This has been one of those rare seasons where you can pick out and identify several individual moments and games that are really hurting the Rockets with both their chance of making the play-offs and their confidence on the road. I have seen all but a couple of games this year so I have seen just about every wasted possession, bad decision and last minute loss the Rockets have had this year. The unforgivable losses Friday, Nov 15th the Rockets lose at the Phoenix Suns 87 to 88. I remember this game real good. It was the first time this year that I came away feeling really empty after a loss. In our two previous losses to Indiana and Seattle we were just out played and never really in control of either of those games and it was obvious from the start of those games that winning would be a long shot. But this game came right after a huge home court victory against Portland and Steve had been playing at a MVP level all year. Unfortunately towards the end of the Portland game Steve was fouled hard in the air by Rasheed Wallace landing on his back, shoulder and neck. Steve finished the game strong hitting the game winner that night but it was obvious that the fall must have affected his game because when he came out against the Suns he was clearly not the same player that he had been during the first 6 games of the season. Neither team looked particularly sharp but the Rockets appeared to have control through out the 1st three quarters and most of the 4th. However, the Rockets just could not put the ball in the bucket at the end of the 4th quarter. While continuing to hold a slight lead our best free throw shooter went to the line to basically seal the victory with just over a minute to go. But Cat walked up to the free throw line and clanked two off of the iron. Maurbury then hit a shot in the closing seconds to give Phoenix what seemed like their only lead of the night. The Rockets had one more chance to win but Eddie Griffin could not connect on a three and the game was over. Just like that the Rockets lost a game they had led for almost 47 and ½ minutes. I tried consoling myself with the thought that every team has one or two of these a year. Little did I know that this was the tip of the iceberg. Sunday, Nov 24th, the Rockets lose at the Clippers 89 to 90 The game ended almost exactly like the loss to the Suns. With the Rockets up and a chance to ice the game with two free throws, Moochie Norris walks up to the line and clanks to free throws. I knew at that second that we would loose the game. Of course Eric Piatkowski then took the ball to the hoop for the winning basket and the Rockets lost another one that they should have won. This is a game that saw the Rockets get blown out of the 1st quarter but totally dominate the 2nd and 3rd quarters and were in complete control going into the 4th quarter. In the end we gave an opponent that was down a small ounce of hope by missing free throws at the end of the game and the Clippers parlayed that into a last second victory. Friday, Dec 13th the Rockets lose at Memphis in OT 109 to 114 This would have been a real fun game to watch if the Rockets had won. There was definitely a lot of drama but once again we were victims of our own demise. More missed free throws at the end of the game by Cat and Steve found us just trying to tie it to get it into overtime. Francis nailed a three (reminded me of when he the three he hit in Vancouver in his rookie year to send a game into over time) to send it into overtime but we could not manage any offense after that. I could have looked at this as just one hell of an effort by Memphis but after breakdowns and missed free throws on the road to Phoenix and LAC it was obvious that a pattern was developing here. Not only were the Rockets having a very hard time getting wins on the road but it was starting to look like the Rockets could not get up for some of the lesser teams in the league. Losses in games when we were in control in the closing minutes were starting to add up at an alarming rate. Saturday, Dec 14th the Rockets lose at home to the Clippers 83 to 94 The Clipps dominated from start to finish. The Rockets were never really in this one. This would have been much easier to except that the Rockets were just suffering from dead legs on the tail end of a back to back but the Clipps were also on the second game of a back to back and they were playing on the road. Couple this game with the fact that it was just another loss to a team the Rockets should have beaten in what should have been one of the cushiest parts of the schedule and we now had very real cause for concern. Monday, Dec 23rd the Rockets lose at home to the Jazz 91 to 96 This was a game that looked under control most of the night but the Rockets were never able to deliver a knock out punch. The thing that stuck out most in this game