ClutchCity.net Game Thread: Rockets @ Nuggets 11/1/2002

HP,
There is no question that Kenny should start at the 3 if he is ready. Kenny is better now but I didn't think Boki's defense was bad at all while he was in the game against the pacers.

 

Webber, Christie, and Bibby were ALL out for last night's Kings game, and they still put it on a good Portland team by 25.

Coaching counts.
Smart play counts.

The rocks no longer have either.

I'll go with the bad team diagnosis.

 

NObody asks Rudy to play Ming for 40 minutes. Eleven minutes is not much of learning experience for a #1 pick that has played years of professional and international ball. He has shown he could play against NBA players in the World games. He can play at least 20 minutes per game. I know he needs to get use to the Houston system, , our MOTIONLESS OFFENSE, or the pace in NBA. The basics in playing the game are the same everywhere. May be we should just bench him for the whole year. Let him just hit the weight room and gain 30 more pounds of muscle, then we'll let him play and do the dirty works we need, and Steve/Mo put up their 2 on 5 offense.

 

Nuggets4: Please inform of us Nene Hilario's progress. How is he measuring up to his pre-draft expectations? Would you go as far as describing him as a hakeem-in-the-making type of player? One last thing: how good is his english? Does he have a translator like Yao? Thanks a lot and good luck with the coming season! (except against us, that is)

 

I hate to say it, but I just downloaded the "Game Notes" off of Rockets.com for tonight's match-up between Houston & Denver. It had the same 3-guard starting line-up as Wednesday night's debacle.

Mooch @ PG, Steve @ SG, Cat @SF, Griff@PF, & Cato @Center

 

Ron, in the first game the "Game Notes" had Nachbar starting at the 3 so I am not sure how accurate those are. In fact if memory serves, they list that line up as "Probable Starters." So things can change. If either Kenny or Rice are healthy I would think that they will start, otherwise it is the 3 guard line up.

Chris

 

This just ticks me off a lot. We have so much talent and waste it. I have yet to see one good/positive thing come out of the three-guard lineup, either directly or indirectly.

 

Coach Cud is a moron if he starts the 3 guard line-up again. Moochie's 36 minutes were the biggest waste against the Pacers. He contributed nothing.

 

look at it this way guys:



the more we see the 3 guard lineup, the closer rudy t is to being unemployed.

 

I had a feeling that was the case. Anyway, here are a few pages from the "Game Notes" :

Houston Rockets (0-1)
at Denver Nuggets (0-1)
Game #2 - Road Game #2
Friday, November 1, 2002 at 8 PM CST
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Position: # Player: Ht. Wt. Comments:
Forward 33 Eddie Griffin 6-10 220 2002-2003 regular season statistics:
2.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg., 2.00 bpg.
2002-2003 preseason statistics:
10.9 ppg., 7.4 rpg., 3.86 bpg.
Guard 5 Cuttino Mobley 6-4 210 2002-2003 regular season statistics:
22.0 ppg., 3.0 rpg., 2.00 bpg.
2002-2003 preseason statistics:
14.2 ppg., 3.2 rpg., 1.67 spg.
Center 13 Kelvin Cato 6-11 275 2002-2003 regular season statistics:
9.0 ppg., 17.0 rpg., 3.00 bpg.
2002-2003 preseason statistics:
4.2 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 1.00 bpg.
Guard 3 Steve Francis 6-3 195 2002-2003 regular season statistics:
39.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg., 4.0 apg.
2002-2003 preseason statistics:
19.0 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 5.6 apg.
Guard 12 “Moochie” Norris 6-1 175 2002-2003 regular season statistics:
6.0 ppg., 2.0 apg., 4.00 spg.
2002-2003 preseason statistics:
2.0 ppg., 0.0 rpg., 0.0 apg.

INJURY REPORT:
Tito Maddox (left foot plantar fasciitis), Pete Mickeal (foot problem) and Terence Morris (left ankle sprain) are on the
injured list. Maurice Taylor (NBA suspension) is out. Glen Rice (right knee strain) and Kenny Thomas (right thumb
fracture) are questionable.

