It looks like Sura was only a starter for 2 seasons out of his 11 year career: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/bob_sura/career_stats.html One of those years was in Houston where we were had a seriously weak backcourt. I believe we had other options like old Charlie Ward, who succumbed to injuries, Moochie Norris, Marc Jackson and Rod Strickland as fill-ins throughout the year. I also remember Andre Barrett and Mike Wilks getting opportunites. Not all of the aforementioned guys may have played for us in 04-05 but that does help explain how Sura got a starting job after barely ever starting throughout his career, even during his peak years. Sura had injury problems but I don't think that has much to do with why he never became a regular starter. Regardless, it really shows how weak our PG position has been for such a long time that we are even considering Bob Sura as possibly the best PG we've had in the last decade. Apologies, in advance, to Sura fans.
KENNY. Paper: HOUSTON CHRONICLE Date: TUE 05/31/1994 Section: Sports Page: 2 Edition: 2 STAR FIRE AT WILL/Rockets' Smith making Jazz pay for leaving him open By JODY GOLDSTEIN Staff The way John Stockton plays defense, Kenny Smith knew he should have a big series against the Jazz. The Utah point guard is constantly leaving Smith open, opting instead to roam and help the big guys inside on Hakeem Olajuwon. The result -- a lot of open shots from the perimeter. "He plays the passing lanes great, and his job is to cause havoc on the defensive end," Smith said. "He gambles a lot on the defensive end. In gambling, the house doesn't always win." It didn't win Sunday. Smith had 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting, his second-highest scoring total of the playoffs. In the first game of the series, Smith connected on nine of 14 shots for 27 points. "Game 1, I got a lot of open looks," Smith said. "Game 2, they started to rotate to me a little quicker and I was still able to get some good looks at the basket and shoot a good percentage. Game 3, I thought they kept rotating a lot to our perimeter people. I just made concerted efforts (in Game 4) to take the shot a little quicker, and it opened things up early and I was able to get into the lane and do some other things." Games 2 and 3 were less impressive for Smith. He scored 10 points in Game 2 but took only five shots. In Game 3, he was only 1-for-5 with four points. He took only one shot from 3-point range, which he made. "It's very important that he continues to shoot," Otis Thorpe said. "He's one of our best outside shooters. He's got such composure out there. With Stockton roaming like he's roaming, it definitely opens things on the outside. Kenny sees what he's doing. He just has to take the shots. His shot was on in the game before (Game 3); he just didn't take many shots." The goal coming into Game 4 was to get the ball to Smith. "We know the key for Kenny is to be aggressive," Vernon Maxwell said. "John Stockton likes to gamble a lot, go for the steal. We have an offense called Carolina. We call that when he (Stockton) is down in the paint. It means get the ball to Kenny because he's open." The Rockets have lived and died by the 3-pointer this season. They've been a part of several playoff records, including the most 3-pointers made by two teams (Phoenix 12, Houston 10 on May 11) and the most 3-pointers attempted (28 against Phoenix on May 11). Smith has shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the playoffs (30 of 60). His total field-goal percentage is 47 percent. "He (Stockton) always seems to be around Dream, and Kenny's just out there floating by himself," Mario Elie said. "We did a good job of getting it out to him early. When he can do that, it opens things inside.' Smith has been sharing time with Sam Cassell most of the season. Smith has been the starter, Cassell the closer. But lately, the two have seen more time on the court together because Smith has been too hot to sit. Smith played 37 minutes Sunday afternoon, 41 in Game 1. He played only 23 minutes in Game 3 when he struggled offensively. "With me and Kenny on the court, you've got two good ball-handlers out there," Cassell said. "Either one of us can run the ball up the court and put us in our offense. We become a quicker team. Kenny is a great spot-up shooter. I tend to go to the side. I think my penetration helps us get easy shots." With Olajuwon sure to be the focus again tonight, Smith is preparing himself to again step up. He's confident about his shot. The key is simply to take it when afforded the opportunity. "The biggest thing I have to do is just be aggressive on the court," Smith said. "I just made a concerted effort to look for the shot a little more because it opens up when we spread the floor that way. The guys keep telling me to take shots because it opens things for everybody that way."
