For those of you that say coaching is the reason, didn't watch last night's game... The rockets got all kinds of good looks, they just didn't make the shots. This game was just frustrating to watch because they were getting the shots they wanted, they just couldn't convert. The only thing I would have like to see Rudy have done was to bring in Nachbar. Rice & Griffin & Cat couldn't hit a shot... and this was hurting. Nachbar would've been a nice throw in to try to spark the offense.
willylee you are an idiot if you think trading yao ming is an option, and anybody who agrees with him is just as stupid as he is
passin the ball.......if the rocks start passin the ball all their otha stats will improve......damn that wuz hard to watch last night....
I think from your options, 1 and 2 will definitely be my choices. And actually these two reasons explain everything...
Yeah Yao was useless yesterday. What about Yao for Kurt Thomas and Doleac? Bet DC still needs to do a lot to convince NY to package two such dominating big men for our naive rookie right?
One of the biggest problems for the Rockets IMO is the Rockets lack a true PG. I'm not going to be foolish and say we need to get rid of Francis, but he's not a PG. He's a SG stuck trying to play a PG position. I say we trade Mobley for an adequate deal, get ourselves a PG w/ a good mid range jumper, someone thats headstrong, and knows when to push the tempo and when to slow it down. Stockton, Bibby and Kidd do a terrific job at distributing the ball, and controlling the tempo, and also have very good mid range jumpers. Bibby's jumper was showcased in the Wester Conference Finals last season, Stocktons always had a good mid range jumper, and Kidd must of been working on his jumper in the off season because he's definitely a more potent offensive force from 15-20 feet. Sadly these guys are out of our budget, and we'll be probably never be so fortunate enough to acquire them anytime soon if ever. But even a solid distributing PG who shows potential of being a great one would be better then Francis. Francis is a heck of a SG, but lacks PG instincts. He forces bad passes, and in crucial periods of the game doesn't pass enough. He often drives in the lane where three defenders are hoping to get fouled, or gets stuck in the air passing into lanes where defenders are stealing the ball running for a fast break. I love the Franchise, but he's got a shoot first, pass second mentality and that will never ever work for a PG. Give him a SG position, and set up some slashing plays for him. Let him be our perimiter scorer, without the burden of having to dribble the ball so much. Run some picks for him, let him shake his defender without the ball in his hands, and I guarantee his shooting percentage will go up, and he'll be a much more effective player, with easier shots to take. While watching him go up against three defenders and make a reverse lay up that will be highlighted on Sportscenter is nice, more often then not, he'll miss, or will pass into a cluttered passing lane. I would also like to get rid of Rice if at all possible, and clear up some of our cap space, and put in Nachbar. He can't be any worse of a defender then Rice, from the rumors I've heard, has an adequate perimeter scoring presence. Sounds like a more youthful Rice to me, except without quite the reputation of being a Sharpshooter like Rice yet. As of now, he's being used about as well as Dunleavy Jr. is for Warriors. Except Nach appears to be a much more potent player then Jr. I personally like Mo Taylor, and would like see him get his lazy ass in shape, and then wait before criticizing that he's a bust. It's sad enough as it is, that we've wasted three seasons for a benchwarmer, but I see lots of promise in this guys game, just not much motivation. EG again shows lots of promise, but needs to bulk up, and break the bad habit of jacking up threes. He's shown he can make good use of the back board, and can be a post presence when he wants. I think the Rockets have run into a pothole as of late, but will make the play offs. They simply need to find the right pieces to the puzzle, before we can call them contenders. Give them a year atleast before chanting "Fire Rudy", or "Trade MoT." Ming will have had enough time to bulk up by then, Mo will of had time to drop the weight and get in game shape, EG will of had time to bulk up, and develop an inside presence in the paint, and Rudy will have an offseason to acquire a solid headstrong point guard. The season is still young, and even the best of teams go through these skids, and growing pains. I personally am going to love watching this team grow up, and learn to play together. And while my whole review may be in vain and have many readers disagreeing with me, a lot can happen by the end of the season. So agree or disagree, have some patience and enjoy the show, even if it sometimes is painful to watch.
