Yeah. No reason to go crazy with the conspiracy junk. Rudy called it - they couldn't do it. No practice on the intentional foul? It's really counter to the way he normally has them try not to foul. I think Rox are pretty low in fouls per game. Personally, I'd like to see some practice in the rough stuff. Cato, Collier, Hawk, Tmo, even Posey - these guys are there to foul your problems. Hard. Try to mix it in the game plan, Charmin. Now Rudy playing Cat 45 min - ?!? Maybe Ace and Gary aren't Steve and Cat, but rather RT and CM . I absolutely do not understand the non-sensical Cat-love.
like i said, i don't think rudy told them to foul. i think he left it up to the players' discretion whether or not to foul...depending on if they thought he could get the shot off. well, with veterans you might be able to do that. but with young players, you explicitly tell them what to do. if you are the leader, they will listen. it's that simple. one person messing up...ok. two people not even making the effort to tightly cover either man after being told to foul? very hard to believe. i mean, who didn't know that the #1 option on that play was the inbounds man?
you know what guys? the only other option i see is that no one listened to rudy. if that's the case, we have a serious problem...
Foul or not, Harpering hit a helluva shot. And Cat didn't. Ouch. Rudy obfuscates with the media, but I do not believe the man lies. PS Rudy and Karl Malone really are lovers? Wow, I didn't know that.
You know, I posted something on how the Rockets are the least prepared team at the end of games and some other guys got upset, but this proves my point again. Whether or not Rudy called for a foul, the team executed poorly in the last seconds again.
I agree Verse, the only words out of Rudys mouth should of been FOUL ASAP during the time out. I think he mentioned the possibility, but did not make the official order to foul at all expense (outside of during the act of shooting). Bottom line, our best defenders were sitting on the bench and that in itself was a bonehead play by Rudy!!
oh, so if i have an opinion on what was said, i'm a mind reader right? ok. i didn't know sheep were free agents. i thought they all belonged to that Macedonian kid...
Isn't the problem, as verse pointed out, one of two things? 1. Rudy lied about telling them to foul. 2. Rudy can't teach his players even the simplest of things. Either one is bad.
Although the example Verse used is completely hypothetical, he does bring up a good point. Let's assume that Rudy did "attempt" to instruct his players to foul. A few questions remain: 1. Why didn't they do it? The film showed that they did not even attempt to foul. Hard to imagine that a simple instruction was not even attempted. 2. Did Rudy clearly express his instructions? Maybe Yao has problem understanding due to the language barrier to T Mo as well?
oh, TheFreak: Teams with similar talent that made the playoffs with comparable talent... include almost every team with a young superstar. Many superstars don't make the playoffs the first 2 years. Most do the 3rd. I don't remember being asked anything of the sort... Of course, it's arguable that Francis isn't a superstar... in which case, personnel moves were necessary. At this point though, I'm not sure how much I really care about Rudy's reasons. We weren't in the playoffs the last 3 years. We probably won't make it this year. In a league in which the majority of teams actually do get into the post-season... that's bad.
Talking about assignments Rudy, there are about 4 games we have lost when you have MoT closing out games and not EG. The chances of MoT giving you a critical reb or block, or just plain defense, is nothing compared to what you get with EG. Take MoT out of the game please. It happens over and over again. He cannot deliver Rudy.
Hey Jeff, calm down bro, I know you sick of seeing so many Yao only fans, but geez man, don't goto the opposite extreme of blaming everything on the guy. Geez man, most of your posts are kinda anti-Yao to the extreme.
You're stretching it a bit to suggest that, because the players didn't follow his instructions on this call, he is incapable of teaching them the simplest things. Look at the drastic change in our offense this season from last. All that had to happen last night, in order for the players to not follow Rudy's advice, was to let their man get away from them just a little too much. For instance: Someone is supposed to be on Malone. While the defender has his eyes on the inbounder, Malone sneaks a few feet away. Well, now they have to decide to run at him and foul, or hold back and let him take a long 3. If he had run at him to foul, Malone might have realized that and, like Juan suggested, jacked up a long 3, enabling him to get 3 FTs. In the confusion of no one fouling after the inbounds pass, Malone was able to find Harpring, whose face they IMMEDIATELY got up in and forced a highly difficult 3 point shot. The opportunity for a foul on a non-3 point attempt in that scenario is very minimal, and all it took was one or two defenders losing focus for a half second. There are many things in the above scenario that could have been better had the defenders been sound defensively (ie. always watching your defender, immediately getting between the inbounder and the person he passed to, etc), but the Rockets players that were on the floor were not exactly the most seasoned of defensive vets in the league (that the best possible defenders were not on the floor can and should be blamed on Rudy). That final play last night is no evidence either way that Rudy is incapable as a coach, or that the players are incapable of listening. Personally, I was pretty happy with the shot we ended up forcing the Jazz to take...we were just unlucky that it went in.
I think it was a combination of having the wrong guys on the floor, and this team simply being inexperienced. As much as I hate any talk of the 'veteran savy' of the Utah Jazz, they have been in just about every situation you can think of, and they know what they want to do. I imagine Rudy T said something along the lines of "If your assignment has the ball inside the 3 point arc, foul him." We didn't get it done. We lost. We really need a winning streak.
That game got me so mad. When Malone got the ball I scream "Foul Him" they didn't Jazz tied it up. I guess we won't make the playoffs until those to old guys (Malone&Stockton) retired. Then maybe that we be our spot to make the playoffs.
how about these two: 1. Morris thought Yao would foul or vice versa 2. Mental error on both players who were in position to foul (but that never happens right??? - see Chris Webber) I was at the game about 20 rows up, and I saw Rudy T going BALLISTIC for us to foul on the inbounds. Drawing up all of these "Rudy lied" ideas is pure rubbish. Im with Freak and Jeff on this one.....
Drew: Your analysis falls under #2. Rudy did not effectively communicate his strategy to the players if you're right. Rookie mistakes are all fine and good... but the Rockets make too damned many. If the players are just stupid, trade them. The Rockets are stuck with them if they're "uncoachable." The fact that they remain in uniform for Houston means that Rudy has a duty to teach. Which, according to your own argument, isn't going on.
The final play last night, which you are using as evidence that Rudy is incapable of a coach, is just one. What in his argument suggests Rudy isn't teaching? That he suggested a scenario in which Rudy told them to foul, the players knew they were to foul, but because of some unfortunate circumstances, they ended up in a situation where a couple players were expecting the other to run out and foul Malone, and neither did? That doesn't sound like his argument is suggesting Rudy isn't teaching.
