The point I am trying to make is that Steve has been here 4 years and he is still not ready to run the offense.
Agreed. It's not like the offense run through the center is equal to no shots for the other players. In fact I bet the other players can actually score more and certainly more easily. A balanced inside outside game is what we need. It's not like we don't have the players.
Pasox, Great analogy! It doesn't matter what players are brought in, Rudy will dumb them down. In turn they become clueless. Shandon, Scottie and Willis. Ultimately the player has to leave to save his career.
I saw the stat the other day when Thomas was being interviewed and Houston isn't the 2nd,3rd,4th,or even 5th youngets team in the league. One of the youngest teams in the league possess one of the best records in Indy.Another team that hasn't been together any longer than the Rockets are NJ and Det. In fact , Detroit got rid of their leading scorer and still has a great record. I agree with alot of what is being said. I also has stressed over and over again that athletic talent doesn't always win the games. I've always thought that in a close game, given the exact time to make a solid decision, I wasn't sure if Mobley or Francis could do this. This isn't just a 1yr thing that we have all been experiencing, this is a 3 going on 4 yr thing. When Francis entered the league and made dumb to's, it was like he'll learn from experience, but for some reason he's still making the same dumb to's. i like most people like his atheletic ability, but if its 1 position in basketball where you don't have to be a great athelete, its pg. The pg spot needs to know and setup good shots, keep the offense running smooth, and set the tone for how the team will play offensively and defensively. When i look up and Bob Sura blows by a guy who is supposed to be one of the quickest players in the league , its just not acceptable to me. This teams leadership is in questionable hands until Ming gets the game under his belt to take over. The game and offense should start with him and if need be end with him. In the 4th qt, when the team needs a good shot or posssession, the ball needs to get in his hands as quick as possible. After he gets the ball, players need to move towards the hoop and/or reset on the outside.Most times late in the game when we hit those stages, AND1 mixtape 3&5 feel they need to make the play by themselves. This is the cusp of the problem and the root of this. Once this team realize the biggest mismatch they have is #11, the better off they will be. Period.
Lee, Thanks. I saw the same Thomas interview. The Rox weren't listed. Contrary to popular belief, the Rox aren't too young to win. The apologists will have to go back to the drawing board. Excuse Heaven. Funny how Coach Thomas explained that his job was on the line due to the Media. He MADE the Playoffs. Rudy has created a great relationship with the Media. I think he was ranked 10th on ESPN's poll. Pretty good for a guy that has Missed the Playoffs 3 straight years! Coach Aguirre worked only on Player Development last year. He didn't sit on the bench. Due to his work he is now an Assistant on the bench.
maybe rudy should go...i love him but not enough if we are gonna lose with him. he is not fireing them up he is beeing a sweet hart
Isn't it kind of unbelievable how things have changed? A thread going in depth about the Rockets' problems, and Kelvin Cato is barely even mentioned, and then even when he is, he is said to be one of the few things right with the team! (and, amazingly, rightfully so!)
Ok, both sides have their reasons regarding if we should be running offence through YAO, so how about play the 1st half thru him, and the 2nd half thru SF ? If it does not work after the 1st or 2nd quater, we at least have a chance to catch up.
Crash and Cat said is perfectly! It's not about Stevie and Mooch and anyone else stinking as ball players, but it comes down to player and court philosophy. This team has the talent and with Ming, the now have a brain Heck, Cuttino admitted it last night on Fox that the guys were not listening to Rudy T. This is not a direct qoute from Cat, but this is what is said paraphrasing...'Rudy says do one thing, we do another....we do not listen to Rudy...we know what to do, but then we either do not do it or do the opposite!' This was the statement that should set the next set of moves. I just cannot attribute this to youth anymore. Stevie has been in the league for 4 years and Mooch 3 or 4. These guys have shown they cannot run the offense consistently. Too much dribbling and not enough passing consistently. so, we either pray that this will grow out or that something else changes. I think the frustrating part is that they lose and win in 2 and 3s.....2 forward, 3 back syndrome! Let's hope this is a learning experience and just not how this team is going to be....
I don't think Stevie sucks. He makes mistakes and it's frustrating to watch him, but I wouldn't say he sucks. The reason why Yao plays 7min 4th is that he starts the game and plays the first. Cato usually starts the second and Yao finishes off the first half. Then he starts the second half in the same way. He can't play more in the fourth because he's tired after the third. Yao has improved his stamina greatly, but he's not ready to play 40 min games yet.
