This is getting very, VERY BORING!!

tariq · Nov 13, 2000

Okay, I know you guys are going to come up with the regular excuses for the Rockets but there is no excuse for:

1) Palming/Carrying the ball - This is not a new rule. Just because it is being called more often than before, that does not mean that our "great" gaurds should continue doing it. Last night, at crunch time, Cuttino was once again clearly carrying the ball on more than one occasion. We were lucky that the refs ignored it then. Why, for heaven's sake, can't they dribble the ball as required. If they cannot, then stay out of the NBA

2)Rebounding/Butter hands - How many times have we seen our starting power forward (ie Less Taylor) get stripped with rebounding, or cannot catch a decent pass. And what is with the single digit rebounding? I'd rather develop Kenny Thomas, who can atleast hang on to a ball when the rebounds, rather than Mr. Taylor.

3)Dribbling out the clock - I hope Rudy is as frustrated as we are to watch Cuttino, Moochie and Steve dribble out the clock for twenty seconds on the one side of the basket and then discover that they have no place to go and then pass it to an already well marked player who has no chance for a shot.

4)Passing up shots - What ever happened to plain old shooting? Is it written somewhere that "Thou shalt pass up an easy shot for a harder one"? Why do we have to see Francis and Cuttino drive to the basket, and reach the rim, only to decide heck, why make this 100% shot, lets just pass it to Walt Williams in the corner for a 40% shot, that oughta keep this game close.

5)Inside Play - Listen guys, if aint putting the ball in the hole from outside...give it to the guys inside. Hakeem and his buddies have been doing a reasonably good job. Surely, they deserve more. And Mo Taylor, has shown flashes on some decent inside moves, can we put him in position to work on those moves?

A really dissappointed Rockets fan

Tariq

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HOOP-T · Nov 13, 2000

I think you have missed your calling in life Tariq! Why are you not out there on the sideline as a head coach instead of in here typing it all up?

I agree with some of your points. Palming is not a NEW rule, but newly enforced. It has never been consistently called, and probably never will. I cannot think of a guard in the NBA that does not carry the ball. Jason Williams of Sac. is perhaps the worst violator, but he has not received very many calls in the games I have seen.

Keep in mind that Taylor has never been a stellar rebounder, and needs some instruction in that arena. He is decent under the boards, if for no other reason than his strength. But we can't expect him to come in after a career avg. of 6 or so boards a game, and demand 9-10 per. He needs to get back to 100% health again first and foremost. I don't think we picked up Taylor for his rebounding prowess anyway. I think Taylor is here to be that third scoring threat. If he grabs us some boards in the process, great!

Man, if we just had Cato back, he could fulfill his prophecy of leading the league in rebounds!

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

DAROckets · Nov 13, 2000

quote
"Keep in mind that Taylor has never been a stellar rebounder, and needs some instruction in that arena."

IMO if he hasn't learned how to rebound by now he never will.Aside from the fundamentals of boxing out and positioning the rest of it is a combination of physical strength and desire.He has the physical strength but seem's to be lacking in the desire department.

Does anyone know what kind of rebounder Mo was in college ? Maybe it's a clipper "thing" that he hasn't gotten over yet ?

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DAROckets · Nov 13, 2000

Well I found some info on Mo's college day's.It look's like he was a rebounding machine as a Wolverine.

MAURICE TAYLOR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Became 18th Wolverine to record at least 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds.
Ranks No. 20 on both U-M career scoring (1,254 points) and rebounding (588) lists.
Ranks No. 6 on Michigan's career blocked shots list (89).
Played in every game at Michigan, starting all but four.
Tied for 14th with Thad Garner for most games started (93).
Selected Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1995.
Had 12 games with double figures in both points and rebounds.
Member of USA Basketball 22-and-under World Championship Team that played the Olympic "Dream Team" in a practice game at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

JUNIOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS (1996-97)
One of 12 finalists for Naismith Player of the Year.
Third-Team All-Big Ten selection by the media.
Led the team in scoring seven times and in rebounding six times.
Recorded his 1,000th career point at Michigan against Illinois (January 9) on a dunk with five seconds remaining in the game.
Recorded his 500th career rebound at Penn State (January 18).
Scored a career-high 26 points against Northwestern (March 5), his only 20-point game of the season.
Grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds while adding a team-high 19 points in NIT semifinal game against Arkansas (March 25).
Moved to small forward position for last nine games of season after playing at power forward for entire career.
Averaged 16 points and 7.7 rebounds over last seven games of season.
Averaged 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds with four blocks and eight steals through five NIT games.
Suffered a broken nose just seven minutes into the game at Wisconsin (February 6), the first major injury of his career. Was fitted for a custom protective mask and played two days later against Penn State (February 8), recording 14 points and five rebounds.
Did not start in two gamesQvs. Arizona (December 21) due to a severe bout with the flu that kept him out of practice week of game and on I.V. night before game. Also didn't start against Penn State (February 8) after suffering a broken nose two days earlier at Wisconsin.
Finished third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg), rebounding (6.2) and blocked shots (31).

