No amount of increase in trade value is worth even a single loss. We made a big mistake not trading him in the offseaosn and signing a veteran PF/C to play insurance/injury/garbage minutes. Now his value is shot, and we are suffering by playing him. In the race for 6th seed, every game counts.
This maybe mean but when Yao fell trying to guard Marbury I fell out of my chair laughing. When you play ball on the streets and somebody makes you fall, you might as well just get off the court. Its like the ultimate insult because everybody laughs at you. The whole Phoenix bench went up when it happened. I do have to say that Yao has a lot of composure for getting up playing like nothing happened.
I too was pissed watching them laugh like that, Yao didnt get crossed, he fell over because he was trying to run backwards something very very hard for someone 7'6" That really made me mad.....
Francis didn't look like himself. I wonder if he's really sore as hell from that fall he took. (any sane person would be sore as hell... I mean sore enough to affect his play) Francis would never say anything. I couldn't get a grip on the rotation tonight. We should have had more play in the post. There were moments when it seemed like our post players were running around the perimeter trying to figure out what the hell they were supposed to do. (or why they being asked to do what they were doing... take your pick) Yao and Rice looked much better... MoT looked sensational. KT didn't, not tonight. Cat had another end of game melt-down in regards to turning the ball over. Hawkins seemed lost or overlooked on the court. I think Rudy is having problems figuring out who to play and when. He suddenly has all these options. Hopefully this will pass. It's not helping us morph our way into this new offense. The end was painful... the Suns are a team we should beat. It shouldn't have been this close. And I wish someone's elbow or knee had made a visit to Danforth's sensitive regions. Of course, I was hoping that would happen to Wallace. I think I'll go to bed now. There's always another game. At least until we run out.
i agree with all the points above criticizing Rudy's decisions.. but it's all hindsight now.. I was scratching my head too when he pulled Yao and never put him back in.. i thought Mo Taylor was starting to feel more pressure from Williams after he hit all those jumpers, so that might be why he got pulled. the offense looked ugly in the 4th.. totally disorganized for 23 seconds, then a heave right before the shot clock expires. but all in all, i put most of the blame on Francis. After all, it's his team. He got into foul trouble really early and only managed 5 assists on an off-shooting night. Mobley missing those shots at the end didn't help, but this is Francis' team and he's got to be the one to step it up and make plays. Oh, and btw, I was pissed when the Suns bench were laughing at Yao too.. but 2 things.. 1. it DID look pretty funny 2. Yao will have the last laugh
Look at the personnel, Suns vs. Rox. There's no way they should be even CLOSE to us. It's all about coaching...........or LACK OF IT!! ** I agree, why start Collier? Oh I see, let's see how far we can get behind. If RT thinks he deserves only a few minutes, why the hell START him? He shouldn't even get off the bench. ** Too much iso and high P&R. Too predictable and boring. If it wasn't for out- of- our- mind 3 point shooting in the first half, we're not even IN this game. Let's see if we can lead the league in fewest assists again?!?! ** Lousy clock management. One of the neat things about the ESPN telecast was that the 24 second clock was on the screen. Other teams trap our guards, dribble, dribble, dribble, and then we end up wasting most of the clock and end up with a heave or a forced shot. Just plain dumb. How about taking advantage of the trap vs. falling into it time after time! ** Oh, and on the last play: Suns forced the ball out of Francis' hands. Why couldn't we do the same with Marbury? Don't let the other team's best player beat you. ** Hawkins. What must the guy be thinking after his play the last few games? He has been a difference- maker. Oh, I understand, put Moochie on the floor in front of him. Or how about Collier? His play has earned him a spot in the rotation and we really could have used his D during runs and at crunch time. As for his offense, run a few weaves and see what happens. Forgive my ranting but this is a poorly coached team right now. C,mon Rudy, we deserve better. Dallas Rocket
i totally agree about starting Collier Yao matches up 100x better against Jake Tskakslaskdladk than Collier does.. and considering Jake Tsakdsalkfjsakj only plays 15-20 a game, Rudy's safe in keeping that matchup going all game long. When Stoudemire comes in, they can match him up against a smaller defender like Mo or KT and go small.. Basically Collier played the first 6 and never came back.. Of course, again, this is all in hindsight.. but it just doesn't make much sense! maybe Rudy didn't want to put any more pressure on Yao by starting him??
I think Rudy would be a great GM (bringing in talent and scouting players is what he does best), but he flat out sucks as a coach. The Rockets play a sort of organized “street ball” game. It’s a cluster @#@$# free for all, with absolutely no game plan what so ever. Rudy still “coaches” like he’s got a 95’ Hakeem down low, with Clyde slashing to the basket. I’m thinking Rudy should put down the rum and cokes, and draw up an actual play. That would be first. When I look over at the bench, I see 3 monkeys looking at fire wondering how this whole process works.
I agree with most of the posts in this discussion. I hope it will be a learning experience for this young team. With Hakeen in his prime the offensive decisions were simple. Give the ball to Hakeem, in the final minutes of the game. It worked, Rudy was a hero. I am not an advocate for Rudy’s removal but get a new assistant coach who does all the play calling and substitutions. Rudy can yell at the refs and slap butts. He can take the credit basically. I have always like Rudy and I still like him being the coach. The art of being a good manager is letting others do the work and you take the credit
Does that mean he can play himself alone against 5 other players. Dont confuse the cliche "It's someone's team". King's Webber's team that means he needs to step up when team is down, he is the leader of King. That doesnt mean he should everything by himself.