was the fact that in the closing minutes the Rockets had a nice little lead. Unfortunately Steve Francis looked like a deer in headlights at the end of the game and you could see the confusion in the expression on his face as he tried to dribble the ball up the court with his head down into traffic and turning the ball over on several occasions. The Rockets lost this one simply because the man controlling the ball at the end of the game made a series of bad decisions that led to no shot or an extremely bad shot or a turnover. Utah capitalized and won the game. Friday, Dec 27th, the Rockets lose at home to the Knicks 99-83. The Rockets just did not show up for this game and got toasted. What made this so bad is that this was one of the worst teams in the league and the Rockets did not even give them a decent contest. There was no excuse for this loss or the manor in which the Rockets lost this game. Saturday, Jan 4th, the Rockets lose at home to the Warriors 86-84 Isolation basketball at its worst. No passing and terrible shooting along with some very bad decision-making and key turnovers late in the game cost us this one. The one thing I remember more than anything else is sitting in front of my TV in the closing seconds yelling at Steve to watch out for Bobby Sura just before Sura picked his pocket and took the ball the other way for a game winning uncontested basket. It never appeared that Steve even considered passing the ball out of the double team and the whole team paid the price. Friday, Jan 10th, the Rockets lose at the Hawks 84 to 75 This game reminded me a lot of the 1st meeting between these two. The Rockets fell seriously behind in the 1st half but charged back in the 3rd quarter to look like they would pull off the come from behind against the Hawks twice in one season. However, unlike the 1st game the Rockets were not able to maintain their 3rd quarter intensity through out the second half. I only remember 2 other things about this game and that is that we got our asses whipped again by a seller dweller and that Yao Ming got his first technical. Friday, Jan 24th, the Rockets lose at home to the Pistons 98 to 74 A complete disinterested performance by the Rockets. It’s as if the Pistons were the only team on the court most of the night. Yao Ming only had 4 shots all night long. Another case of isolation basketball all night. Francis only had 2 assists the entire game and never looked to involve anyone else in the offense on a night where he only hit about a 3rd of his shots. It’s not so much that the Rockets lost to the Pistons, but it’s how they lost. Sunday, Jan 26th, the Rockets lose at the Bulls 100 – 98 Another game that was lost by the poor decision making of Steve Francis. Francis was just about the only player on the team that was having a bad shooting night and for some reason he decided to just play ISO ball and jack up 26 shots only making about a third of them. Yao Ming heated up late in this game but Steve Francis decided to quit going to him when the game was on the line and play more ISO ball. Another inexcusable loss. Wednesday, Jan 29th, the Rockets lose at home to the Mavs 104 to 81 Rarely have I seen the Rockets play a better half of basketball than the 1st half of this game. It didn’t last however and the Rockets played the absolute worst quarter of basketball and eventually the worst half of basketball that I have ever seen. No second half intensity as Michael Finely took turns torching James Posey and Cuttino Mobley on his way to one hell of a 3 point shooting night. Along the way Posey completely lost his composer and started playing dirty while Steve forgot to include Yao Ming in the offense and on those rare occasions when he did Yao Ming had completely lost his rhythm and was ineffective. This game had two very big lessons, ball movement like we had in the 1st half makes for a very efficient offense as opposed to the inefficient ISO offense of the second half. And second, you most come out and play 2 halves, just because you whip a team in the 1st half is no guarantee that they will play dead for you in the second half. Wednesday, Feb 5th the Rockets lose at the Cavs 105 to 102 The Rockets spent 3 quarters ignoring Yao Ming giving him only one shot in the 1st half. If not for Mo Taylor, who was on fire, we would have been behind by 20 going into the 4th. With about 5 minutes to go in the 4th however it appeared as if Rudy ordered his guys to give Yao Ming the ball because all of a sudden Steve and Cat both started dumping the ball into the post to Yao Ming and he came up big. It looked as if Yao Mings defense was feeding off of his offense as he completely cooled off Z making him miss all of his shots late and even blocked one of his shots and streaked down the court in front of everyone for what looked like an easy go ahead basket. Unfortunately