I know the Rockets are 1-3, but I don't think everyone should lose hope yet. You can basically attribute our loses to 3 main factors: 1) Francis isn't playing a big enought role. Granted, so far this year Steve's numbers are good for a typical point guard. The problem is that he isn't a typical PG. He has a world of talent, but isn't utilizing it right now. He seems to be more concerned with getting his teammates involved than winning games. Simply put, he needs to be more selfish. I see our team as being very similar to the Seattle Sonics. Both teams have good supporting casts and a great PG. Seattle basically is only as good as Gary Payton is. Seattle's supporting cast can only take them so far, but GP makes their team great. I believe the Rox will only be as good as Francis. Our supporting cast can only do so good without Francis being a factor. Francis needs to know when to take over a game and when to get his teammates involved. He seems hell bent on getting assists while he should be concentrating on racking up W's. Francis needs to take more of a Gary Payton type of role for the Rockets to win. 2) Since the last reason was so long I will make this short. My old 5th grade basketball coach could do better than Rudy is doing right now. Rudy T's lineups and substitutions are wack! Are 4 guard lineup will simply not work with any team, and especially not with the Rockets because of the D their guards are playing right now. 3) The third reason is that we are playing like a summer league team. Our D is losing games for us. Our biggest problem is missing layups and free-throws. We are playing too much 1-on-1 ball. Does anybody remember the end of the season last year? The ball was moving all around and we were winning games. Francis was racking up point while still being the floor leader and distributing. Everyone was getting high-percentage shots and we were a team to be feared. In summary, don't give up hope yet. I could see the Rockets easily turning around this season. Our team is young and cares about winning. I think we can easily improve on the above 3 points and turn the season around. Who feels the same way I do? ------------------ [This message has been edited by Franchise3 (edited November 05, 2000).] [This message has been edited by Franchise3 (edited November 05, 2000).]
I agree 100%. Francis and the other guards are dribbling way too much as well. What happened to the trapping defense we saw in the preseason. We need some of that mixed in again. I was afraid Rudy was going to change as soon as the season started. ------------------
