guys, do u seriously think he's gonna wanna re-sign if it's the cat-francis show? He's not getting the ball at all...He's not involved...He plays defense the whole game, but not to an extent where he's taken 3 shots per game recently!!!! He's gonna feel left out very soon....and NO, it's not the loss of his mother....He seems to be handling it well, he just needs t get the ball more.....I think the shots he had last year are going to MO and WALT... ------------------
I totally agree. With the exception of his defense, he's not getting to show any of the skills he has. He never gets to post up which he can do very well, plus he probably made more layups and easy shots from backdoor cuts in one game in Utah than he has all season thus far. I think everyone here agrees he relies on others to get shots, well if the people that are supposed to be getting him shots (Mobley) are too concerned with getting their own shots then you see what happens. That's why when Shandon has a good game, the Rockets usually do well. It means they are moving the ball and getting good open looks. It seems to me when the iso offense breaks down the Rockets are in a world of hurt, they have nothing to fall back on. No off the ball movement, no consistent post play, nothing. Shandon has to see this after playing at Utah. He knows what it takes to win, and if he leaves after this season it might be an indicator on what he thinks the Rockets chances are in the future. ------------------
Shandon's lack of getting the ball or lack of offense has been the biggest disappointment of this season so far. I am pissed off at Rudy. The new focus of the offense seems to run through Mo but I like what we get from Shandon's offensive skills just as well. Maybe Mo should focus on getting a few rebounds instead of his average offensive output. Did we honestly need another scorer aka Mo? If you take away Shandon's output while adding Mo's, we've definitely lost. I am disappointed in Mo's play thus far..the only thing this guy seems to do is score and handle the ball decently. His defense and rebounding leaves a lot to be desired. If he's looking for big money next year, he is not putting up numbers to command much of a raise. If we can't get Shandon more involved other than his defense, then we might as well either let him go or trade him. I can't believe what Rudy is doing with Shandon. Shandon is not getting the ball nor the minutes. If I had to pick a bright spot from last season, it was Shandon's play in the 2nd half. He could take over games offensively. Now, he doesn't even barely touch the ball. Something happened. Either he is reeling mentally from the loss of his Mom(which I can understand) or he is just completely being overlooked by Rudy and the rest of the Rockets. What the #*#* gives? I want this guy to be one of my favorite players but if he only plays defense...how can he be? Surf ------------------
It wouldn't be surprising if Shandon is also getting increasingly frustrated. Off the top of my head I can remember at least 4-5 times this season that in transition, he made a cut to the hoop and was wide open with no defender at the rim and was not given the ball. He would literally come to a stop and hold his hands out begging for it because he knew that the defenders would come quickly. However, he never received the ball from either Francis or Mobley. It's not even like they didn't see him, they just would not give the ball up. It's hard to watch sometimes. ------------------
Has anyone else noticed that in the past few games when Shandon gets the ball at one end of the court, he goes 94 feet when it's 2-1 and the defender is in his face? I've seen it in quite a few games when Shandon gets the ball with Steve running the lanes and Steve goes up expecting the pass and comes back down the see Shandon lay it up. It looks like he's trying to get every point possible that he can when running the break since he doesn't get set-up in the plays. NOT A GOOD SIGN. ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
I wouldnt overreact to this Shandon Anderson situation just yet. The main problem is that the Rockets offensive sets are breaking down in multiple areas. Mobley and Francis so far are a step late in reading the traps and sometimes (Mobley mostly) try to break the trap themselves which is just not smart. Once the ball starts swinging around the arc and the defense gets picked apart, Anderson will see more involvement. I am seeing one disturbing sign tho so far. I have noticed that Cuttino is just not willing a lot of the time to defer to players in the post. I have noticed several occassions where Jason Collier and Mo are set up in the post and Mobley waives them off so he can isolate. I cant even remember one time so far in the regular season where Jason Collier has been given the ball in the post and been allowed to operate. If the Rockets would give the ball in the post with a little more frequency, it would decrease the amount of traps they are facing when they attempt to iso. Dumping the ball into the post everytime would not be smart, but a few sets mixed in for Collier and Mo would not be a bad idea to add diversity. Ideally, when a 2nd defender comes over to trap Mobley or Francis, they should be able to swing the ball to the top of the arc and that man should be able to make a second pass to an open man. However, developing this kind of communication and court vision takes time. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
I agree with you 100% MManal, however, I'd rather Dream get in the post than Collier right now. Dream can still score on most of the so called low post players in the league particularly the ones the Suns have. I felt he should have touched the ball a lot more tonight late in the game when the rockets needed to mix it up as you stated. ------------------
He's loosing minutes fast, he's hurting the Rockets AND himself.....An AWFUL game aainst the Suns whom he usually does great against... ------------------