SOPHOMORE SEASON HIGHLIGHTS (1995-96)
Elected by teammates and coaches as team's Most Valuable Player.
Was only Wolverine to start every game.
Selected Second Team All-Big Ten by both a media panel and league coaches.
Scored in double figures in all but seven games.
Had four games with 20 or more points.
Led the team in scoring 11 times and in rebounding 10 times.
Scored a then career-high 23 points in win over Duke.
Had game winning dunk with nine seconds left against Penn State.
Pulled down a then career-high 14 rebounds at Iowa and matched that in NCAA Tournament game against Texas.
Led team in scoring 11 times and in rebounding 10 times.
Finished season as team's leading scorer (14.0 ppg) and rebounder (7.0 rpg).

FRESHMAN SEASON HIGHLIGHTS (1994-95)
Consensus pick as Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Finished ninth on Michigan's all-time freshman scoring list with 384 points, one point less than Juwan Howard.
Started all but first two games of season.
Scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in first career start against Arizona State.
Only other "double-double" came at home against Iowa with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Scored in double figures in 24 games.
Began Big Ten career with 18 points and six rebounds over eventual conference champion Purdue.
Led the team with 34 blocked shots.
Led team in scoring eight times and in rebounding six times.
Finished season as team's third-leading scorer (12.4 ppg) and fourth-leading rebounder (5.4 rpg).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Born on Oct. 30, 1976 in Detroit.
Sports management major.
Full name is Maurice DeShawn Taylor
Mother's name is Cathy Taylor
Father's name is James Lloyd
Aunt's name is Sabrina Lloyd (legal guardian).
Was a second-team Parade Magazine and USA Today All-American as a high school senior.
Selected to Detroit Free Press and Detroit News "Dream Teams."
Voted MVP of the West squad at Magic's Roundball Classic after scoring 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 three-pointers, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a game-high 5 blocks.

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Pass 1st shoot 2nd · Nov 13, 2000

HOOP-T,

I rarely speak out against you on your points, but when it comes to palming you're off on this one IMHO.

Players of the past have palmed the ball no doubt. But look at the players of today's game. They are becoming ballers instead of professional NBA guards. Park style hoops. What you're seeing is the old guard refs and league officials sticking to their guns (and whistles).

I can run through a list of players other than Wink and Cat who appear to be better handball players than basketball players, and they need to learn how to keep from turning the ball over. It can be done. The best way to get through a problem is to work on an answer on your own before blaming others for your obvious mistakes, which with work can be corrected-hypothetically speaking of course.

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Vice-president of the Jason Collier Police

AT · Nov 13, 2000

Tariq--

I am completely in your corner on this one. The palming is ridiculous and must stop. And it seems like Mo's grip is worse than Cato's. I can only imagine what its like to shake that dead-fish handshake he must have. BUTT!!

And why is there always someone telling you you "should definitely be the coach" when you disparage clearly erroneous play on the part of the rockets? That hackneyed expression has no place in this BBS. Just my opinion though.

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"That's two years, Two rings, and I'm thinkin' about going for another one...YEAH!!" --S. Cassel

DrNuegebauer · Nov 13, 2000

Just to clear up a small point;

Mo's career rebounding avergae is 5.2, NOT 6

His rebounds HAVE increased every year, but it is in direct correlation with an increase in his minutes played. So don't get too excited about him snaring more reboudns this year because he grabs about 1 rebound every 6 minutes of action - if we give him 30 mpg then maybe he'll grab 5!

GO MO!

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Chuck04 · Nov 13, 2000

Originally posted by DrNuegebauer:
Just to clear up a small point;

Mo's career rebounding avergae is 5.2, NOT 6

His rebounds HAVE increased every year, but it is in direct correlation with an increase in his minutes played. So don't get too excited about him snaring more reboudns this year because he grabs about 1 rebound every 6 minutes of action - if we give him 30 mpg then maybe he'll grab 5!

GO MO!

Click to expand...

And let him play the whole 48 min a game and he'll end up with 8!!

Charles, please come back and rebound for us.

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"He fouled me every single time I was over the rim ... I'm going to lift weights tomorrow and get my legs stronger so next time I play him I'll put it on his head five times." - Steve Franchise

tariq · Nov 14, 2000

Hoop-T,

Your faith in my prowess as a coach is duly noted, but I think that Rudy would do, and is doing, a better job than myself.

Moreover, watching the Rockets (lack of) offensive plays, I can only conclude that they are just not following what Rudy tells them, and the disgust is all writ on Rudy's face.

Now to Palming/Carrying the ball. Sure the whole league does it, but do the actions of Jason Williams or Gary Payton hurt us? No, only the actions of our guards hurt us. So that is why, if the refs are calling it - QUIT IT!! As simple as that. Don't tell me our future players are that weak in fundamentals that they *have* to carry the ball in order to make plays and put in the hole.

On the issue of Mo Taylor and his Less Rebounding. We didn't get Steve Francis, Shandon Anderson and Mobley for their rebounding skills, yet night in and night out, they *make* the effort to rebound the ball and hold on to it and consequently, they come up with more rebounds than Taylor. The guy plain and simple, has to pull down the ball. Past problems are no excuse for present performance!! That is like saying that at my last job I came to work at 11 am...therefore, for the rest of my life...I am going to come to work at 11 am. If Mr Mo wants to be a Rocket, then he has to put up the numbers. If he wanted to be lazy, he should have resigned with the Clips. I frankly do not want him next year if he continues to put up the numbers he has, notwithstanding his outside shot. I'd rather develop Kenny Thomas.

-Tariq

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This is getting very, VERY BORING!!

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