I was watching tonight's game and had recently looked at some tapes I had of some other games this year and I got to thinking that there are really 4 players who start the offense: Francis, Mobley, Thomas and Norris. They are the only guys who consistently get the ball to start the offense. Three of them get it up top and Thomas gets it in the post. Looking and Norris and Francis, you get what you expect - 6 assists per game. You could ask for a little more from Francis, but he is a primary scorer as well so his game is geared as much to set himself up as it is to set up others. However, Mobley and Thomas assist at 2.9 and 1.6 per game respectively. Now, I watched closely tapes from several games just on this point and I found that neither player gives the ball up even when there are situations where they are forced into nearly impossible shots or where teammates are standing WIDE open. Part of this is a learning process - learning to read defenses, learning to give up the ball - but part is a mentality. They are guys who, once they get the ball, don't want to give it up because they are scorers. Personally, I don't have a problem with it all that much. Mobley is a dynamic offensive player and deserves the right to jack up a few now and again. Thomas has great footwork and can often get open for shots. What I find a bit annoying is that they both have a tendency to ignore other players and this creates problems for the offense. Rudy likes to milk situations and if one of those guys is playing well, he'll keep working the play. However, unlike guys like Drexler and Olajuwon and Barkley, neither of them seem to be as creative outside of shooting the ball. If there was one thing you could count on from the Big Three of years past was that they would always keep an eye out for a teammate and would not hesitate to give the ball up if that teammate had a better shot. The opposite seems to be true for Mobley and Thomas. Maybe it is because they are not as adept at reading a defense as the Big 3 were or maybe it is because they are single-minded in their pursuit of the basket. Whatever the case, because they often start the Rockets offense with the ball in their hands, they are responsible for not only scoring but providing scoring opportunities for the team as a whole. I talked about trust in a thread recently. I still believe that but I also believe that Cat and KT aren't often willing to let the ball get out of their hands not because they don't trust their teammates to score but because they don't trust their teammates to get it back to them. This is not to say they are unselfish, but keeping your head up and looking for EVERY opportunity even if that is an opportunity for someone else is a key fundamental aspect of the game of basketball.
Mobley is a selfish player by nature, and KT is one because he is playing for a contract. Watch...KT will NEVER pass to EG....it is freaky. DD
You do know this is the primary reason people have been b****ing about Mobley for the past year, right? He's a phenomenal talent who continues to make some bad decisions. We like to blame it on youth, but this is his 4th year now..
KT definitely needs to give the ball up more. He does a great job with his headfakes and drives, but after he runs into 2 or 3 defenders around him ... he needs to find an open man instead of settling for some bull**** shot.
Jeff, as a sometime lurker and reader, I have read several of your posts, all have been exceptionally good. I put the blame of the "black holes" at the feet of any coach, for the coach controls how the players jell and compliment each other. FREDTERP
Thanks, Fred, but the problem with passing the ball is that a player has to be committed to do it AND be able to read the defense. Mobley isn't committed and KT doesn't know how to read defenses. In KT's defense, he hasn't really gotten the playing time or attention that he has this year so it is a bit unfair to expect him to understand. It took Olajuwon about 8 or 9 years to learn to read NBA defenses and there were no zones at the time. Different players have different skills when it comes to passing and not all of them do it well. It takes a knowledge of angles and good anticipation. Mobley has the skills and the knowledge to pass. He just doesn't make good decisions. KT doesn't really know how to read a defense and where to look. Ultimately, the players have to take the time to learn the situations. A coach can't fix all their problems. He can only put them in the right situations and hope they do what they are supposed to do.
