I don't understand why Rudy stuck with Bullard in the fourth quarter. He was getting torched by whoever he guarded. This is the first Rocket's game I have watched all year and I was wondering if he sticks with this lineup in the fourth or did he run it because stevie was out? ------------------
I was just about to post this. Bullard absolutely SUCKED in the 4th. Sean Elliot was dribbling circles around him, driving past him, stepping back, nailing jumpers in his face. At one point Derek Anderson saw that Bullard was guarding him so he called off Duncan, faked a drive stepped back and knocked down a J in his face. I know that the idea was for Bull to step in and hit a couple of 3's, but the fact is, he couldn't guard a middle schooler out there. At least Walt was doing an okay job on Elliot even though he finished with 1 point. It got so bad that Rudy had to resort to Langhi. This was very disturbing, and Bullard should've been taken out waaaay earlier. Bullard should not be playing important 4th quarter minutes because the other team will exploit the matchup every time. BTW, this is my 100th POST!!! ------------------ "Oh No..." -Bill Walton in 97 just before Stockton's buzzer beater
Man, Bullard gets torched by anybody he guards. Against the Kings, even Scott Pollard made it seem like he was the next coming of Hakeem when Bullard was guarding him. Pollard aside, there have been countless others to destroy Bullard... Sean Elliot is only added to this overwhelming number. I was thrilled to see Langhi get some Pt FINALLY. It seemed Elliot had a bit more trouble with Langhi than Bullard, but Elliot still scored on him. I cant wait till Langhi gets stronger + gains experience. I'm tired of Bull canceling out anything we do on offense by lettin his man completely do him. But I suppose we should have given poor old Bull some defense, but it's not too good when you have to give a double team on Sean Elliot. That putback jam was sweet tho. ------------------ da ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence - alaskanSnowman
Sorry, but the stats don't support your negative opinions of Bullard. He came into Q4 at the 6:02 mark with the Rockets down 71-62 and was matched against Elliot who had had 4 points (all long shots) and 1 assist during the next 3:56 before Matt was lifted for Langhi (who was also the victim of an Elliot deep 2 pointer). The Rockets were down 82-72 when he left the game. Bull was back on D to stop a Porter fast break and had Martin in a mismatch when Martin hit a deep 2. He took no shots. I would suggest you look at the Rockets inability to stop Tim Duncan who "torched" Cato, Dream, and KT for 10 points during the 4thQ. Thats 10 for Duncan & 4 for Elliot. May I suggest a little objectivity on your parts? ------------------ GATER
austinite...Rudy plays Bullard in the 4th according to the score and/or matchups. Let's take last night. You are down by 10 points with 3:30 left. Walt is sucking, and SF is out. Walt isn't guarding anyone. What do you do? Put in a no offense man in Shandon, or Bullard "for 3". Last night, S.A. didn't go for it, and Bullard was isolated. Either Shandon or Walt need to step up some offense. Shandon shows no confidence in his shot, and Walt isn't making anything. IMO, playing MN, SF, and CM is the solution until SA or WW start delivering something. But notice we didn't have SF, last night. Bullard playing is a sign that we have a visible weakness. Yelling at Rudy for playing him is just going to frustrate you, imo. Get used to it.
