Yeah when Steve scored AND shot big. The critical point is how he shoots. What is his field goal percentage? What is Yao's? This is Yao's team, and it should be. Steve isolations and outside mid- range shots aren't going to make us a consistent winning team. He also fails to get easy shots for teammates as often as Yao. Yao consistently makes smarter decisions and gets EVERYONE involved.
I didn't say that. Steve shot 1-13 one game, then another game he shot 4-7. 4-7. What does that tell you? He needs more shots. Even in the 1-13 games, he couldn't get into a rythm, cause all of his shots were like at the end of the shot clock or quarters. You can't get into a rythm when you don't get consistent shots. As much as I dispise AI, he could be 1-13 at one point, and get consistent shots, and then go off and hit 5 shots in a row. Francis needs consistent shots. We have tried running it through Yao every play, it just hasn't worked. Francis needs to take the most shots, then comes Yao and Mobley.
Yeah, well, right now YAO'S team is losing. YAO'S team is out of the playoffs. Steve's team was a sixth seed.
Yao's team? He averages 13 points a game. Yao shoots a high fg% but it hurts us when we keep giving it to him, he can't get a good shot off, and he just passes out gets it back, passes it to someone who has to shoot a shot late in the shot clock. Steve shoots 44% which is good for a go-to pg. Marbury shoots 43-44% also, and everyone here seems to love him.
Very well said. When it was Steve's team we won 55-60% of our games. Now we have won just 3 of our last 10 games.
No, I hate Marbury. The guy is an idiot. He has Amare Stoudamire and Shawn Marion on his team, both of whom shoot better than him, yet he consistently takes the most shots every game. No wonder they are the 8th seed. And he shoots more like 40%. Yao is still developing. And what do you mean he passes it to someone late in the shot clock? That's Steve's speciality. Yao is very good at setting up someone for an easy shot. When there's a double team, he quickly delivers the pass. Is he perfect? No, but his potential is higher than Steve's. Yao is also a lot smarter in crunch time, the time when Steve is busy doing panic dribbling and running into defenders. And when the Rockets had 45 wins, Hakeem was here. He wasn't the same, but he demanded the ball and provided some shotblocking to bail out Steve's bad defense.
Not true at all, we had Hakeem 2 years ago. And if we go back to isolation basketball it's going to be ugly. I'm not denying that Steve is a good player and can singlehandedly win some games (like the Laker game). But now that we have Yao and several good role players, it should be a team game and we should play the basic inside- out game that has worked in the NBA for decades.
last time i checked, Steve still takes the most shots in this team. even in the last 10 game stretch, i believe Steve averaged more shots than Yao.
If you think this has become Yao's team already, then you must be watching different games. Take a lot at the boxscores of the last 5-10 games, Francis still takes more shots than Yao. Until this changes and Yao leads the teams in shots attempted almost every game, then this team is lottery bound forever. He needs to drop the franchise nick cause it's obvious if you asked rox management who would they trade Francis or Yao, it would be Francis.
Yeah, let's just play Cato and leave Yao on the bench. Yao gets his teammates involved, but nobody on this team can hit an open jumper with any consistency. What then? We'll let Steve take a portion of our Forward's and Guard's shots, and he'll score a portion of their points. So what we'll have is a higher shot count, a higher point total, same FG%, for Stevie. He now has "big" numbers. The other teammates (or onlooking statues... ), will have fewer shots and fewer points, as well as the joy of being an observer to selfish ball, and consequently, no confidence, and no improvement toward a team game. End result: Steve scores high, rest of team doesn't score, has no confidence, and won't improve. We play a team game, and eventually, we'll WIN consistently.
Excellent post....Thanks for helping make this an informative thread and leaving the BS to the blind. Welcome to the board.....
