gradyr : They are very nice pics, I love them. Can I ask what kind of Camera you used (brand and model) because I need to upgrade my canon ps which sucks. Thanks.
That Rice dunk was impressive- he got up, put it home and was down the floor. The crowd really liked that one. Good Photo!
Sure, but I used a Canon Powershot S10, which, although I'd like a more powerful zoom and more megapixels, doesn't suck.
Okay I attended the practice as well and here is what stood out… First the positives Collier was most impressive possibly the best unexpected showing of all the rockets… He had a nice stroke… hustled on D, completed a couple of serious slams (one of them almost Cato like and looked quicker than usual, Right now I think he could start for more than few NBA teams… he will get some of Cato’s minutes… Mo Taylor looked solid… he has such a sweet touch and can finish when he gets the ball close to the basket, either with a slam finger roll or layup… He seems to be able to score at will… He also is a wide body in the middle and can box out and hold his position also his rebounding effort looked good. Glen Rice also looked solid… he concentrated more on his inside game in practice and took it to the basket with confidence… He will begin the season as are starting three and that will be an improvement from anyone we had last year… even if KT was healthy I would still start Rice granted he is slight liability on defense but it doesn’t look to be a major problem especially when he hustles… If Glen plays like he did this practice and the preseason I think we are solid at the 3 spot. Boki is going to be a player… His last two steps to the basket are as quick as anyone… He reminds me of KT in that respect… Great find at the 15 spot.and probably a perfect fit for the Rockets.. He will only get better and his our future starting 3 with Tmo showing much improvement this season we could be set their for years to come Eddie Griffin is the silent assassin he just seems to not be there and then comes around and blocks a shot grabs a rebound he had a solid practice but you hardly even noticed him on the court also I think Eddie is a gamer, he steps it up a notch for the games… Yao Ming is such a presence in the middle you have to think about your shot when you go up against him… He seems to be very comfortable in his new Rocket uniform and his new teammates Cato slammed on him one time and Yao kind of sneered at him in a friendly competitive way… He will only get better! Mobley was playing hard on D always looking for the open man and not worrying about scoring. Tonight he ran the motion offense better… Moochie has so much energy and it’s good to see him back As a team everyone seems to get along with each other… Mo Taylor and Glen Rice Seem to have aura of Leadership around them more so than Steve… The motion offense looked much better tonight than it did against Philadelphia and I think it will only get better and even though their were only a few thousand people in the stands their was an air of excitement about our Rockets. One thing that really stands out in both practice and the preseason is that this Rocket team is deep, Cato Rice Griffin Mobley Francis against Ming , MoT , Boki, Hawkins and Moochie and you still have Tmo and KT on the sidelines and Collier is turning out not to be a slouch like many people on this bbs might suggest… Also this team is full of athletes and scorers I mean at times during the scrimmage they were scoring at will… Now the Negatives Non of our guards will ever be confused with John Stockton or even Mike Bibby… They don’t seem to know how to find the open man… The NBA game is so fast and you only have a split second to connect on an assist or find that open man through a slight seam… I don’t know if that is something you can learn but gut feeling is you maybe get a little better over time and practice but if you weren’t born with that Magic, Nate, Cousy instinct you will never have it. Stevie is never going to be a high assist point guard and can be okay with that if he can get just a little better because right now he appears to be bad… Stevie may not be a point guard he doesnot know how to find Ming… are Griffin… it’s as if he has a couple players he trust and those are the ones he will pass it to if he has not decided to keep it himself… I like Stevie and he is such a talented athlete and he may get over this hurdle but it was still very obvious in practice scrimmage. Yao Ming still looks lost out there… He still is learning the plays and the defenses… But he plays with a passion and suspect a few weeks with the Rockets will do wonders for him… the fans love Yao everytime he touches the ball Colon Pine looks lost out there… I think his job will soon be reassigned as Yao’s bag boy… At one time in the practice one of the Rockets looked at him as if he was in the way… Yao doesn’t seem to need him much anymore KT did not practice but was icing his thumb and watching and T Mo was a no show… Tierre is probably not needed and Tito is a project although he looked better in practice than he has in the games… also Hawkins hustles on D but doesn’t have a consistent shot Okay st that’s my observation after practice I got to ask Cat a question about with all the scorers on the team how were they going to distribute the ball to everyone and he said that would not be a problem … He said him and stevie talked about it and they don’t shoot as much they just want to do whatever it takes to make the playoffs this year… He doesn’t expect to score 22 points a game this season or shoot 17 shots a game as long as the win and they make it to the playoffs he will be happy… On a side note I think Cat is really a cool Cat and probably more of a leader for the team… And actually all of the Rockets just seem really cool with no big egos even stevie…
Boki takes really long strides when he goes for layups. There were times that he would take off around 8-10 ft and finish with a layup. I think Ming was taking it easy though. He wasn't being physical in the practice compared to the games. But Collier, the guy is a monster.