Steve made one of the worst passes you could make and the ball was picked off with out ever coming close to Yao Ming. Another big loss, this time to the worst team in all of basketball. Friday, Feb 14th, the Rockets lose at home to the Heat 94 to 82 Will they ever learn? When the Rockets include the whole team in the offense it just runs so much smoother. Steve Francis had a bad shooting night only making a 3rd of his shots. But don’t think for a second that a bad shooting night will discourage Steve Francis from taking the majority of the shots while ignoring Yao Ming. Oh by the way did I mention that Yao Ming hit half of his shots but only getting 8 attempts while some of those come when the game was already decided. Steve Francis gets exactly 1 assist that came late in the game. Steve Francis plays ISO ball all night and the Rockets offense suffers because of it. Futility against the weak! Of the Rockets 24 losses 10 come against teams with a combined record of 163 wins and 296 losses for a winning percentage of .355! 41% of the Rockets losses are against the bottom dwellers of the league. 2 losses against the Clippers, the last place team in the Pacific division and tied for 6th worst in the NBA. 1 loss against the Sonics, the next to last place team in the Pacific division. 1 loss against the against the Warriors, the third worst team in the Pacific. 1 loss against the Grizzlies, the next to last place team in the Midwest and 3rd worst team in the NBA. 1 loss to the Cavs, the worst team in the Central and the NBA. 1 loss to the Bulls, the 3rd worst team in the Central and 5th worst in the NBA. 1 loss against the Hawks, the 4th worst in the Central and 7th worst in the NBA. 1 loss to Miami, the Worst team in the Atlantic and tied for 6th worst in the NBA. 1 loss to the Knicks, the 2nd worst team in the Atlantic. Of those 10 losses 5 came in front of the home crowd! Of the 10 worst teams in the NBA the only 3 teams we have not logged a loss to are Orlando, Toronto and Denver. We still have at least 1 game left with each of those 3 teams. The Prediction On January 24th in the thread titled ‘The Long Spiral Down’ I made the following prediction: My prediction is this…The Lakers will over take the Rockets for the eighth and final play off spot by the middle of February. http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50431 It’s the first line in the eighth paragraph. After the Lakers beat the Knicks this weekend they will be tied with the Rockets for the eighth play-off spot. On Tuesday night February the 18th the Rockets and Lakers will play for sole possession of the 8th play-off spot. The stage could not be more fitting for how the season has gone. If the Rockets had just taken care of business when the opportunity was there then this game would not be anything more than Shaq vs. Yao Ming II. As it stands a victory would give us the tie breaker advantage in the event the Lakers and Rockets have the same record at the end of the year and could propel the Rockets out of their current funk. A loss should just about complete the destruction of the Rockets psyche. This is one prediction that I hope I get wrong. Absolutely nothing is gained by missing the play-offs and valuable experience is lost. For those that say making the play-offs this year is no big deal, I would say that is just crazy. There is no better teacher than high intensity basketball and the play-offs are just that. Les Alexander wants to make the play-offs and believes that he has the talent necessary to make the play-offs now. Its one thing to loose to the upper echelon teams like we did during our 45 win season a couple of years ago but to miss the play-offs on the heal of so many loses to the absolute worst teams in the NBA and at home could become an unforgivable failure for Rudy T. I’m not saying that I would fire Rudy T and I am not advocating firing him but if I were the owner then I would have to take a very long and hard look at the coaching position to determine if we still had the right man for the job. Rudy T had better be taking a similar look at the personnel on his roster as well. Has Steve Francis shown enough improvement over the last 4 years and this year in particular to indicate that he will eventually learn how to play team ball? Is Steve’s recent admission in the paper that he would be willing to play the 2 guard a look inside the mind of a player that is starting to loose faith in his ability to learn how to play the point guard position efficiently? Maybe he thinks that he would benefit from a move from the point to the 2 guard in the same way that Allen Iverson and Jason Terry benefited from the same move. As important as the next few weeks could be in determining the Rockets play-off chances failure to make the play-offs could make the off-season a season of change.
