(Since originally posting, I have written a Flash animation to illustrate a play we used to beat the Robinson/Elie switch...go here... www.artmovement.com/sa-switch.html enjoy) Now don't call me a hypocrite for bashing Mobley here. I prefer to call it honesty. When they guys sucks it up, I'm going to point it out. Here's the question for all you that watched the game: Why did Mobley suck so bad? San Antonio was ILLEGAL. Mobley drove into an illegal defense twice in the 2nd quarter alone. Mobley: that is stupid. It is your job to see that and point it out to the ref. He also had Robinson mismatched on the wing, and did not wait for the offense to set. He drove right away, while a man was in the lane. That wasn't illegal because we were still in transition. That is 3 drives into a man standing in the lane--2 illegal, one not. stupid! Rudy lost confidence the rest of the night. This is indicative of not seeing the court. He must improve on that. Another thing though, San Antonio played Cato differently than anyone else has. Cato was trying to draw Robinson out of the block (weak side). They didn't allow it. With Anderson in the corner weak side and Cato on the wing, Robinson and Elie simply switched. Elie took Cato and Robinson went into the low block. That is trouble people. Their center cannot stay in the low block if we put Cato on the wing. That pretty much shuts down our swing pass and the Mobley/Cato drive n dish. Mobley got some different looks, and failed miserably at picking it apart. Mobley is going to have to get better eyes and more patience in waiting for the clear-out to set. Plus, the defenses are starting to get creative in switching on Cato to allow their center to help on Cat drives. Rudy must respond to this. Damn, I wish Cato wasn't out, because there is no way Rudy lets Robinson switch with Elie two games in a row. Don't bash Mobley too much here. He is making the defenses think about the ISO and dish. Anytime a defense spends time adjusting to one of your plays, you have succeeded. Now we must adjust again. I expect Rogers to help out to a large degree. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited February 19, 2000).] [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited February 21, 2000).]
Something i noticed in the fourth quarter. He was match uped with malik Rose and couldnt score on him except once on a fadeway. What happened to your supposely quickest first step. he had a power foward on him .he even got the ball stolen while drving past him. Hopefully he dosent let that happen to him again. sad...
heypartner: Cat was doing the same things last year as a rookie, he continues to do it this year, and probably will continue in the future. He has a world of talent, no doubt about that, but when it comes to basketball smarts, cat skipped class.
You know guys; I don't want to hear it. Don't take offense, but there are other threads for "That's Mobley" critiques. This is really beginning to bore me. I study this team and report system changes and breakdowns. I'm trying to spark threads about bball plays. Don't respond unless you want to talk plays and contribute a little about the system. This isn't entirely about Mobley. This is about San Antonio being illegal, and the drive n dish being defended in increasingly creative ways. There is no one here that is going to tell me the Mobley/Cato combo did not force defenses to adjust. It is not that difficult to teach a man like Mobley to slow down and look for the illegal. He will adjust. The rest of the adjustment is in Rudy's hands. He must make the defense pay for leaving Cato when Mobley draws the double. I want to talk about the ISO play and the defensive adjustments teams are making. Isn't anyone out there wanting to talk about bball plays, system problems and solutions? Or does everyone just want to pick teams and favorite players and speculate on things we can't possibly know like trades and draft picks? Man, sometimes the BBS really bores me.
well im sorry to say but Mobley, system breakdowns, and plays dont go together. All mobley does is use his QUICK first step or shoot. Thats mobley's system.
wizard...spare me. Take it someplace else ok. I'll argue you into the ground on those remarks. But not in this thread. I consider this off-topic. Now show me some BBS etiquette and go find one of the infinite supply of mobley-bashing threads to give us that oft-heard mobley critique that is boring people to tears. Now--scat
that's pretty awful if what you said was true heypartner. I dint watch the game cause I just can't stand watching the rox get wupped. Since you watched the game Heypartner, what was the main reason we lost? turnovers? missed shots?