went to the practice as well, cool to sit so close to the players but it might spoil me for when i go to the cheap seats. anyways defense was played but not to many shots were challenged that hard, probably to prevent injuries. alot of slams and the only block i can remember was from boki. not one iso(everyone moves to the side) play in the whole practice, in fact i don't think mobley and steve took more than 15 shots between them if that. standouts: nachbar - really looked good on the drive, had a couple slams and looks to be improving. his shot still wasn't falling, even airballed one, but again cut through the defense more than once for layups. collier - went right by ming on one drive and dunked "on him" when he came over to help. again not much challenging going on by either side though. hustled extremely hard, pulled down the rebounds well. mo taylor - had that little mid-range shot working but really dominated the ball in the first 6-minute period. on one play he made a nice crossover turnaround jumper. the rest: yao ming- alot of teaching for him, rudy came out on the floor and showed him some stuff about picking. he really wasn't involved at all on either end. moochie fed him a couple of great passes in the halfcourt for easy layups and that was it. should be noted for like the 100th time that his legs are about twice the size of anyone elses and actually i thought his upper body was alot more developed in person. yes he is still very thin up-top but it shouldn't be that big of a deal. glen rice - hit a few jumpers but being a veteran and who he is, nothing really jumped out at me. while they were shooting around he swished some shots that looked like they missed the net. amazing touch. eddie griffin - like rice, didn't really standout, mainly because he didn't try and be too agressive defensively as in a real game. no blocks and he let a few layups go by. hit 2 or 3 15 footers but missed 2 or 3 three's as well. that little j is getting close to mo t quality.
My wife and I went there as well. It was a lot of fun, anyone who passed on it should regret it. Collier surprised the hell out of us, but Cato continued to surprise me (as he has done all preseason). He took a nice midrange jumper with no hesitation. It looked like he had good form too. Then at the other end a few plays later he had the ball in the paint with a couple of guys around him. He proceeds to bust a spin move that looked almost as fast as Kenny's and got the ball to the hoop. Cato still should be classified as a defensive center, but he's going to surprise some opponents who take him lightly this year. As others have said, Collier is an offensive center, and he showed it tonight. I was in awe, but I guess we've never seen him healthy before? The man has skills - and more dunks than anyone else in the scrimmage. Mooch looked great and played with passion. He pushed the ball hard, and if he had a step or was even with anyone on the break, they couldn't stop him. It's funny how he plays - he leads with his head and even does fakes with his head. He also faked Stevie out of his shoes a couple of times in a row. As others have said, Boki and MoT looked much better than they have lately. Unlike the games, Boki was finishing off his drives and MoT was making almost everything. I really can't believe the talent we are going to have on the bench on this team, whether it is MoT and Rice or Griffin and Kenny and Boki. Those who got to the practice early were able to watch the Rockets do some drills. They seemed to be doing some much needed work on breaking the press and pushing the ball. The focus seemed to be on getting the ball to Boki or Rice in the right corner. The games were a lot of fun to watch. They didn't do much shooting from the perimeter, and didn't do much posting up. It was mostly motion plus playing the two-man game from the elbow from what I saw. That's where Boki was doing his drives from (well, maybe more on the wing). One other thing I noticed was in the third game or so they had about five posessions in a row where all the shots were dunks. I don't know if our offense is that good or our defense is that bad though... Btw, Rockets03 - I think my wife and I were standing behind you when we were waiting for the doors to open. I just wasn't sure it was you. Were you in the second line from the left about 5 people from the door?