I agree with some of this. I think before the Rockets ever gain any consistency that Steve and Cat are going to have to knuckle down on D and lead the team DEFENSIVELY. If they want to take all the shots and such, then they gotta lead the way on the defensive end. The rest of the players are going to follow the lead of the superstars. I have never seen a championship team that did not play great defense. It is more important than the offense. If Steve and Cat would pressure their man 94 feet, or at least 47 feet, it would set the tone so much better for the bigger guys and would lead to way more fast break opportunities, which would be more points and shots for Steve and Cat which is where the bulk of their shots should be coming from. In the halfcourt set, the ball should be run through Ming, and then through Ming, and then through Ming and lastly through Ming. Let him hold the rock and decide what to do with it and we will cut down on the silly dribble through 3 defenders turnovers that cause our assist/turnover ratio to be lower than a 1. Will they still have a learning curve? Will yao still make rookie mistakes? Yes. But his mistakes surely can't be any worse than dribble dribble dribble.......oops shot clock running out.....jack up off balance fading out of bounds jumper with defender in your face, or dribble dribble dribble......whoops I've got 3 defenders on me, I'd better dribble some more, aw shucks they fouled me and stole the ball, c'mon ref didn't you see that? Other than this, Rudy needs to sit down Steve, Cat, and Yao and explain to Steve and Cat that Yao has to have the largest share of touches in the half court sets, and if Cat don't like it, take a seat, let Posey start. Now, we can talk about hustle D. Posey will bring it. We gotta have the D from the perimeter.
Bottom line on Eddie is he needs to start bumping and grinding on defense. Quit worrying about fouling out. It would do Eddie good to foul out after doing a Charles Oakley imitation. He needs to start getting physical NOW. He can't wait for muscles to pop up on his frame. That's how those monsters are created, they learn how to bump and grind and use the muscles they got, and then they pack on more. Just packing on muscle aint' the answer for Eddie. I sure wonder what goes on in practice because we got one of the best grinders of all time sitting on the bench coaching. Larry Smith should be grinding on Eddie everyday in practice forcing him to be more physical. All that blocked shot crap don't mean a thing if your opponent is going off for 30 every night unless you can figure out how to average about 15 blocks a game.
There is no single problem, it's a horrible amalgamation of flaws: 1. The Rockets have no set offense. If you could watch silhouettes of the Kings, Lakers, Mavs, and Nets--among others--you'd be able to immediately identify the team. The Rockets have no apparent plan. Rudy's motion-esque offense that he was supposed to implement rarely rears its head, and the Rockets are left over-dribbling and taking fadeaway jumpers. 2. The offense should be running through Yao. Good things happen when Yao gets the ball. Yes, he has had problems holding on to it, but more time in the lane and better communication on the part of his teammates can solve that. The Rockets are packed with shooters--Yao gets the ball, scores or passes if the defense collapses. Has Rudy forgot what the Rockets had been doing all those years before Francis? So often the Rockets come down the court and jack up a bad shot without even thinking about making a play. Also, Yao needs to demand the ball more. Too often he's on the weak side standing around while Cuttino or Mo Taylor or Steve do some iso crap that inevitably leads to nothing. There really is no need for a true point guard--Hakeem never had one--because of the Yao-oriented offense they should be running. 3. Steve dribbles, drives, gets in the air and throws the ball away all the time. He's not a rookie any more. He's supposed to have matured. He apologized after a loss earlier this year for doing this stuff in the fourth and turning it over because of it, but he still does it--all the time. 4. Mo Taylor sucks. He doesn't rebound and he has no clue what to do on offense. He's got no drop step or go-to move and half the time he loses the ball backing up in the post. 5. Cuttino Mobley's game has no place on this team. Iso fadeaways, ad nauseum. Pass the ball, cut to the basket, set picks, use picks. He's got the speed and the touch to be effective. 6. Eddie Griffin isn't the shooter he's supposed to be. He's missing lots of wide open shots, missing them badly. Yeah, he's only 20, but he's competent on defense--will he ever click on offense? 7. Motivation seems to be lacking. The Rockets sleepwalk through a lot of their games, which leads to a lack of defense. 8. The Rockets play at the level of the competition. Everyone knows this, but why is it the case? If you've beaten the 76ers, Spurs, Kings, and Pacers do whatever you did to beat them to beat the Grizzlies. Man, they know how to play offense and defense some of the time--I guess it's that motivation thing again. Basically, it's everybody's fault. Rudy needs to have a meeting so as to assert his authority and draw up a clear set of means and goals. A team with this much talent has no excuse. That loss to the Knicks was not frustrating, it was angering. The Knicks? At home? Unbelievable.
It's because against the greats they know they have to knuckle down defensively. Against the scrubs, they become lackadasical defensively figuring they can shoot their way to the win. It never works because the scrubs are knuckling down defensively against us and making us work for any shot and we in turn are scratching our scrotums on defense.