watch Sunday, There was a lot of bad things going on. I'm watching the tape for the second time. The SA defense is awesome, but they are often illegal. Especially when Cato is on the wing weak side. Anderson sucked as well on running the ISO play. He failed miserably twice in the first quarter. The ISO play took a beating, no matter who ran it. We did have some successful adjustments in the 1st quarter to get Cato some slams when Robinson left him. But the 2nd quarter was miserable. Reason why we lost: #1 SA's defense (legal or not), #2 our soft defense, #3 couldn't hit open shots, #3b ISO play was shut down, #4 Hakeem was lost in the offense in the 3rd q, ... game over ... no use mentioning the 4th. Anyone who wants to see how the Rockets can improve the most, watch the Sunday game and watch SA's well coordinated defensive rotation. We don't have that. Forget the offensive side of the ball, we suck at defense considering we have Anderson and Cato. Cato just gets lazy sometimes. While he had some great plays, yesterday, we got spanked to a 15pt gap before he woke up.
Fair enough heypartner ill talk bball and plays You are right mobley kept making a silly mistake into driving into san antonios D which was practically a zone half the time. the home team rarely gets called for an illegal D. the problem i think was mobley was A) Frustrated B) Trying to hard C) Not concentrating because he was struggling, his team was getting blown out, and he couldnt hit the J to save his life but he shouldnt have tried to drive on SA illegal D not to mention the two towers were there. Calvin Murphy said his jumper was a little flat. I like mobley alot and this goes for all young players on houston sometimes they get frustrated and try to hard. Back to plays, the play where cato would pop out for a dunk like in the first quater should have been tried much more often. It really would have been nice to see francis get some picks for an easy J by maybe pig miller. or even a double picks would be good. We could also run the same play for moochie too. Also we had no running game what so ever and san antonio is an old team so that really hurt us. It would have been nice to run more postups for shandon because he could have just kicked the ball out or give cato or someone a dunk if robinson or duncan came to help. i wish bullard would move more he could at least give a headfache then go for the J. I liked what kenny thomas was trying to do they would give him the ball at the 3 line or top of the key and he would make a strong move to the basket they need to look for him more. ------------------ --TEX
The reason Elie switched onto Cato on the wing - is cuz Cato isn't a threat out there. to combat that - maybe Cato should set a screen on Robinson for Shandon and Mobley passes it to Shandon. If Elie takes Shandon, Cato cuts to the basket and Anderson dishes. If Robinson tries to stay on Shandon(?), Shandon can either take a perimeter shot, drive it, or Cato could post up on Elie and draw a double- team from Robinson. It takes the ball out of Mobley's hands, but it gets a high percentage play and makes them pay for that style of defense. While I agree that the iso has been great for Stevie and Mobley, I think that we can't rely on it so much and expect ourselves to be successful long-term. The rockets should utilize screens and pick and rolls more. Shandon should post up more against other 2-guards. I would also love to see Francis post up agaist other pgs(I dont know how successful he would be, but id just love to see Francis trying to back it in). Isos do have their place though - when plays breakdown, for changes of pace, or to take advantage of a strong mismatch.
Did you guys see how pissed Calvin Murphy got at the end of the second quarter? Cuttino could of had a open shot but passed the ball to cato for a three which he airballed. That is what you call stupidity.
Thanks guys, TexasSalsa,,,yeah I never saw one double pick for Francis, nor the usually double picks for Walt, Bullard and Dream for a 17'er. We did have some nice plays in the 1st quarter though. SA shot 60% in the 1st, what can you do! TS and Crisco, As for the Shandon post-up, it looked like the game plan was to post up Porter, whoever he guarded. He guarded Walt and Shandon. We posted him about 5-6 times successfully before the 2nd q run by SA. With that said, I demand Rudy let Francis post Avery, dammit. Crisco, let me say something quick about the wing ISO for Mobley/Anderson. This play is designed to get Cato and Rogers to the rim because Mobley can always get around his man creating a double-team situation, and Anderson can outsize some sg and outstep some sf. The defenses are getting more creative in doubling Mobley w/o losing sight of Cato. I look for this to regain its effectiveness when Rogers comes back. Miller, Thomas and Dream just seem to mishandle the dish too often are don't even find the seem. Miller definitely is not comfortable enough in the plays to have him dashing to the rim at the right time. This ISO is a set play. The dish is a major feature of it. It isn't by chance that Cato gets a lot of slams.
