The way I feel now I should not even be posting. The truth is the Rockets have looked so pathetic during this current 6 game home stand that it has been difficult to admit that I am a Rockets fan with out wearing a bag over my head. So far on what was suppose to be the friendliest stretch of the schedule and a 6 game home stand the Rockets have found a way to really screw things up. 1st we loose to an old Utah Jazz team that was on the last leg of a back to back and in the middle of a long road trip where they were on their 3rd game in 4 nights. 2nd we get completely destroyed by a New York team that is so pathetic itself that its record is a miserable 8 wins and 16 losses coming into Houston. Prior to kicking our Houston Rockets asses (and I do mean kicked) they had only managed 2 road wins for the season. 3rd we loose to the Mighty Golden State Warriors. Proud owners of a 12 and 19 record and a team that was only capable of getting 3 road wins prior to beating Houston. So what is the problem? It appears that it is mainly a problem with basketball philosophy or that we have extremely athletic players that do not posses the required amount of gray matter so they don’t continue making the same mistakes over and over and over. Either Rudy T is telling Steve, Moochie and Cuttino to just dribble out the shot clock or they are ignoring whatever advice he is giving them and playing one against five basketball against his wishes. Either way it is not working. Against NY we just sucked the entire game but against both Utah and GS we had our opportunity to win and the people handling the ball simply choked. We worked hard to get back into the game and even take control with about a minute to go against GS, but instead of coming down the court and trying to run high percentage plays little Stevie brings the ball up-court and decides to dribble, dribble, dribble while Yao Ming is being single covered by a guy that is several inches shorter than him in the low post. Steve continues to dribble, dribble, dribble on one side of the court so that it becomes easy to double team him and then have Slim Shady sneak around behind him and steal the ball and essentially the game. Mental breakdowns like this are not suppose to happen at home in the last second against loosing teams. We have lost 3 or the last 5 home games to teams that had a combined total of 11 road victories prior to playing Houston. Two of the losses come against teams that are in the cellar of their conferences! No one can blame chemistry for these losses. It’s time to make a move. I’m not saying what that move is nor am I trying to imply that a trade is necessary. Maybe Rudy T needs to take Stevie, Cuttino and Moochie around the back of Compaq Center and get medieval on their ass until they realize that they have a responsibility to keep their heads out of their asses when they play. One on Five basketball is loosing ball games for us at an alarming rate and if it does not change soon then we are going to find ourselves out of the play-offs again. Personally, I think it is time to take the game out of Stevie Franchise’s hands and start running the game through Yao Ming. For those that say Yao Ming is not ready for that responsibility I say what does it matter? When we are loosing 3 out of 5 home games to the bottom feeders of the NBA then what we are doing is clearly not working either. Yao Ming clearly has the highest basketball IQ on the team and he is certainly much more capable of making the correct decisions in the closing minutes of games than little Stevie. We might as well start grooming him as the team leader now. It’s time to be painfully honest with Stevie, “Stevie, you do not posses the basketball intelligence required to win close ball games down the stretch so we are taking that responsibility out of your hands. Do not ever ask for that responsibility back!” I don’t know how much longer I can keep repairing my remote control before I actually have to buy a new one. This feeling of despair and anxiety that I am currently experiencing over the Rockets home stand grows exponentially with every bone-headed game loosing decision that Steve Francis makes. I actually cussed at my dog last night because I was so disgusted. I really like that dog too. Both my kids play basketball and I am starting to be thankful that they like the Mavericks instead of the Rockets because I don’t think I could bear it if they picked up the same pitiful habits that Steve Francis has. As of right now I wish that the fans would not vote Steve Francis into the all-star game. If Stevie Franchise had to rely on the coaches to get him in he would not be playing in the all-star game. Maybe sitting at home during all-star weekend would open his eyes that his style of basketball is not winning basketball. I apologize in advance for the negativity displayed in this post.
Crash, For some reason, I kept reading this one line over and over, and everty time, I giggled like a lil school girl. BTW, nice overall post. I agree with most of what you said. It is a long season my friend. Hang in there!
My observations EXACTLY. I agree with everything you said. Many of us have been saying these things for years. We get blasted for "hating" our precious guards. It is now to the point where "super-fans" Calvin Murphy and Gene Peterson, tv and radio commentators, are making the same observations "every" game. I feel your pain!
It's so true that it hurts. The problem is not their mistakes. It's that they make the same mistakes again and again and refuse to or can't learn from them. How can they call themselves professional?
