomever plays well, with Griffin and KT getting priority (Griffin will soon get that "exempt" status). Against Dallas, the way the Rockets dominated with the big front line, there's no good reason for Moochie playing like he was, to be in there over Cato. Rudy is trying to get some sense of a rotation. I think Cato might break into the 4th Q lineup if he keeps playing like he has been. Anyone else notice that Cato's rebounding was still there, but he only scored 5 points? It shows IMO, that Francis is improving/working on his drive and handoff skills, and Cato is the benefactor. I'll take Cato's high percentage shots all day.
Hate it. I'm just tired of seeing Moochie dribbling until the last second and then throwing up an ugly shot, or losing the ball somehow. I know he's hit game winners before, but I wish he really hadn't it just gives him some pseudo-confidence about throwing up another prayer. Ditto for Mobley.
I love it when Mobley has to guard Paul Pierce, Dirk, SAR, Harrington or any other great Forward. Mobley makes them pay for it by taking his deadly fadeaway over their slow asses. Detriot won 2 championships using a very similar lineup....
So far, the main reason ANYBODY gives agaist our 3-guard lineup is that Moochie dribbles too much. THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT Some of your arguements that Mooch dribbled too much last night. Well........we didn't run 3-guard last night. I agree that Mooch dribbles too much and it frustrates the crap out of me. But your argument is weak. The intent of the 3-guard lineup is to create mismatches. It does that very well. Unfortunately, like in Dallas, WE were mismatched against Dirk down low. --Granted Dirk was playing horrible up to that point so it was a gamble-- I think it can be an effective weapon if we use it correctly and pass more often. Luckily, that's something we can learn. Now actually learning remains to be seen.
krosfyah- I agree that it's more of a personnel thing, and can work in theory. But if Moochie doesn't have the competency to run it after 2 years with the Rockets, and keeps dribbling, why keep using it? The biggest advantage it has is speed, and getting up and down the court. Going into halfcourt games where the lack of size is easily exposed is not an advantage. We didn't keep the "Dump it down to Hakeem" when Hakeem's production fell off. Before, there weren't other options to go to. Cato used to not produce. It'll be interesting to see if Cato keeps this up, how long Rudy keeps going to the 3 guards. Rudy has shown he is a loyal coach, and someone has to have good production for a long time to displace someone else (see Griffin).
I am a fan of three guard, but not the way the rockets have been running it this year. I could easily see the rockets taking a guard in the draft if there isn't any forward or center equivalent talent available. I also find it funny that a Cato, Griffin, Kt line is considered to be a big frontline!
The sad thing is, I have watched only six games this year and my comments correspond with more frequent viewers - meaning Moochie's median play (mediocre) is not an aberration but the norm. He's had a few really good games stat wise, but his best ones are when he's not a factor at all other than a good sub for Steve at PG for five to eight minutes and Steve is able to work with whoever's hot on the team to pull the game out.
That's not what our arguments for the 3-guard lineup is. My personal hatred towards the 3-guard lineup is simply because when we use the 3-guard lineup Moochie is on the court! So it isn't just Moochie's dribbling, but his presence in general. No 3-guard lineup = Less Moochie. Watching Mobley have to guard the Paul Pierce's and Lamar Odom's of the NBA while at SF isn't any better either.
It's all about matchups, but it's hard to see a team that would be disadvantaged versus us when Moochie is against their starting point guard. Plus on offense, the most common comment from opposing players is: we(the other team) never see anybody else (besides the Rockets) play one on one as much. Rudy won two championships with that philosophy but Hakeem was in his prime. Now Francis and sometimes Cat can really light it up on offense but all three guards are disadvantaged on defense unless they get a steal. Plus guarding Moochie gives the other teams PG a break on defense whereas I could see having the 2 and 3 guard Cat and Francis could tire them out. The other irritating thing is -> why do we do so much standing around and not push the ball up the court hard if we have three guards on the floor. It defeats half of the purpose of having three guards on the court by giving the other team a breather.