Old Man Rock, What did you mean by the above quote? Players were listening to them more? Or were they more intent on leading by directing traffic on the court?
I might have seen you. Did you see a stocky bald guy about 5'7''? I was there with my little brother and my friend Andrew (wheelchair).
I was at the scrimmage also. It wasnt too bad, a bit short but enjoyable. I met Jeff and Dave? (the guy that does the wallpaper) while waiting outside. Cool guys to talk to. When they let the fans come in, they were still doing some practice, showing set plays here and there, having TMo on the bicycle, and teaching Yao a few more plays. Saw Jeff getting courtside seats for knowing some "inside" people in the organization (damn you Jeff! )Afterwards, they went back in the lockers for about 10 mins, introduced every player out of the tunnel as if they were the starters. Then they started the scrimmage. Everybody played like they were expected but the standouts had to be Boki and Collier. Boki had the best drives to the basket. He cut 2 defenders for a layup and played some great defense, which included a block on Francis. Collier just went nuts. It seemed like he wanted to make a statement to the coaches. He played defense pretty well, and was aggresive on the offesive end. He even drove to the basket and got fouled. Afterwards, they had the photo and autograph session. My cousins and I didnt recieve a sheet of paper to attend any of them. They did though, had a Q & A with Mobley at one section of the court. I asked the last question with "Whats the difference in playing a regular season game and a playoff game?". I know its a lame question but pretty much every other question has already been asked. Cat answered something like "Its much more intensive. The crowd is louder and larger, you are playing for more than anything, its nothing like it." Then they said to look forward to going to the playoffs this year. Not a bad time. I wanted to purchase tixs for Hakeem's retirement gig, but there was a line and people took FOREVER and I had to go. Ill just get it later in the week. I managed to find myself and my cousins in those pictures.
<img src="http://www.zerozero8.com/tip_off_01.jpg" width="500"> rocketeer and I had a blast. He took a bunch of pics and I got one of him with Eddie. I spoke to Eddie and Mo T. The players were HILARIOUS on the floor. Mobley was called for a foul on Taylor and he looked in shock. When Taylor went to the line, the conversation went jokingly like this... Cat: "Mo? Hey, Mo? You allright, man?" Mo: --looks over-- Mo: "Yeah, man, you hammered me." (smilling) Cat: "Oh, ok. Just checking." Glen Rice was set up under the basket letting fans take freethrows at the end. He was cracking jokes with people and having fun. I was told that Eddie, Taylor, Rice and Collier did not have to come back on the floor afterward. They weren't set up to do autographs like Moochie, Yao, Francis and others. But, they came out on their own just to mingle with and talk to the fans. Really cool. The practice was a lot of fun.
"that little j is getting close to mo t quality." Big M on Eddie Griffin. Can you even imagine how good he'd be if this were true? Let's say he perfects the jumper over this season and the offseason, while adding 10 or 12 lbs till then. Just having 30 minutes per game on the court for the whole season will fix any "young player" kinks in his game. Hopefully Ming will have all the plays down within a month, hits the rookie wall in early January, starts to shake it off some time in February, and has a whole rookie season's worth of experience going into the playoffs. Hopefully, he doesn't play more than 28 minutes a game during the season so he can be OK during the playoffs. We do, apparently, have enough quality at C to control his minutes. I'm so incredibly excited about this upcoming season. But I'm very worried that by keeping KT, we're going to cause everyne problems. He'll complain about minutes, and it will hinder team chemistry. We really don't need him and he's not going to play significant minutes anyway. Rice and T-Mo have BOTH exceeded everyone's preseason expectations BY FAR. Boki gets the rest of the minutes to get comfy and develop. At the 4, Griffin is being called a stud, and Mo is looking like he was never out. Basically, if we squeee out a few minutes here and there, KT can get 9 minutes or something when ONE player is INJURED. Imagine that.