I was sick last night - the usual fever/cold thing. I thought that a good Rockets game (and win!) would do wonders for my health. Boy was I wrong. Now I feel more miserable than ever and no amount of Tylenol can cure this thing. -Tariq
In my opinion, we just need time to learn how to play together as a team. Our team is very young, but extremely talented and athletic. Our talent is so considerable, that we use it as a crutch. We have a limited amount of plays to run, due to new players, such as Ming and Posey. Ming is relying on his superior height and intelligence to excel, regardless. Francis and Mobely know they can blow by anyone, if they have to. As soon as they get behind, which is easy to do with teams they don't take serious, they resort to instinct. It was interesting watching them play Utah. Ok, I hate the Jazz, but you have to admit, they've played a long time together, and they just go into autopilot with their plays, and they execute to perfection, even though their players are old. When they panic, they go into set plays. When Houston panics, they do something totally new and creative. Sometimes, that creativity succeeds, sometimes it doesn't. As fans, we have to be patient, as our team learns the plays, and learns to play together more disciplined.
Couldn't agree no more for crash5179. Stevie sucks, too much dribbble, not smart in bball. Let yao take more shots. Let Yao be a leader. BTW, let yao play more time in 4th quater, not just 7 min when at the state of lost 8pt.
I think the problem that we have is we do not play team ball for the whole game. Like yesterday Steve tried to get other players involve in the first quarter. By the 4th quarter during crunch time it seem Steve and Cutino just took upon themselves to carried the team rather than get their teammate involve. I can see a big man doing that because of their size and a higher tendency to get foul when they are close to the basket. For a small guy to go in there with the big guy ,it's more likely that they will got block or put up a bad shot rather than got foul. Sometime they make a basket but even if they did it's usually a tough shot over the outstretch arm of all the big men. If they couldn't get by their men then they took a tough contested shot from far out or beyond the 3 point line. If you want to draw a foul or take a high percentage shot, your big guy inside should be the one who took the shot. Your go to guy should be your big men down the strech if he is capable of making the shot. So far it seems to me that Yao have hit most of his shot down the strech in the 4th quarter even though he might miss some shot earlier in the game. That telling me that he is a clutch player down the stretch. The star player usually making the big shot even though they might miss earlier in the game. Even though he is still a rookie but I rather have the bal in his hand down the stretch and let him make the decision rather than have our guard took all those tough low percentage shot. At least we know Yao will tried to get his teammate involve and won't take a bad shot. I am not sure who is causing the problem but even Mobley himself state that the players don't do what the coach said. If that is the case then Rudy need to enforce discipline otherwise this team will not get anywhere anytime soon.
We are the second youngest team in the league. I hate losing and am angry just like the rest of you guys. All of you have to realize that in the NBA any team can beat you on a given day. The most successfull teams have been together for a while and have verteran players: Sacramento is a team of veterans, Dallas has been playing together for a lot longer then us, NJ has a veteran pg, Indiana is a veteran team, SA is led by the best player in the league and even Phoenix has mostly veteran players. We have a rookie center, a second year power forward and no real small forward. Give this team time. I believe we were 24-24 2 years ago when we finished with 45 wins and barely missed the playoffs. Even if this team is 21-20 by the half way point of the season we are in good shape. This team will get better in the second half. 21-20 and 25-16 in the second half would still probably net us the playoffs.
Crash, excellent post. About 3 weeks ago, I stated that I felt that the Rockets have incredible individual talent but simply will continue to be inconsistent b/c all three of their guards make boneheaded reads and decisions. This has been pretty obvious as they have bungled a perfectly laid out homestand. The time from this homestand to mid February was when the Rockets needed to put a win streak together if they wanted to be competitive in this TOUGH Western Conference. Take a look at the final stretch of the schedule esp the mid to late March stretch; there are a lot of tough road games to close the season. The finishing stretch of the schedule is simply brutal. My assumption was that this team could still squeak into the playoffs b/c of their incredible depth and talent but that may not even be the case. The poor decision making is proving as too much of a roadblock. There is no question that Steve Francis makes the same boneheaded plays he has been for 4 yrs now, but this problem is made worse by the fact that Mobley and Moochie are boneheads as well. Running the offense through Yao solves some of the problems, but even the best passing center in the world cannot create EVERY shot. The team shoots 80 times a game; once Yao receives a full role in the offense, he may have his hand in creating or shooting 30-40 a game. There are still 40-50 more shots to go which is where the guards have to step in. In this day and age of the NBA, an offense cannot become completely one dimensional; Yao will get plenty of feeds in the post, but pick and roll for guards have to be mixed in as well. This is simply why you will continue to see nights where this team cant get out of first gear on offense. This is why I have been harping on the fact that Steve and Cuttino playing together so many minutes will continue to produce these types of results. This is the reason why I want a heady and intelligent backcourt player like Brent Barry that can run a lot of plays in a heady and intelligent manner. This team is ranked in the bottom tier of the league in assists and assists to TO; that should pretty well explain what is going on.