The Rockets rank 8th on the age chart of NBA. Kind of young, but not young enough to make youth as an excuse for their lack of improvement. It's anti logic, young people are supposed to learn faster and have more heart.
Young people do not have enough experience. Young people need time. Young team is still looking for an identity. Young team does not have enough chemistry. Young team seldom becomes a star immediately. Young rookies have a lot to learn. This is not an excuse. Nobody should say Rockets will/should go to playoff this year. Yao bandwagoners are mostly the people who keep bashing. Give a break to Rockets team. Let them solve their current problems. Keep quiet and stop bashing.
Even Jeff's optimism can't save this team from themselves. We're now 1 1/2 games behind the Jazz. Once we lose to the T-Wolves on Tuesday, we'll be behind them in the standings. Then, it's only a matter of time before this team's confidence gets totally shattered and we begin the free fall...
I don't know how long this thread will stay open, but its pretty much the same all the time. Everytime we lose, its the same way. Poor shooting, poor this, poor to's . It just seems to me that Rudy for whatever reason can't make good in-game adjustments. If he could, then the team just isn't listening for some reason. In the earlier yrs, Rudy gave Francis and Mobley long ropes because he always for the most part had Hakeem. No matter how old or bad he looked at times during his last yr or so, those young guys still knew they had to drop the ball down at times to hakeem. The Rockets during that 45win season didn't hit stride until Hakeem hit that stretch. I'm not going to start this Bring Dream back post , but to merely say that Rudy to mostly his fault is too much of a players coach to this young team. It would be good for the team that after Francis , Mobley or Moochie dribbles the clock all the way down or shoots a crazy uncalled for shot if Rudy would pull them and talk to them for a minute or so. I can remember Phil Jackson doing it to Kobe when he first got there and even then Kobe was a top player in the league. Its really time to stop making excuses for this teams youth, and for them to start playing with not only athletic talent, but also cerebral talent as well.Who would want a vehicle with a Corvette engine inside a Yugo's body? They have to match to get optimum performance out of the vehicle. There are teams in the west that are betting better daily like Phoe, whom we will have to battle to get into the playoffs. There is a team like Minny who is missing their 2nd leading scorer, yet they are 1game behind us. This team has its health, talent and whatever else to be no worse than 21-10. This team should be right along with SA,Portland, and Phoe battling for the 3,4,or 5 seed right now. To say its still early is a cop out as well as a wooden nickle.
I just read this. Great post. I agree ENTIRELY! Rudy's too nice somehow. He's a coach I'd love to play for because I know everything is negotiable. Definitely not a change leader. But a GREAT coach for responsible veterans. Problem is that the Rockets are in the midst of necessary flux due to the addition of Yao. I don't know if Rudy's the best fit for this circumstance.
Some people are optimists. Some are not. That's human nature and different personality. The bottom line is we all want the team to do well. BTW, I found the constant bashing of Yao fans as annoying as Yao fans bashing the team. I really don't see many that type of fans there.
It never ceases to amaze me how a player can have a game like Mobley had and people can still want to trade him. With out Mobley this game would could have been a blow out or at the very least the the team would not have had a chance to get back in it. One game does not a season make folks... true this should have been a win, and it kills me that it wasn't, but it's tiring to hear the same crap about trading players (especially our backcourt) whenever we have a tough loss. The same players make the same mistakes, true, but let's not single out our backcourt and make them the goats or the source of all of our problems. This is a team problem. Check out this Chronicle article one paragraph explains the issue well and has the Mobley quote about the team not focusing on Rudy's instructions. Chronicle Article After GS Loss One turnover (Francis) did not cost us this game. Did you not see our point gaurd getting others involved early on, the shots just weren't falling period. Even Yao couldn't hit the broadside of a barn, and was getting supremely man-handled (which seems to be happening alot lately) by Dampier and the smaller Foyle. He definitely is not ready for the majority of the offense to be run through him, as he lacks aggresiveness at times and acts tenatively when players a physical with him early. The point is that trade this player for that player is not going to work, we have the pieces. The challenge is getting these players to have enough confidence in each other, Rudy, and the offensive system to not feel like they have to take on the world when closing out games. It would also help is we had a little more defensive stability at the close of games. Good\Great teams get better defensively at the end of games, the Rox were doing a nice job of this, but have seemed to fall off lately... hmmm right at about the same time they completely stop running the zone... Wonder what's up with that?
And one game does not make a player. What is Mobley's shooting percentage for the year? I can understand people protecting Steve, but I don't understand wasting your energy protecting Mobley because he shot well one game.