I can't stand Bullard's game -- flat out. Stats or no stats -- bull got torched in the fourth by no less than 3 spurs -- Rose, Elliot, and Anderson. It wouldn't be fair to blame the loss on him but facts are facts. This guy has never been able to move his feet on d, position himself for a defensive rebound, dive for a loose ball, or prevent anyone from absolutely blowing by him on a drive to the hole. I can not understand what this stiff is doing in the game during the fourth quarter stretch when we have players Thomas, Cato, sometimes Taylor and Williams on the bench. Can someone explain this to me? I'm all ears and very open on this one........ (to answer your question austinite -- bullard has been getting alot of time in the fourth -- this is not a situation unique to last night) ------------------
HeyP I'm more partial to a Mo KT Dream line up than putting Bullard in that long I mean . .. if we can run Mooch, SF, CM, Sa and Bull why not Mooch Cm Kt Mo and Dream? Would Elliot have torched KT too ., . But I think letting KT Bang elliot on the other end would have seen some things bear fruit Rocket River ------------------
kissofdeath - I've seen that logic before. Don't confuse we with the facts, my mind is made up. What part of my (or HP's) reasoning eludes you? Perhaps 4 points and 1 assist is a "torching" in your neighborhood. When Duncan gets 10 over Dream, Cato, and KT - that's NOT a "torching"? Bullard was NEVER matched against Rose and had to pick up DA once in transition. You will enjoy the Rockets games alot more if you keep your predjudices in check and keep an open mind. ------------------ GATER
You're right Gater, Sean Elliot is just as dangerous as Duncan. Guarding Elliot is just as hard as guarding Duncan. Face it, the Spurs were having their way with Bullard. It is an automatic mismatch every time he's on the floor and the other team is stupid not to exploit it. ------------------ "Oh No..." -Bill Walton in 97 just before Stockton's buzzer beater
Man y'all are tough on the Bull for no reason. You need to blame Rudy T, not Matt. We know what Bullard can do: hit the 3ball, and as a result open up the lanes if a big man is guarding him. We also know that he's big (6'10"), relatively old, and slow. Defensively he can guard only 4s and small 5s, and even then he's not great at it. So, there's no reason he should be guarding Elliot on the perimeter. Would you ask, for instance, Sam Perkins to guard Elliot? Would you ask Moochie to guard Shaq? Not if you don't want your ass handed to you. ------------------ "Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks www.clutchtown.com
Ummm....Bullard and Elliot play the same position, SF. Bullard is too weak to guard PF's and C's and to slow to guard SF's. Maybe we could stick him on the trainer or the waterboy. ------------------ "Oh No..." -Bill Walton in 97 just before Stockton's buzzer beater
right on Gator. guys,,,if you want to argue about Bullard playing in the 4th, and even claim you want to figure out why, please don't rewrite history. Walt got most the 4th quarter minutes last night. Bullard replaced him late cause Walt wasn't producing or guarding anyone either. We are talking about one position. It is either Walt, 3 guard line-up, or Bullard. We are not seeing Bullard playing PF in the 4th, unless injuries and Mo foul trouble forced it. It is like we see Bullard at PF a lot last year due to infinite injuries and some in the 2nd Q this year (because we had two injured back-up centers so KT has to play center) and maybe once in the 4th Q this year because of injuries, yet we say it is happening all the time. It is NOT. This has little to do with choosing Bullard over Mo, KT, Cato, Dream being on the bench. I don't like Bullard in the 4th AT ALL either. But, don't rewrite history. There are people who don't see the Rockets and rely on this board for facts. The fact is: Bullard does not see PF time in the 4th unless Rudy is absolutely forced to do it. And last night, he played SF because Francis was out (no 3 guard option) and Walt sucked. ...carry on! [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited December 20, 2000).]
I must admit i was also very disappointed with Bull's defense. Sadly, our opponent has taken advantage of bull's lack of defense many times this year. Aganist the kings it was pollard, against the warriors it was some loser, and again the sonics it was the real mcoy. Something needs to be dont about bullard. I hope langhi gets more playing time, he has some MONSTER hops. That slam he had was INCREDIBLE. I wanna see more of him and less of the bull although the bull ain't all that bad. kiss of death--- Bullard has dived for a loose ball many times. Yesterday,for example, he dived for the ball on a rebound and put his body on the line, and forced the admiral into kicking the ball. It is these kinds of plays that makes him near and dear to every rocket fan's heart. ------------------
HeyPee, you're right. Bullard doesn't see alot of PF time in the 4th. He plays center, instead. Seriously, I don't see every game, but I catch alot of them. And a lineup I've seen alot in the 4th is 3 guards (Francis, Mobley, Moochie) along with a forward (Walt, KT, or Mo Taylor) and Bullard. So either Bull or the other forward is defending the other team's center. I'm not saying that it works well, defensively, but it does free up the lanes for the guards to drive on offense. ------------------ "Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks www.clutchtown.com [This message has been edited by SamCassell (edited December 20, 2000).]