Hakeem was a shell of his former self 2 years ago. Sure he played well for a stretch, but Steve was still the best player on the team & was winning with a C who needed the ball in the post. The Rockets were winning then, & should've earned a playoff spot w/ the kind of record they had....only two wins shy of the number of regular season wins in 94-95...& I think we remember what can happen once a team makes it IN to the post-season. Also they weren't too shabby when Steve actually played last season (despite injuries to others), & they were better earlier in this season when Steve was the focal point. You guys are WAY to impatient. Now that the Rockets have the talent, it'll only be a matter of time before they are experienced enough to whoop butt. Sac took their knocks on the way up...as did the Mavs. The Rockets probably will do the same. I think we as fans just need to sit back & enjoy the talent & skills of this team & stop complaining. Personally I disagree w/ those who say this must be Yao's team, OR that it must be Francis' team. Since they aren't very far apart in age, Both of these guys will enter their prime together, & IMO, BOTH will be equally important to the team in it's quest for more championships in Houston. The PG position & the C position are the most difficult positions in the NBA to learn. Even the greatest players ever, took a while before they were anywhere near their peak abilities. Big O, Isiah, Jordan, & most of the great centers had to wait their turn. They had to suffer through some humiliating defeats on the way up, but that probably made things that much sweeter when they got to the top. ...and the basic inside-out game won't work as it used to. With the new defenses, you need a variety of weapons & offenses. Getting a guy in the right position in the post requires complicated plays involving things like double screens & perfect passes. It'll take a little while for them to get it down (at least a full season). Iso isn't always a bad option either. Isiah got a couple of rings w/ the iso-play. It's best when the opponent doesn't know what to expect. Just pounding the ball inside & waiting for the double won't work as the primary weapon any longer, nor does iso-stand-around. With stars like Steve, Cat, & Ming & athletes like Posey & Eddie G. the Rockets should be mixing lots of cuts & screen-rolls in with those off the dribble moves & with the post play. But it'll take some time for them to figure out the timing. PATIENCE!
Those other yrs when he was shooting alot, where did we go besides to lotto land? They've added 2 high lotto picks since Steve has been here, obviously, something else needs to be tried.
Okay those guard ISO game might get us into the playoffs. But do you honestly us winning championship by playing this way? Do you see us beating the likes of Lakers and Kings by playing this way? Can't believe some people actually promoted the ISO game when none of the elite teams in the past or nowadays actually used it.
Iso has been an effective weapon for almost every championship team since the 80's...not the ONLY weapon, but an effective one. Isiah averaged 40 PPG in the '90 Finals, with much of it coming from iso-plays. Jordan routinely asked for a clear-out. The best teams combine weapons. No, I don't think the Rockets can win a championship the way they are playing this season, or that the iso-offense will get them to the Finals. As I wrote in my previous post. They need several offensive strategies. As they gain experience, & as Rudy gets more aquainted w/ how to utilize each player, they should learn when to use which strategy. It's not all about only one set offense people. ...do you guys think the Lakers & Bulls won all of those rings running the "tri" in the exact same way every time down the floor? Often they didn't even set up the "tri" when they reached the frontcourt. Frequently those teams went with Kobe or Mike taking his man one-on-one, with much success. A one trick pony will always be mediocre or worse in this L.
Anyone who agrees that he IS a franchise quality player must be riding his jock to an extreme degree. Just because you're (currently) the best player on the team doesn't mean you're a franchise player. Just because you get the best stats on the team doesn't mean you're a franchise player. Right now...I'd say Francis is about as "franchise player quality" as Latrell Sprewel was for golden state in his prime when spree was putting up huge stats.
Where did you get this 40 ppg figure? Isiah never averaged 40 ppg over any playoffs he was ever in. His most was 26.5 in the 1986 playoffs. His average for the 1990 playoffs was 20.4.
I think MJ's Chicago Bulls played the triangle offense? I seem to remember that MJ only asked for clear-out when the initial play was broken down or it's at the end of the game, no? Plus zone defense wasn't allowed in the past. Anyone who knows basketball knows that you need penetration, quick passing and team basketball to beat zone. Zone is for discouraging ISO basketball. Do you know why we had so much trouble beating Mavs this season?