I think right now, the best passer on our team is Morris, he's the most unselfish player on the team. One of the things that I like about Griffin, is that he's very decisive. He either shoots it as he gets it, dribbles it (rarely), or passes it. KT and Moochie, and to a lesser extent Francis and Mobley, will hold the ball hold the ball or dribble in place so much. Walt also does that-when he gets the ball, if he starts to dribble he's going to shoot it. I feel Mobley isn't a selfish player by nature-he just tries to do too much. He doesn't feel comfortable letting his team's fate going into someone else's hands. This is not to say he's selfish, more to say he's not a smart B-Ball. It seems that KT has been getting more into this tunnel vision as Griff's started turning up the heat. KT probably feels the heat, and is trying to become more than he is. After all, he was expecting to get the starting PF role last year, then MoTay was suddenly signed. Then when the guy in front of him goes out, and he has the role, all of a sudden some teenage rookie comes along, and is considered part of the franchise's future.
well when you're shooting 25% from the field (21% as a starter)then you better damn well be unselfish and pass the ball.
Ultimately, the players have to take the time to learn the situations. A coach can't fix all their problems. He can only put them in the right situations and hope they do what they are supposed to do. Hope, I guess will hope we win the game. If that's the way he's thinking then the rockets have the wrong coach out there. What we have here is a failure to communicate effectively to your players. The Rockets need to hire somebody to come here and teach this team how to play team basketball and to trust each other. Once this is accomplished along with some tenacious D, then this team will start to soar. This team will always be average as long as Rudy is coaching.
yeah...rudy's never been able to get a team to play team basketball, at its full potential and to play great defense.
<B>Ultimately, the players have to take the time to learn the situations. A coach can't fix all their problems. He can only put them in the right situations and hope they do what they are supposed to do.</B> I agree with this, but it almost seems that Rudy encourages these players to keep doing what they do. Or if he tells them otherwise, they completely and totally ignore him. Either way, that's a problem. He needs to start teaching again, similar to the way a college coach talks to players when they come out of games. I have no doubt that he CAN do it... It just doesn't seem that he's willing, for whatever reason. If Mobley iso's a couple of times and actually does score against a triple team (and he's so good it will work occassionally), and Rudy says "good job", that will just encourage Mobley to do it again.
I have no doubt that he CAN do it... It just doesn't seem that he's willing, for whatever reason. If Mobley iso's a couple of times and actually does score against a triple team (and he's so good it will work occassionally), and Rudy says "good job", that will just encourage Mobley to do it again. I don't think he can do it. How many more years do you want to wait. I can put money on it that next year we will be talking about same thing.
I don't think KT passes it to anyone. As soon as that dude gets the ball he is gonna do that ugly move where he holds the ball forward with both hands and takes about 5 steps through the lane. He plays like a football player.
IIRC, in that article in the Chronicle, Rudy said that giving the ball to Cuttino or Francis in iso is their MAIN plan versus the new defensive rules. So if Cuttino isn't or can't make a good decision, either a.) he's gotta learn or b.) Rudy should change the plan. I'm not sure how long Rudy is giving for options a.) or b.) or if he is choosing c.) keep on losing.
Not a bad thread, however i feel obligated to point out that you Mention 3 players that were part of the NBA 50. i will never be upset about my man Mobley being compared to one of those guys, however realize that you were a bit spoiled by having those 3. to expect a good player, but certainly not one of the top 100 all time(in mobley) to have the same court vision and instincts as drexler. come on. your smarter than this. I am not taking away from your post in that there is much truth to it. however let KT have more than 1 season starting before you judge him. also for a shooting guard, 3 assists is pretty good. its I am willing to bet near average. there are guys with many more assists, but those 2 Guards dont have good passing PGs like moochie and Steve. Cuttino is a pure shooting guard. he is not a Kobe like player nor is he like vince. he is more like Ray Allen. whom i belive gets 4 assists per night. ok ive typed enough dribble. just my observations, but i like yours as well PEACE
Jeff, Great Thread.... But, you forgot to mention 1 player... Walt Williams. Although je is not a main focus he is still a Big Problem. Walt is another player who has never seen a bad shot. And he has no excuses for not passing the ball...
Statistical validation. From NBA.com: Team Rankings (out of 28 teams) Assists 1.Minesota:25.969 28.Houston:18.091
