Yep if people would have made the open baskets that Steve set up for them we would have almost doubled that number just with those. Did you watch the game? That's what the rest of the team did do. Early on they were set up with easy baskets by our guard STeve Francis. They all pretty much did just sit down and let Steve who actually showed up to play basketball tonight get on with it. Steve was not the reason we lost tonight. Maybe he should have kept passing the ball to other players who weren't playing with much emotion or desire. It might have been better basketball, and developed passing for later in the year, but the way we were playing we still would have ended up with only 9 assists, and fewer points. The fact is that when presented with wide open scoring attempts by Steve Francis the team didn't execute. At want point is it just futile to keep passing the ball to someone that won't or can't score? Maybe no matter what he should have just kept passing the ball, but Steve is the last player on the team that deserves criticism for the way they played tonight. Look at how the others on the team played. The blame for tonight's loss does not belong in Steve's lap.
Even if we won, we didn't play like a TEAM. It's a pattern. A bad habit. Nothing has changed. Starters? So, MoT and KT are going to lead us? They are role players. Also, if you aren't playing well on the offensive end, at least play DEFENSE! Show some hustle!!! Show some fire! DO SOMETHING!!!! No, starters have nothing to do with it. It's a mind-set of the TEAM!!!! The next few games, watch and see if the Rockets play with aggressiveness. If they do, they can win some games, JUST ON DEFENSE (on the nights that we aren't shooting so well). Play on both ends of the court.
I was in class tonight and missed the game, but the first thing I did was check the boxscore. I knew we were in trouble when I saw the following: 1) Taylor, Thomas, and Rice were all out 2) Mobley had to play the 3 3) Moochie had to play the 1 It's that old f*cking 3 guard line-up again! Everybody's favorite! And as ZRB said (maybe in another thread), Collier got minutes! After seeing all that, I was hardly surprised by the final score. Hopefully, we won't have as many problems with the injuries this season like we did last season. And it is only 1 game. I'm sorry but that 3 guard line-up along with an Eddie Griffin going 1 for 13 and Cato is not going to beat many teams out there, guys.
It's hard to play like a "team" when your 3 important parts of that team aren't playing. Like the heading says: "chill".
Do you think Lakers fans are phoning into their local sports radio stations and bbs arenas to diss their team and jump ship after two losses? I think they would understand that this Lakers team,without Shaq and Fox, is not their best lineup for the remainder of the season, Kobe or no Kobe. The same can be said of the Rox tonight. It's not our best lineup out there. One stinkin loss with some of our best players out with injuries and these so-called "fans" come out and call Ming the biggest bust in Rockets history, why did we draft him, Rudy should be fired, etc.... Makes me sick foo.
You people seem to know little about your opponent. Indiana to say the least has one of the strongest frontcourt in the East, that has a lot to do with Yao's poor performance. and few teams are as deep as the Pacers, even without Reggie they are still a very good team. And they play tough D. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/simmons/021029.html Relax,
Reason3 I agree...we have to not let one game decide the season. There are 81 games left in the year. Indiana is not a horrible team. We are using a new offense and Yao has not had both feet here in the states for very long.
Actually, this isn't about Yao. It's about the Rockets. Most people agree that Yao is the real deal. Bad game or not. He really didn't have many minutes, also.
Look, its not up to Steve Francis to dictate the outcome of every possession. The ball should be moved multiple times. Nachbar, Griffin, and Ming, should be able to touch the ball without having to shoot it. Multiple passes with very little dribbling should be the name of the game. Give other players the opportunity to survey the scene with the ball in their hands. This goes for Mobley too. Francis is a creator, but that doesn't mean he and only he should dominate a full possession with an immense amount of dribbling, shake n' bakes, or one direct passes. Give the other guys an opportunity to feel the leather on the ball. All this goes for Mobley too. The way Francis and Mobley operate is what promotes selfishness and a lack of movement and hustle and fire. Its extremely hard to get fired up for the other 3 guys when over 80% of the time they feel like bystanders in the way on offense.
Originally quoted by DavidS I agree with you, but it's funny how the media been saying that it's all about Yao and not about the Rockets . Furthermore it is just the first game, and if it make some of you fanatics fell better the Pacers are one of the deepest teams in the league at the forward positions and we had four forwards out.
you people really need to calm down do you guys even look at the crap you post sometimes? people are already down on the rockets as if this one freaking game was the entire season. get a grip guys and realize that all the prognosticating that yall did in the preseason was BS and hype. this team has the potential to be good this year and it has the potential to be average or even suck depending on health. this is a very young team that lacks significant veteran leadership. nights like this are going to happen so deal with it and don't act as if it is the end of the f'kin world. look at the positives and be happy....cato had a great game and so did stevie. i am a diehard rockets fan but i don't have unrealistic expectations like significant portion of the posters on this bbs do. the goal for the rockets this year is to develop chemistry and stay healthy and to hopefully get to the playoffs. far too many people here expect a 50 win season out of this team and its just not a likely scenario. we are trying to implement a new offense...last year was almost a wasted year with all of the injuries...and we are trying to bring along two rookies, ming and nachbar, and a 2nd year player, griffin, who will all probably significant parts of our future and are all still raw. i know griffin has amazing defensive potential, but his offense still is not great. like i have said before it will take time to develop it. here is a nice cliche for you guys....we need to learn to crawl before we can walk. i expect much better things as the season goes on and next season as well and i am going to enjoy watching this team develop and mature.
Im not down on this team at all. The thing that concerns me is that our offense sucks! We ISOed 90% of the time. This will not get it done. If Rudy doesnt change our game plan, we will be in the lottery next year. It wont work, its that simple. If we start playing team ball, then we could be a force in the league. Until that day, we will be fighting for the 10th spot in the west.
That is so right, rez. I hate this ISO crap too. They need to kick the habit and try to work on passing the ball around and getting guys open. They need to run the fast break more often and need to use the WHOLE DAMN SHOT CLOCK instead of jacking it up when the clock barely gets to 20...
If Steve and Cat play that good everynight, and the rest of the team (including KT, Rice and Taylor) actually play good, we will be good.