Yes. What a waste. If we won those 10 simple games against the losing teams, we could have been in a better and safer position. Now we are in a very tough situation and are probably not going to make the playoffs. Steve Francis did not lose faith. After the All Star Game, in the two games against the Utah Jazz, he had 32 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and just one turnover. BUT THEN...against Miami...he had 27 points on terrible shooting with just one assist and three turnovers. I just hope they can beat the Lakers and the Suns. The Suns have lost to the Nuggets...so ha!
I thought the offense was efficient in both of the last two games against the Jazz but in the first our defensive intensity let us down. Against the Heat we just plain sucked. Maybe we are starting to see more a more games where Steve tries to get the whole team and Yao Ming in perticular involved through out the game and fewer and fewer of those stinkers last night. I wonder if Steve looked at the line-ups and thought that the Heat were in such bad shape that he could use this as a game to ratchet up his points per game stats and just did not think that team ball was needed.
"I wonder if Steve looked at the line-ups and thought that the Heat were in such bad shape that he could use this as a game to ratchet up his points per game stats and just did not think that team ball was needed." Now I don't think Steve would do that. Do players actually look at the players they are going against and analyze them? The best thing for the Rockets would be to not tell them who they are playing. Just tell them to play good.
Great post Crash! I feel your frustration! This team just isn't focused enough at the task at hand. It is one thing to fall into a trap and be not up for a crappy team one time in the season. But ONCE that happens ONE time, why can't this team understand that it can happen every night? Are they really that stupid not to see this trap when it comes up? I just don't understand how they can be so ill mentally prepared as they are coming into these games! Say what you want about the team being young and all but I think there are larger problems here than that. Personnel changes are in order. Not large ones, just some tweaking. I doubt it will be done before the trading deadline but this offseason will be one where the Rockets need to take a hard look at their roster. Rice's 9M expiring contract (after next season) will be a large commodity these days and the Rockets will have to make decisions on Mobley and the development of Eddie Griffin. I try to stay positive but I just don't like the direction of the Rockets "this season" in terms of them making the playoffs. There are too many tough road games ahead of them and the Lakers, Wolves and Jazz are playing well (not just playing well, but peaking to a degree). The ONLY hope the Rockets have is that the Suns play as crappy as the Rockets are playing (which to some extent they are right now) and the Rockets can eek out a few more games more than the Suns to squeak into the 8th spot. Saw what you want to about Yao-Shaq II this Tuesday, but the REAL important game is the game the next night against the SUNS. If I am Rudy and the Rockets get down a lot against the Lakers I am sitting my bench guys to rest them for the SUNS game the next night. A SUNS tiebraker would be huge for this team late in the season if they want to get into the playoffs. Chris
You make some outstanding points, crash. I will quibble on these games... Losing to the Suns on the road, no matter how it happened is no crime. The Jazz game was frustrating but it COULD have been a learning experience for a young team on how to win. The Pistons loss WAS pathetic but I'm ok with losing to them given their record. I don't care how they lost to the Mavs, that is one freakin' good team. Other than that, I wholeheartedly agree with your position that this is a year where you can point to very specific games as significant. I said to a friend back in December that these losses would really come back to haunt the Rockets when they are trying to make the playoffs. In my estimation, there were at least 10 games the Rockets should have won either based on botched play right at the end or just playing horrible teams. That would make them 37-14 and in 2nd place in the west. Even if they won HALF those games, they would be 32-19 putting them in a battle for 4th. Crazy.
Crash, that was one of the most lucid, accurate and downright depressing reviews of the Rockets' season of lost opportunties thus far. Good read and, unfortunately, true.