Why does Francis sit out most of the second quarter? That really is stupid, its like he plays 2 quarters and thats it. Also I think the wizard should play more because his shot is good right now and we could use some more points because some of the players are having a hard time shooting.
Yeah, I love seeing Cato get those open slams(one of the few times he scores ). It seems to me though that the iso is our #1 option, and while that is our strength right now, I hope that changes in time. I dont think we can win a championship when we have to rely on the iso most of the time. Even though the iso is a set play, I think it could be done successfully on the fly when plays break down, if the players know each other well enuff. The iso should be used in crunch time as well. I just wish we would utilize other set plays more too. That would make the Rocks so much more multidimensional and harder to guard cuz no one would know whats coming next.
heypartner, I'll ask this question about the ISO play and the Robinson-Mario switch. Why don't they change it slightly and tell Anderson to clear out if SA switches? Then, tell Cat to ask for the illegal defense call since the Admiral won't be within 12 ft of anybody? Mango
Another play i like to see run is a play when we spread the D out alot by having francis bring the ball up and 3 guys spread out on the 3 line. im not sure its set but heres what happens -francis penetrates and dishes to bullard -bullard to shandon or someone else -shandon or walt or cat in the corner who FAKES the three drives in layup or dishes off to big man for layup, dunk etc. - even if he doesnt go all the way he could settle for a baseline J. ON THAT NOTE that is the one thing i never ever see rocket players take baseline J's. sure one may take one once in a while but itd be nice if they pulled up for one to keep the D honest. not just baseline Js but mid range jumpers in general. calvin murphy siad the rockets like 3s or to go inside. well SA took both away and guess what happened. thats why iverson is such an awesome scorer cuz he can drive to the basket or hit the midrange J. thats exactly why we need more picks and double picks for stevie franchise. btw i think walt williams should take it to the basket more often. he may not look it but i think he is very solid at driving and finishing or even getting a foul. he in my opinion should be kept and develop his game other than one dimension (all those 3s) o yah does anyone know that play when shandon gives francis an allyoop? what if cato worked the pick and roll with someone picking his man for the slam? that proly has been done but i think they should run it more often! also a few give and goes would be nice just dont pass it to hakeem. i love him but his timing/passing looked so off last night. also a note on last night we played the poorest transition D i have ever seen. also they have a nice play where walt pops out at the top of the key for a J not a 3 that seems to work when run wish they would use that.
Hey, i dont know why you guys are bashing mobley so hard. He is the highest scoring 6th man in the league. Most teams would love to have the cat on their team. You cant possibly tell me that mobley was the only one playing poorly. Every player makes mistakes, but you guys are just picking out mobley. Why dont you comment on francis's turnovers or Olajuwon's fatigue or walt williams's poor shooting this year. The point is that you are picking the smallest little things and blowing it up into something huge. Make those comments about mobley the next time he puts up big numbers.
TSals I would like to see the Rocks get plays to hit open mid-range jumpers too(a-la Allen Houston). And Wiz should pump and drive it more often. he needs to learn that he aint as stiff as Bullard
im not bashing mobley. mobley is my 2nd fav rocket after stevie. a few others tried to turn this thread into another "i hate mobley trade him" but me heyparter, crisco, mango, francis3, and a few others are trying to actually discuss the topic at hand. another comment on plays. we often look only to hakeem to make a postup moves. for everyone who says "all cato can do is dunk" we really dont give him a chance to show his offensive repetoire. he has a nice jump hook, but needs to work on his J. the jump hook is a tough shot to block wish he would use it more. ditto for carlos rogers. personally i think trading mobley would be a terrible move, i think mobley could be a specialy player with superstar potential. i had better not say anymore otherwise the mobley bashers will come out and say how bad he plays and how reckless and dumb he is. and rezdawg is absolutely right mobley was one of many rockets playing poorly. haha crisco bullard is pretty stiff. wish theyd start kenny T. bullard is a nice guy to come off the bench. ------------------ --TEX [This message has been edited by TeXaSalsa (edited February 19, 2000).]