One other point.... The youth excuse is totally and completely WEAK. Has anyone who uses this excuse actually sat down and thought about it? Ofcourse when you have players like Boki, Maddox and T-Mo who are all in the 21-23 age range thats going to drag down your average age. Boki and Maddox have only played mop up duty and T-Mo has seen his role decline with the acquistion of James Posey. Take a look at the the key 9 man rotation (ages in parenthesis): Yao Ming (22) Kelvin Cato (28) Eddie Griffin (20) Mo Taylor (26) Glen Rice (35) James Posey (25) Steve Francis (25) Cuttino Mobley (28) Moochie Norris (29) That is an average of 26.44. This would equate to 4 yrs college experience PLUS almost 4.5 yrs of NBA experience. In the regular rotation, the only players under 25 are Griffin and Ming; and Ming does not play like your typical 22 yr old as he shows the savvy of a player that is much more a veteran on many nights. This youth argument is a complete crock and is being used as a crutch. I will not buy this argument if it is used by the Rockets organization as an excuse for not making the playoffs.
I guess I was waaay ahead of my time. I larmented about the dumb basketball we play EVEN in WINS but everyone here (well many) rejected me. Memo to Fans all over the world - Do not wait until after a loss to realize that there is a problem. Speak out if you see potential problems in our team EVEN after WINS. This is not an "I told your so" thing but it is hard for me to be a Rockets fan now. This was the heading of my initial post on this forum and that has not changed yet. I am still keeping my fingers crossed though......hoping ......hoping and still hoping. SAY NO TO DUMB BASKEBALL. Time for accountability. Resist "stupid stats" mongers.
tariq, Thanks for chiming in. Misery loves company and you have truly embodied the spirit of this thread. I feel your pain. Sherlock, Your second youngest team theory regarding our Rockets has a few holes in it as does your point about Utah playing well together because they are such a veteran team. 1. The people making the key mistakes at key points of the game on a consistent bases on our team is Steve, Moochie and Cuttino (to a lesser degree). These are supposed to be the veterans of our team. Cat has been here for 5 years, Steve and Moochie 4 years each. These are the players that tend to forget that there are 4 other players on the floor during crunch time. How old do those three have to be and how many years of experience do they have to have and how many years do they need to play together before they learn that they do not need to play 1 on 5 basketball at crunch time? 2. Your theory on the Jazz is flawed because it was Calbert Cheaney, Matt Harpring and Andrei Kirilenko that kept the Jazz in the game until Karl Malone found the fountain of youth in the fourth quarter. Cheaney and Harpring are both spending there first year with the Jazz and Kirilenko is only in his second. Why don’t those three make the same mistakes that Steve, Moochie and Cat do? R0ckets03, The players on our team that is killing us the most with bad decisions are not the kids it’s the veterans of the group; Steve, Cat and Moochie. Utah is full of key players that have been with the team less than two years and in the case with Cheaney and Harpring (both big contributors) they don’t even have half a year with the team yet and their chemistry seems to be fine. Mmanal, I have given Steve, Cuttino and Moochie the benefit of the doubt for a long time now and they just can not seem to learn from their mistakes. I see the exact same mistakes over and over. I still believe this team will likely make the play-offs because of the talent that exists on this team but because of the lack of intelligent play by the people that handle the ball we will continue to win a couple and loose a couple never putting together a true win streak nor making a serious move to the elite of the NBA. This team is full of talent but unfortunately the one player (Yao Ming) that has the thought process to lead this team on the floor does not have control of the offense.
Fegwu, My sentiments exactly! Don't let the sheep bully you! The Jim Mora comment is dead on. Point guards are the extension of the coach. If they have low Bball IQ, the coach is worst because he puts them on the floor. No Playoffs With Rudy!
good post, but that is the reason for 82 games not 32. watch they'll wake up soon. but dont say steve never does anything at the end of games. he has had alot of buzzer beaters of late. yeah we lost to memphis but he got us another chance to win in ot. the rox screwed it up not him. but with out a doubt let yao do it not steve yao can just do it better stevie isnt the worst trust me.