Sam, I'm saying all those times are injury forced, to coincide with Mo in foul trouble or resting early in the fourth. The 3 guard lineup with KT and Bullard is unfortunate, but Rudy tries to limit that to only rest periods in the 2nd and early 4th. It is exaggerated to claim otherwise. When Cato and Collier are fully back, we won't see it. Bullard will only get Walt rest time. Langhi is not ready, imo. The biggest defense of Rudy and Bullard is that Bullard and KT are our BEST pickers and smartest players for knowing the system. Slow-motion reveals this. They always move with a purpose and set useful screens. We run our best motion when KT and Bullard are in the game. Unfortunately, we haven't had a freaking backup center to play with them in the second and early 4th. You know Bullard only got 8 minutes last night until Walt absolutely got pulled by Rudy. [This message has been edited by heypartner (edited December 20, 2000).]
HeyPee, you're right about the picks. I saw some god-awful picks being set last night by Taylor and (especially) Cato. Lackadaisical would be kind. Of course we also had guys clogging the lane when our guards were penetrating. I don't know whether it was poor offensive philosophy or lazy play on that issue. I'd love to see a real center in there in the 4th quarter. Heck, a real defensive SF would help, too. Bullard was put in a position to fail, after Walt was (rightly) yanked. Our option at that point would normally be to insert Shandon for his D, but the Spurs play 2 similarly offensively talented swingmen in Anderson and Elliot. Langhi is not ready, I agree, and even if he was his MO is not defense. ------------------ "Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks www.clutchtown.com
Bullard does what he can with what he has. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a lot. He has a good outside shot, but must be wide open. He passes well, doesn't turn the ball over and can rebound because he knows how to get position. However, he is a big liablilty on defense and can do little offensively if not left alone. Walt on the other hand is an enigma. He was pathetic most of the year last year, was incredible at the end of last year and so far this year is pretty much pathetic. IMO, Bull and Walt lost the game for us last night. Look at their production. If we even get 12 points between them, we probably win. What's my point to all this? I think Langhi should be given much more PT. I think he can bring everything Bull does, plus a lot more. He doesn't have to be wide open to score. He moves a lot better than Bull. He jumps a LOT better and should be better defensively. He is bigger than Walt. He has some attitude. He is a rookie and will make rookie mistakes. BUT, can that be any worse than the glaring deficiencies (sp?) of Bull and Walt? NO!! I would definately trade some rookie mistakes for what he can bring to the SF position. I know why Rudy plays Bull. I don't know why Rudy doesn't play Langhi. Maybe there is some other reason I don't know about. ------------------
gator and hp -- don't get me wrong -- I'm not laying last nights loss at bullards feet. Duncan was hot and turnovers were the difference. But the facts remain -- bullard is on the floor, late in the fourth, and the rockets trimmed the lead to either 2 or 4 points. If memory serves, the next three Spurs baskets are at bullards' expense -- some by his man and on defensive rotations. This has been going on for years - his lack of defense is a momentum killer and is contagious. He's not all that's wrong with this club -- if anything, he's over-achieved during his tenure with the rockets. However, his occassional clutch threes don't justify PT during a crunch stretch of a tight game. ------------------
We can all respectfully disagree with our evaluations of Matt Bullard. One thing is without question. Bull played most of the minutes critiqued in this thread in the absence of Cato, 'Los, & Collier, Mo's foul problems, and Walt's shooting funk. It is very easy to sit on our sofas and be critical. Put yourself for one brief moment in Rudy's shoes. He need's 5 players on the court to match what the other team has. Just like was mentioned that you don't put Moochie on Shaq, ask yourself who is gonna play Elliot for you. You look down the bench for a SF - Dream? Cato? KT? Mo? It quickly comes down to the following choices - Walt, Bull, Langhi or maybe Shandon. Realistically, there just aren't many options. (Puh-leeeez spare us the 'Los & KT for Garnett trade - Clutch BBS is too smart for this). If you want to talk about next years FA's or Draft picks - cool. But blaming Bullard for overall team weaknesses is a waste of time (and potential postitive energy). ------------------ GATER [This message has been edited by GATER (edited December 20, 2000).]