I really agree wit alot of U guys about goin' 2 a small line-up and......... it HURLS!!!!!, big time! I have DIRECTV NBA league pass and when they go 2 this assinine line-up, they get BURN badly on the rebounding end!! They just don't fool anyone bcuz, the other team ajust 2 this quickly! I was very upset bcuz they could & should have WON this game!!! They should have kept MoT & Yao Ming out there 4 defense!! Also, where was "Da Hawk"!!???? Instead, Rudy T left alot of small players there who can't or won't play defense!!! Result- another loss!!! This from a team who's mentally FRAGILE.....I hate 2 say it, but the truth HURTS!
Right on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why on the earth Ming was gurding a guy going at full speed to begin with. Just name any center in NBA, would they do different than drawing a foul in a siutation like that. Again and Agian, I said Rox doesnt know how to play with a big man. Rox please get some Laker's tapes, see how they protect Shaq in a situation like that, see how fisher come to cover or tries swatting the shots for Shaq first. Shaq is never left open like that by his men, otherwise he would be very mad at them.
Rudy is a bad coach...I've been saying this all season (mostly arguing with heypartner about it). On the microcosmic level, every one of the initial points brought up in this thread is legitimate. Why start Collier? Why take out Mo? Why go small so often? I knew this was going to be an offensive struggle again tonight halfway through the first quarter - even though the were scoring well at that point - they were shooting lights out. It had nothing to do with running any kind of fluid offense. Rudy still believes that offense in the NBA is about designing plays around specific players. GATOR makes solid points about the lack of assists - these numbers won't improve with the one-on-one system and players we have. On the macrocosmis level, Rudy just fails in general situations. I don't think there's a team in the league over the past three years that has been as unssuccessful as the Rockets when coming out of a timeout. I'm still amazed at how unprepared we can be at times despite long layoffs between games (we had a week between our last preseason game and the game against the Pacers and came out with a horrible performance). His rotations usually baffle the mind...the list goes on. Rudy's coaching would be good for a veteran team with players who are fundamentally sound - not for the team we have. On a side note, about this game in particular, I am lost on how we are anymore of a defensive liability when Yao is in the game than when he isn't. It's not like we were outrebounded (in total or on the offensive end). Yao's own man hasn't been blowing by him since the first few games of the season. I thoguht he played solid defense tonight. He had a good block, a nice steal, and people driving the lane against him the whole time he was in there . I agree with Sane on Kenny. he can have monster games. He is in amazing physical shape and his footwork is some of the best I've seen since Olajuwon. But he's off just as often as he's on, and he's a black hole on the offensive end. Bright spots are the enormous talent we have on the team. Despite Steve's poor assist numbers, he truly does seem to be moving the ball and even on a bad shooting night, I thought he played smart. Yao is getting better and better every game. People are startig to remember the positives that Mo brought to the game, and Rice's shot is looking better and better (although you probably can't say the same about other aspects of his game). This is a .500 team, perhaps slight better. They could be much more though. We'll see what happens.
Good post Jayz That's basically how I feel also. I'm a little disappointed by the loss, but **** happens... mobley missed his ft's, etc. Losses happen to the best of the best. But I'm most disappointed in the way that we lost. There still doesnt seem to be much fluidity in the offense, not much passing, etc. When Phoenix had the ball, Marbury would drive and kick out and numerous passes would be made. On the contrary, it seems that the Rockets at most get 3 out of the 5 players involved touches on the offensive end. Often times, it is only 2 (the picker and the roller), and sometimes just 1. I'm ok with losing, as long as I'm seeing some nice improvement on the offensive end. If we weren't shooting lights out in the first quarter, we would have been down by at least 5 or 10 points, and faced an uphill trudge the rest of the game. We can't rely on shooting lights out in order to stay with the better teams of the league. As for not starting MING, I think it has more to do with the psychological effect. When you're put in the starting lineup, you immediately feel more pressure, not to mention there's more hype. It's a different situation than going in off the bench... i think Rudy is still just trying to shield Ming and keep him comfortable. That's why he's bringing him off the bench.
i understood that if rudy didn't put ming on defensibly for afraid that he get foul. but on the last offense position, why the hell he didn't put ming and mo t on for the inside game and postup??!!!!!!!! instead, he put the small lineup to making outside shot(which yao and mo t chould do also), and let the small guard drive in, how stupid is that!!!!
As a chinese fan, that is what i could comment: steve and cat's one on one mentality is contagious and other players become to play ISO, Chemistry gets killed that way. As a result, they end up playing like undisciplined street ball players. Someone may argue that seteve did pass the ball in the first quator. I watched the game last night too. I would say, he did pass, but he did not make quality passes expect for the cases when he penetrated to the rim and dished out. He is lacking of setting plays because PG is not just penetrating to the rim and dishing out. (though it is major aspect) PG is supposed to dicitate his men how to move and how to obtain open positions when the ball is moved.
Dream, Finally! Someone that sees the truth! Stupid coaching is what we have witnessed for a long time. The 1vs5 is not good for offensive rebounding. Rudy will hold this team back. Rudy was up by 5 late in the 4th. As bad a the Suns played, Rudy left the door open. Coaching is play calling and substitution patterns. Rudy is sorely lacking in both. No excuse for Ming. He could have finished with 20. Saw another new "Video Coordinator" that has been promoted to asst. coach. Les should bring in a new GM and coach. No playoffs with Rudy!