Excellent post Crash, also I fully agree Jeff, In a conference as tight as the West, bungling 10 games that you should win can make the difference between being a 4-5 seed or not making the playoffs at all. Crash's post has done an excellent job re-capping the problem with this team (inconsistency and lack of identity). The big question this team will need to consider is WHY do these problems exist and what can be done to address them. Ofcourse, as I have stated many times, my opinion is the lack of complementary talent in the backcourt. I honestly believe that swapping Mobley with a steady PG that can defend and set teammates up would make a world of difference on this team. Some posters on this board believe it is the youth at the starting PF and C positions, but I simply do not agree with this. Here's why: Eddie Griffin is only 20 yrs old and Yao Ming is only 22 yrs old which has been stated. However, Yao does not play like a typical 22 yr old center. Yao is averaging 13-8-2 with 52% shooting from the field. The Rockets have not had that kind of production from the 5 spot since Olajuwon had a hot stretch of games before his Toronto departure. In addition, on nights where Yao has been off his game, the Rockets have had the luxury of bringing in a very solid backup center who is a seasoned vet in Cato for extra mins. Eddie Griffin is young and inconsistent, but he is backed up by a seasoned vet who has really come on recently in Mo Taylor. Mo Taylor started off slow as he was recovering from the achilles but shot 45% from the field in January and 50% in February. I really dont have a problem overall with the frontcourt of this team. Certain posters can twist the facts w/o looking at the whole picture, but it is simply not accurate.
Good Post, MManal. Youth at those positions isn't the sole reason for the Rockets foibles. But that youth certainly isn't helping the team much. When the team plays such inconsistent, undisciplined basketball, the weakness and youth of the teams players is magnified. I think it is a mixture of a lot of factors (poor decision-making, bad passing, ball hogging, core player youth, etc.) that just don't blend well together. Some teams can survive bone-headed turnovers by the point guard, bad shots by the backcourt, or even bad rebounding nights by their front court, etc. just because other parts of the team ar so consistent and mature. But no team can survive all these things at once. And the Rockets have a remarkable ability to blend all these factors into a display of bad basketball. I think this type of play will occur until there is some measure of consistency. I personally think that in the future this team will get its identity from post-up down-low and not the dribble, up-high. Consistency won't be there until Yao (the big man) has worked these initial kinks out and shows himself to be a team leader.
Good post, Crash. I feel your frustration. Missing free throws at the end of games is not "clutch" play. Steve's continued penchant for "iso' play at inappropriate times is maddening. Inconsistent play seems to be our trademark. If the Rockets do not make the play-offs, we would have every right to expect that season's end will bring some kind of re-tooling. Players who have not adapted to the intended offensive and defensive schemes, or have not shown an ability to perform under pressure, may find their roles or addresses changed. The stakes are higher now and players must meet the challenge Testing by fire seems to be the approach that the team's coaching staff and management has chosen. Perhaps with so many young players that is the prudent approach. As much as we all wish the Rockets would blossom over-night, we must allow for the probability that the construction of this team, like that of their new arena, is not yet complete.
The Silver Lining in all of this is that I do think Steve Francis is putting together more and more good games. Including the all-star game I thought that he had 3 games in a row where he really played like a great offensive point guard. But then there is the Miami game . I thought he had 2.5 really good games against Dallas, Minnasota and Sac with another game in Minnasota that was not bad (offensively) but then came the Cleveland game . So I guess with Steve we have to ask ourselves, is that enough evidence to show that he is starting to grasp it, slowly but surely or will the good games continue to be the exception rather than the rule through out his career? I guess we have the remainder of the season to figure that one out.