Crash, I share your misery And I'm sick of excuses. This is depressing. I've said this over and over again: It's either lousy coaching or our guards are uncoachable. EITHER WAY IT FALLS ON RUDY! As long as SF, CM and the little dribbler control the pace and tempo, not to mention triggering offensive sets, we are a loss waiting to happen. We probably squander 6-8 seconds/possession by overdribbling and walking the ball up. Watch Kidd or Nash and you'll see how the game should be played. They don't dominate the ball, they push it up and get into their sets with ~20 seconds on the shot clock. How many times have we thrown up desperation shots or simply allowed the shot clock to expire. DUH?!?! In another thread someone suggested we acquire a veteran PF- why would anyone want to come here when our guards refuse to share the ball? I've got to believe Posey is going nuts at this point. He's a slasher who finds ways to get his points, but RT and the crew haven't figured this out. This simply ask him to jack up 3's like everyone else and this is not his strength. Let get the ball coming off screens and go to the basket. As long as we are a perimeter, guard oriented/dominated team we will continue to be inconsistent and have an overall poor shooting %. UNTIL THERE IS A COMMITMENT TO RUN OUR OFFENSE THRU YAO, WE WILL SEE THE SAME OLD CRAP!. Despite EG's shooting difficulties, I still think he can be an effective inside force if he gets the ball consistenly on the low block- he will establish his own sweet spot. RT should simply forbid him to jack up any more 3's. Opponents will pay him to take those shots. The YOUTH EXCUSE is wearing thin. C'mon RT, college teams are better coached The whole < sum of the parts. Rocket fans deserve better - it's no wonder attendance is lousy. At this point we are a disgrace. And, while I'm aggravated, WHY IS RICE STARTING? He brings absolutely no offense, is a defensive liablity, and can't rebound. His best use would be to bring him off the bench a la Bullard. Start Posey instead, and PLEASE GIVE BOKI A CHANCE. Dallas Rocket
Excellent observation Crash. I have the same take on this team. You will see flashes but nothing consistent and sustained in terms of success. Their talent may be enough to squeak into the playoffs but lottery is also possible. I have been VERY patient with this trio of Steve, Cuttino and Moochie, but it simply does not work for this team. I wanted to give Steve and Cuttino another chance in the backcourt this season and see if their lack of complementary styles somehow worked themselves out, but they simply do not. One of Steve or Cuttino has to go and be replaced by a SAVVY veteran that can get this offense flowing. Personally, considering Steve is far more talented and 3 yrs younger than Cuttino, I would trade Cuttino. This team does not necessarily have to move Francis to 2 guard, but a savvy veteran with excellent passing instincts and bball IQ that is a 2 guard would be a fine match for Steve (ie Brent Barry). Rockets03, You mentioned that it is ok for this team to go 21-20 in the first half as they could improve and go 25-16 in the second half. Just curious have you actually looked at the 2nd half schedule? The closing stretch of the schedule esp March is BRUTAL. If the Rockets are 21-20, the playoffs are going to be less than likely. They are in the midst of their cushiest stretch of scheduling and still have a relatively less than difficult schedule for the next month or so. After that, the schedule becomes brutal.
I have to agree with all this crash. I also think I have to pull back on the skepticism I've directed at Rudy in the past. I've said before that I think most of the credit for future improvement in the Rocket's play would have to go to individual player performances rather than coaching (which btw is an unfair criticism of Rudy, as this is the reality with just about any NBA team). But to be fair, it has to go both ways -- if the coach can't take too much credit, he can't take too much blame either. And right now, I feel more frustration at our team "leaders" on the court than anybody else. They just don't get it. It's partly a lack of savvy, and I think it's partly an unwillingness to defer to Yao. Yes, they could use more time to gel, and yes they may improve with more time. But still, I just think the "veterans" have not shown adequate improvement in playing smart team ball for the amount of time they've been playing. They have demonstrated flashes, but they just can't sustain it. It's as if it takes monumental effort in terms of mental exertion and suppressing their egos to play any kind of smart, team-oriented ball. It just doesn't come naturally to them at all. Which means that there's a ceiling to how smart (and in general how well) they can play -- regardless of time, regardless of coaching. On the other hand, Yao has proven that savvy team play comes naturally to him. Yes, he still makes mistakes and has problems, but there's just a sense that he will learn from those mistakes and from the coaches as well. Unfortunately, after several years, I have very little of that confidence in Steve/Cat/Moochie. Everyone's discussed the options to address this: moving Steve to the 2, getting a true playmaking point, acquiring any kind of heady backcourt player, running everything through Yao, giving them more time, Rudy seriously getting on Steve and Cat's asses, or replacing Rudy outright. I think the only thing that can be done realistically in the short term is like you said -- take away the responsibility of running the offense from Steve. He's had his chance. Mistakes are one thing, but recurring, unending lapses into boneheaded selfish play is another. For now, that means the responsibility goes to Yao. In the future, maybe we'll get the savvy guard who can help out in this respect. But the only way Steve can get that responsibility back is to earn it. Not by winning a game here and there by nailing a prayer 3, or some circus drive into traffic, but by smart -- rather than highlight-reel -- play. I hope Rudy does take some serious action like this, for the sake of his job. Because right now (and this is referencing another thread), my loyalty lies with Rudy. He brought us championships, he demonstrates the class, success, work ethic, and humility of this organization. But this new generation of Rockets (and I'm not including the newest additions, e.g. Yao, Boki, Griffin), I honestly can't give them any such credit -- and any such loyalty.