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: WED 11/03/1999 Section: Sports Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR Cassell hammers former club / Rockets, Francis can't handle guard; Bucks win opener By JONATHAN FEIGEN Staff Riches of talent, Charles Barkley had warned, could go only so far. Steve Francis, Barkley said, must learn how to play in the NBA. He would have to slow from 100 mph to a toll-road 75. He would have to accept that some guys are as gifted as he is. When all that fails - and it did - Barkley said Francis might just want to knock someone down. If nothing else, it might have slowed the Milwaukee Bucks. But then again, Tuesday night Sam Cassell probably could have scored from the seat of his pants, too. Cassell was so dominant Tuesday, he called former Rockets teammate Mario Elie from the locker room before the game to announce he would score 35, then hit it. Having offered Francis, the next San Jacinto College point guard in the NBA, all the lessons he could over the phone, Cassell moved Francis on to more advanced studies, carrying the Bucks to a 98-93 win in the season opener. After Cassell punished his former team with 35 points, the results of the arena referendum were coming in and the measure was routed even more handily, rendering the Rockets' future in Houston uncertain. And for the first time since 1995, tickets to Compaq Center went unclaimed, with just 14,491 on hand for the opener. With that sort of start to the season, perhaps Barkley's violence suggestion would have been worth trying. "If a guy's got 30 on me, I've got a flagrant (foul)," Barkley said. "Fifteen-for-20, we've got to do better than that." Besides making 15 of 20 shots, Cassell collected 11 assists. Francis was in many ways more in control than in most of the preseason, committing just two turnovers, but he made just four of 13 shots and was the closest defender to most of Cassell's blitz. "Everybody gets a lesson in the NBA," Cassell said. "I got mine from Kevin Johnson. But Steve will be all right. He can play, once he understands the game better." The Rockets were left hoping for similar growth. Francis might have been the Houston point guard, but Cassell often torched the Rockets as a whole, ducking around picks or finding cracks in the lane. "We have to do a better job with our defense," guard Shandon Anderson said. "When you have breakdowns offensively, your defense has to make stops." Though Cassell can be an offensive magician, there were times he didn't have to be. With the smallest of openings, he could quick-release jumpers while Francis worked his way around screens. "We had a hard time getting Sam under control," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "You can't just put the blame on the guy on him. He would turn the corner, and a lot of times our help wasn't there. And the guy made some really tough shots in traffic." His partner in the backcourt, Ray Allen, also found ways to knock down difficult shots, adding 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. But for all their defensive struggles and their occasionally ragged offensive execution against the Bucks' low-post double teams, the Rockets had all sorts of chances to pull out a win. Hakeem Olajuwon and Barkley combined to take only 15 shots, making nine for a combined 25 points. But the Rockets worked the ball well enough outside for six players to score in double figures. They were outstanding on the offensive boards, turning 15 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points. For a stretch of the first half, the Rockets even seemed to have mastered the Bucks' double teams. They had fallen nine back in less than six minutes. But Olajuwon began to pick apart the Bucks' double teams, setting up Francis, Anderson and Cuttino Mobley for 3-pointers, and passing to Mobley for a driving layup. In the last 4 1/2 minutes of the first quarter, the Rockets outscored the Bucks 17-6 and scored the first four points of the second quarter for an 11-0 run. But the Rockets never could solve the Bucks' wealth of offensive weapons. After falling behind by six in the fourth quarter, they made a move on the Bucks. Barkley grabbed an offensive rebound to set up Bryce Drew for a 3 and then slapped away a Tim Thomas break. The Rockets moved within two on a Kelvin Cato free throw. But Dale Ellis retrieved a blocked shot to fire in a 3, Cassell scored the next two times he touched the ball and the Bucks were rolling. The Rockets still had a chance with 2:12 left, Francis beat Cassell on the baseline and viciously slammed home a drive to pull the Rockets within 95-92. Olajuwon blocked a Glenn Robinson attempt in the lane. And after grabbing the loose ball, Francis was fouled. But Francis made just one of his free throws, allowing the Bucks to remain ahead by two. Olajuwon even provided another chance, forcing Allen to leave a driving jumper short. But the Rockets could not get a good shot. Francis had to toss up an off-balance 3 to beat the shot clock, and Olajuwon ran out of stops. Olajuwon fouled Robinson, who knocked down both free throws for a four-point lead. Francis missed a wide-open 3, and the Rockets were forced to foul and hope. But Cassell made one more free throw for a five-point lead and precisely the point total he had promised Elie three hours earlier.
Yes, Tinman, Kenny. Kenny was not an elite point guard in the championship years. Did he have some big games? Yes he did. But I just don't, and won't ever, think that Kenny was a point guard on whose play we should set the bar during those runs. I will give him credit for two good offensive seasons in the two seasons prior to 93-94 I'll always like him for his role in the Champ seasons (7-8 3 pointers comes to mind), but I just don't think he was that great. 93-94 Playoffs: 10.8 ppg 4.1 apg 94-95 Playoffs: 10.8 ppg 4.5 apg
Sura was good, better than what we got this year thats for sure. His heart was as big as anyone's including Francis. But Francis, had more talent than Sura and did much bigger things. Not to take anything away from Sura, But My vote has to go to the one they called the "Franchise".
I voted for Francis, obviously. Everyone else, maybe except Brooks would be a bench warmer on another team. Not to diss any of the other players, but that's what they were on the other teams. None of them were starters, except Francis. How was quality player.... Sura had alot of heart, very tough minded player, but he couldn't carry PG duties for an entire season.......he was a decent passer and an ok shooter. Like most of the other players, he had been a great number of teams, before reaching Houston and rarely started.
texanskan, i love this thread you created. now i can drop knowledge on people who don't know. so they'll know.
A healthy and young Bobby Sura on Cleveland and later in Atlanta was a very good player. Shared the backcourt at FSU with our friend Sam. The Rockets got Sura at the later part of his career, so some of you younger clutchfans who are googling nba.com are making some cliffnotes to the SAT judgment on his overall play. he was a pretty smart PG.
people who experienced the real clutch city are touched by the god's of basketball. the years of the dream were biblical in houston sports.
do you know if there's a same set of dvd's of th 95 championship series? looked for it but can't find one.
Just because a silly message board says I'm a rookie doesn't mean I wasn't around for the championship years. I just don't need a gay title to dictate how big a fan I am. That was just my poke of fun at the lifeless super-contributing members who have the message board as their default web page.