MManual: We should just start a mutual admiration society. Actually, I agree with your point about the backcourt. Personally, I'm at the point where I don't care if it means a different point guard or just a different kind of two guard. Francis is maturing. Before, he wouldn't have been able to put together 2 or 3 games of solid play without coughing one up. Hell, I don't really remember too many entire GAMES where he looked as solid as he did against Utah both nights. If Griffin can improve and we can maintain the stability in the frontcourt, we are set. Whether Posey stays as the starting 3 or Nachbar matures (hopefully, both), our rotation in the frontcourt should be set. In fact, I posted at the beginning of the year that my biggest single concern was the play of the backcourt. With no real backup at the 2 (yeah, Posey moves over or Francis does, but there isn't one single guy sitting on the bench behind Mobley) and no solid backup presence at the point now that Moochie has imploded, there is a real danger there. If Francis or Mobley had to miss any significant time with injury, we'd be dead. We have to get quality depth in the backcourt like we have up front. In addition, we really need stability at the two. Whether that means moving Francis and bringing in another point or just finding someone to compliment Steve's game at the two (a shooter like Brent Barry or someone who has handles would be great), I don't know. But, it has to be a big priority if not now for sure in the offseason.
I'm just as unhappy as anyone else to see lose games that we should or could have won but what is more disturbing to me is the regression that we are seeing.The Rockets despite all their faults were at least becoming a better defensive ball club and at times tease us with their talent to give us hope for the future but since they don't play as a team, individual play worsens leading to doubt in the players themselves. We appear to be losing what ever gains we have made earlier which is extremely damaging and leads to worries for the future of the team.
Great posts everywhere. Unfortunately, I agree with MManal in his prediction that we will not make the playoffs with this kind of backcourt talent. I was optimistic before the Heat game, but I have succumbed to the fact that the only way this team makes the playoffs this season is if someone double's their production in the 2nd half of the season. I'll throw some names out there of people I'd love to see on the Rockets: Brent Barry, Jammal Crawford (backup, don't give up Mobley), Micheal Redd, Gary Payton, Eric Snow... With the make up of this team, they might even shock us and make the playoffs. Who knows. What we DO know is that we're going nowhere with both Francis and Mobley starting in the backcourt together. If it's so difficult to get rid of Mobley, bench him and get a PG. He doesn't make too much to sit on the bench, and is PERFECT to carry the 2nd unit. But what else would we trade to get a starting PG? Great post crash, just spot on with the assessments.
I agree with everyone. 2-3 of these losses are acceptable, since upsets do happen. But, 10 of them? That's too much.
This team needs to start caring...Each of those disgraceful losses hasn't sunk in!!! I hate to bring up MJ but he took losses personally, Steve needs to be the same. MJ was buddy buddy with Pippen but he still ripped into him until he got IT. Francis being tagged the "FRANCHISE" in Houston, should start acting like it. If he needs to verbally dress down Mobley, Mooch etc he has the right to do so. If they take it negatively, they should be shipped OUT ASAP. Francis if you need a book on leadership, go read Art of War. I have a copy if you can't find one. Also, I feel Norris has become a leech, he had one decent season, got the fat contract and now just happy to cash the cheques in. Too many fat contracts (Norris, Rice, Taylor), low value, low production, it's like a disease. F**k getting "young" talent like Odom or any other Clippers players. This team needs veterans to lay down the law to this team. This bunch say the right things when they lose and yet it does not translate when they play next time. Have they ever heard of the word "adjustmenst and actually doing IT???" Heck, I'd bring Elie back just to teach Mobley, Taylor, Norris etc what work ethic is, what hustle and heart means to the team and executing the game plan even if it is not working all the time. When Hakeem had an off game, they still stick to the mantra of dumping the ball to him and feed off what the defence gives. Yao is the Hakeem for this team, it should be the same. Yao needs his 20 shots, so he can get use to being a 20-10 guy. How the hell is he suppose to be the next Big Man when he has to scrap to get 8 shots!!! I don't care if he goes for 5-20, I'd take his shots over Mobley anyday. When he gets the ball, there's like structure, cohesion and a good chance that he can create something. Yao if you are reading this, be selfish, demand the ball even if you have to teach Francis and Rudy T. how to speak and understand Chinese. Francis better realize that Yao is the key to championships not Mobely. If he doesn't and Yao bolts to the Lakers and teams up with Kobe (when Shaq retires), then there will be hell to pay when the Lakers start another decade of dominance.
