Hello all. It's been quite awhile since I've posted here, so it's great to be back. I don't want to get overly sentimental here but watching Hakeem struggle against mediocre centers is depressing to me. I realize his best years are behind him and that he has carried this team for 16 years. I don't expect him to be the Hakeem of 1995. Hell, I know I have slowed down since then. Still, when he is in there for his 20 minutes a game I'd like to see him be aggressive and take a few shots. There were long stretches yesterday against Minnesota where he wasn't even LOOKING at the basket and Nesterovic isn't Shaquille O'neal. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. ------------------
did you see him? i didn't think he got to play ... oh it was probably because no one want's to pass the ball. he was out there but just didn't get any looks. when we ahve a "superstar" like steve no one else should get the ball unless he deems it so, we should just leave 4 guys on defense and play one on one. oh yeah thats what we do do, except maybe the play defense thing. i'm venting ... put shanndon in the game, share minute between steve and the cat, get walt some picks, post mo on the strong side ... slide dream back door ... cause the defense to have to shift and get open looks ... but you have to take them. ------------------
Hakeem has always been a rhythm shooter. How many games did he start where he missed his first 4 to 5 shoots and got in a groove after his 6th to 10th attempt? That's why these damn guards need to get everyone involved. Francis and Cuttino tries to make every play a SportsCenter highlight. All style and no substance (team ball). Oh well!!!!! ------------------ Respect Hakeem's legacy. A championship in the hand is worth two in the bush!!
They were doing a good job getting him the ball in the first quarter. The guy looks lost out there. To tell you the truth, I'm happy I'll never hear how excited he is about a season again. ------------------ When you make an assumption, you make an ass out of yourself and umption. visit www.swirve.com
Cut the guy some slack. It's not like he is in perfect game shape after coming off that recent injury. He is going to need more than one game to regain his form. How about waiting for like 20 games and then doing another assessment? I'm not saddened in the slightest...because he hasn't had enough back-to-back games to do much of anything. Hakeem has to find his groove and he needs playing time to do so? Granted, he may not be like old but he sure the hell can be better than what we saw in the opener. Surf ------------------
The funny thing is that watching Dream last night didn't bother me in the least. My expectations of Hakeem have dropped so much within the course of a year that I was pleasently surprised by 4 points, 6 boards, and a few solid low post moves in 18 minutes. Beginning last season, a single-digit scoring game would have been unthinkable. Now I'm usually just thankful when he's out there because that means Cato isn't. The lesson? Lowered expectations are a beautiful thing. ------------------
Sam I'm with you every Minute for Hakeem means one less for Cato. I'm still steamed at him. Rocket River ------------------
Thats because SportsCenter gives Steve,and Cuttino alot of run. They are Proably the most exciting backcourt in the NBA so you know they will be in alot of highlight reels.
What? Just because the Rockets owe Cato 42 meeeellion dollars and he doesn't look like he has a clue quite frequently is no reason to hate him. I'm only messing with you. ------------------
We need to get Hakeem the friggin Ball!!! Francis and Mobley are great and all, but they are not the only good players on the Rockets. If Hakeem had been playing in the fourth quarter last night, we might have completed the comeback. ------------------ 2000-2001 Rockets Game Formulas: End of 1st quarter: "They're playing so well!" 2nd: "What a great game!" 3rd: "Theres no way they can lose now!" 4th: "What the ******* **** happened?!!" Vote Gore to keep our planet green! Rocket's Championship 2001!!
Hakeem has always been a rhythm shooter. How many games did he start where he missed his first 4 to 5 shoots and got in a groove after his 6th to 10th attempt? And how many times last year did he go 0-5 and then proceed to go 0-5 again? He's not going to get 10 shots a game unless you want him to be the focus of the offense. Besides, we don't need his offense. We need his defense, and he's now worse than Cato. Not only does he jump at every headfake, but once he comes down, he's done for the play. His only rebounds are the ones that come right to him -- he can't outjump or outhustle anyone. Cut the guy some slack. It's not like he is in perfect game shape after coming off that recent injury. Then why the hell did he say (and he now does this every year) that he feels better than he has in years and he's in the best shape of his career? If he's not, he shouldn't say it. I think he's a bit delusional about his abilities at this point. ------------------ Is it any coincidence that the Cato is the only Rocket with a temperature scale named after him? I didnt think so!!!!
If Hakeem ever got the ball he would be a lot more productive and maybe that would give him an incentive to play better. Hakeem gets no respect on this team, not from the players or the coach. There are no plays in the Houston offense it is all iso plays which are really starting to piss me off. It is no fun watching one guy play and four others standing around doing nothing. Personally I think Rudy is a horrible coach, the only reason he ever looked good was because of Hakeem. Before the play was let Hakeem do his thing and now it is let cuttino and steve do their thing and it isn't working very well is it? We were getting wins, not because of Rudy's coaching but because of Hakeem's greatness. We could have brought in a monkey to coach the the team and as long as we had Hakeem we would have one those championships. Well what I am trying to say is to dump it down to Hakeem once in a while and let him see if he can do his thing because he still has skills. If this is how its gonna be as long as we have steve and cuttino, I am sorry to say but we will never see another playoff game. That is why I kinda want to see Hakeem get traded. I know he will get more minutes on any other team and I know other teams will respect him. I never thought I would want Hakeem to get traded but I think it will be better for him and who cares about the rockets cause they don't utilize his skills anyway. ------------------
If Hakeem ever got the ball he would be a lot more productive and maybe that would give him an incentive to play better. Have you already forgotten the beginning of last season, when all we did was dump it down to him & Barkley? Not coincidentally, we also started out 2-10... It is no fun watching one guy play and four others standing around doing nothing. This is pretty much what happens in the Dump-it-to-Hakeem offense, isn't it? Oh yeah, Shanna SHUT UP! Why, because I don't share your opinion? ------------------ Is it any coincidence that the Cato is the only Rocket with a temperature scale named after him? I didnt think so!!!!
My point was that the "dump it in to Hakeem" method won us two championships and it seems like the "iso for mobley and Francis" is not working out too well. We need to involve more people in teh offense and Hakeem did that, Francis isn't creating for others plyers like a gaurd should and mobley, I don't know if I have ever seen him make a pass to anyone other than Francis. ------------------
How many years did we run the Dump-it-to-Hakeem offense before we won a championship? How many years have we given the Mobley/Francis offense? ------------------ Is it any coincidence that the Cato is the only Rocket with a temperature scale named after him? I didnt think so!!!!
Shanna, there is a big difference between being in shape and being in game shape. When Hakeem says he is in shape, he couldn't possibly mean game shape because he hasn't played enough minutes. Playing in practice is not the same thing. Weight training or riding the stationary bike is not the same thing. Hell, he missed most of the preseason. You have to play in the games to be in game shape and he is not there yet. Surf ------------------
I like the idea of maybe using Hakeem, Cato, Shandon, Cat, and Stevie. I think it could be a good 3rd quarter lineup. You can't use it in the 1st half because we can't have both Cato and Dream in foul trouble. If both guys only have 2 fouls in the 3rd we could go with this 5. Cato and the guards will run, Dream can post and let Cato get to the offensive boards. I didn't see the Minnesota game so I don't know if this lineup was in there, but I think it might work. give it a shot, if it doesn't work, don't use it. ------------------ - Beck Dream...bring back the goggles
That's not a bad idea. They definitely need to have Shandon in there closing games. Even if he's not doing anything offensively, he's an asset because he's very good defensively. ------------------