Sorry, while Cato is more experienced and is doing a bangup job on the boards, you cannot start him and bench Yao. Why? Because Cato cannot create anything offensively. We wind up playing 4 on 5, and the other team just forces Steve and Cat into even more poor decisions. If we didn't have Yao starting and playing significant minutes and getting the touches he gets, this team would be the exact repeat of last year. Yao is the difference between this year's team and last years. Not Glen, not MoT. Yao is the difference maker. Now what would be nice would be for Cato to be rewarded for his efforts on the boards by getting him some minutes with Yao. Let Cato start the 4. Between him, Yao, Eddie, and MoT, we've got 24 fouls to give at the 4 and 5 spots. If Yao gets into foul trouble, we are better having MoT in there anyway because he does have the ability to at least shoot a jumper. Cato has 2 shots, the dunk and a 2 foot hook, that's it. We don't need Cato rotting on the bench in case Yao gets into foul trouble. Let MoT rot on the bench in case Yao gets into foul trouble. Surprising as it is to say, and I can't believe I feel this way, but of all the players on the rockets, who has shown the most determination, grit, and positive emotion this year, I'd have to put Cato among right up there with Steve and Yao. Let him bang the boards with Yao.
Hey guys, I just saw on cnnsi.com that the raptors are in talks with cleveland to trade vince carter for Ilgauskas and darius miles. My question is why are'nt we trying to offer them Mobley, Cato, and maybe something else for carter, the guy may be rehabing but when healthy he is a bad ass.
I see your point about EG. EG reminds me of a soft Kenyan Martin, who I loved to watch play for Cincinnati because of his agressiveness on the court. He's not a big player in height or build, but he plays big. People often hated on all the flagrants Martin got, but it's paying off now that he's established he's an agressive player, so now he gets away with more. Perhaps EG should get 8 or 9 flagrants by the end of the season and establish himself as a beast for the Rockets? Maybe he could start doing that on January 17th by stepping on Shaq's fat big toe. A couple more things I think the Rockets lack is leadership whether it be through coaching or a single team captain on the court. I realize Mobley is a supposed Team Captain for the Rox, but he sure makes a ****ty one considering he's one of the worst at teamplay on the court. Lastly the Rockets have yet to identify themselves and what style of ball they play? Low post half court set of the old Rox? Run and gun fast break offense to the likings of the Nets, Kings, Mavs? Solid defensive team that stays in the tight close games which resembles a team like the Pistons or Pacers. Whichever team they identify themselves as, they got the tools or will have the tools to establsih in the near future.
Great point guys. Keep in mind, the Mavericks were lingering around .500 for a season or two before they became the dominant offensive team that they are now. Nash, Nowitzki, and Finley just needed a little time to gel, and they sky-rocketed. It may end up being quite a coincidence that the Rockets will take off right after we get some new uni's. It seemed to have redefined the Mavericks into a new team. You can't blame everything on Steve Francis. Didn't the team have one of the worst shooting nights in franchise history (vs. the Knicks)? You can't expect to rack up assists when the team is shooting so poorly. I've seen how good this team can be when the passing is clicking, Rice is making his 3's, Ming's hyped and in the zone, and Francis/Mobley control the offense. I wouldn't mind seeing Nachbar though. Some current players havn't done much to prove their worth in the playing rotation. Let's see what our highly anticipated 15th pick can do for us.
I still wanna know: When do I get to see Mo Taylor start playing well?!?!? Before the Posey trade, he was crying about playing time. Now he has playing time, and he sux. He's had over a year to heal from his injury, he's got a ton of money from his contract, and, after sitting out the first few games 'cause of drug suspension, he owes the Rockets and the fans some good basketball. I'm losing my patience with Mo Taylor. He needs to either start playing well NOW, or get traded somewhere else! Rockets aren't hungry. To hell with our inconsistency; I see other inconsistent teams who are just plain starving for a win. We aren't hungry. We give up on games.... I have no tolerance for this. IMHO, if you get paid millions to be a pro basketball player, you better play your ass off for 48 minutes. I'd rather see a bunch of talentless players lose, but play with hunger, than see a court full of talented players who play without hunger. Our goal should be: 'win the NBA championship'. not 'play some games'.... not 'win some games'... not 'win more games than last year'.... not 'get to the playoffs'... not 'get to the championship'.... it should be to WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. And we should play every game like we're starving to win the championship. Right now, that's what Dallas has. That's what we need. -- droxford