-Yao, Hear This!-

Several NBA players and coaches have commented on Yao Ming over the past few months Here’s a sampling of the
quotes:
VINCE CARTER: “He’s going to be successful because he is tall and he has skills.”
ANTONIO DAVIS: “He has a great upside. He’s a very talented young man who’s learning how to play the game.
He’s stronger than I thought. He showed he can shoot the ball, and he has good hands. All he needs is experience.”
BARON DAVIS: “The guy can play. I like him a lot. My boy Steve Francis is a good friend of mine and he’s going to
have a good time with that big guy down there. He’s going to block a lot of shots that will lead to some fast breaks and
he can score inside.”
TIM DUNCAN: “He’s a good player. He handles the ball well. It looks like he has a really nice touch.”
MICHAEL FINLEY: “He earned our respect. To play against him was eye-opening. He was a lot better than I
thought. He’s really a massive player.”
ALLEN IVERSON: “He’s special. He’s a gift from God.”
GEORGE KARL: “His size reminds me of Wilt Chamberlain’s size when Wilt Chamberlain had a lot of size on
people. Wilt had that fade-away on the backboard. No one could block it. No one in the league could get near it. Wilt
had more athleticism. This kid is not a bad athlete. He’s more of a basketball player than an uncoordinated big man.”
REGGIE MILLER: “He surprised me. He’s a lot better than I expected. He did a good job and he’s a big guy. I think
the learning curve is definitely on the upward swing with him.”
DIRK NOWITZKI: “He’s a really good player. He should have a nice career in this league. He just has to get used to
playing more physical in the NBA.”
STEVE NASH: “I believe Yao will have a very good NBA career. He’s going to create his own legacy. He’s going to
have a great impact on the league. Houston is really fortunate to have him.”
PAUL PIERCE: “He is the real deal. He’s solid all around. He’s very fundamentally sound for a guy his size. He’s
got a soft touch. He can run the floor and is very agile. He has a lot to learn about the NBA, but he’s going to be a
good player.”
DAVID ROBINSON: “He’s going to be good. He’s long and skilled. He can make shots. He’s going to have an
impact in this league. There haven’t been too many guys in this league who made me feel short. There’s been one or
two. Wow, he’s big.”
ISIAH THOMAS: “I think he’s going to be a phenomenal player. I think he has all the skills. It’s just a matter of him
getting used to the league. He’s got everything you want a big guy to have.”
BEN WALLACE: “He’s got a nice touch and a couple of post moves, a couple of good moves around the basket. As
long as he continues to play, he’s going to continue to grow as a player. To my surprise, he was a whole lot better than
I thought he was. I was surprised by his awareness on the court. When he caught the ball deep in the paint, he didn’t
waste time, he went into his move and made shots around the basket. When he caught it outside he turned and faced up
and was able to find the open guy. That was impressive for a guy 7’5”.”
JAY WILLIAMS: “He definitely blew away my expectations of him. He’s a really good basketball player and he
showed that tonight.”

 

On ESPN, Phil was quoted saying after their recent loss that Kobe played too much "one on one". Now that's what a coach supposed to do, not just pampering to your own players.

 

Things I would like to see,

1.I would like Nachbar to get more minutes and a few more touches; i think he is fairly close to nba ready and it would be nice to have him comfortable by pllayoff time

2.Rudy continue being patient with Yao; the kid has mad skills, but he is still only playground material. He can go slow and learn from a "ferocius Cato"(now how bout that monster rebounder, MR. MEAN IIjavascript:smilie('')
big grin


3.Mobley to go around picks, or at least the other defender switch, so that we are not giving up 15 foot jumpers

4.the motion offense

5.the motion offense

6.someone become vocal on the floor.(I was watching L.A. get beat the other night, but I was quite impressed with how Kobe talked to his teamates on the floor. With a better suppourting cast i think that can make a lot of difference)

7.I would like to be proved a dumbass for ever questioning anything about Francis.


on a sidenote; while watching the preseason, i was impressed with how the new offense took the responsiblity of francis running a true point out of his hands, and just made him the playmaker he is. I think that is the genious of Rudy. He knows how great Stevie is, but he also knows his shortcomings. With movement everyone will get assists and open and Francis' numbers will be up across the board. Please show me that Indy was an anomoly because we were shorthanded and that we will soon be playing like the europeans.)

we already have no dfense so we are halfway there

 

Verse, you're a genious!!!! I love the way you think...


Go 3 guards!

 

If Rudy plays Ming 20 minutes a game, Rockets will lose every game. After a few games, Ming will get booed by the fans everytime he touches the ball. This is also not fair to other players. Ming has already got more chances than he really deserves.

Ming needs to change his golden boy mentality. Stop talking and start playing. Forget about matching up with Shaq. Every team in the NBA has 2 or 3 big men play better than Ming right now.

If Ming gains 30 pounds of muscle, his lateral movement will be even slower. It is not so easy, man.

 

Here is what the Lakers coaches are saying about the selfish play of their Star.

Kobe looked to go one-on-one every time he touched the ball," was the post-mortem that Jackson delivered to the media. "His rare pass surprised his teammates. I can only promise that, even before Shaq returns, things will get better."

Longtime assistant coach Tex Winter, the gadfly of the coaching staff, was a lot more direct when he confronted Kobe in the locker room after the game. "You played stupidly," he said, bluntly.

Now I am not saying we need to start that kind of war-of-words with Francis, but the kid has to learn. Someone in the organization needs to tell him what is up. If he wants this to be "his" team, he has to earn it. That means getting your teamates involved, playing both ends of the court, and being a vocal leader on the floor.

I hate to say it, but a true PG would make our team a lot better.

 

I'll be upset tonight if these 3 things happen.

1. Yao Ming plays less than 22 minutes.

2. Moochie is in the starting line-up

3. We lose and look pathetic again.

 

<blockquote><hr>Originally posted by JayZ750
This just ticks me off a lot. We have so much talent and waste it. I have yet to see one good/positive thing come out of the three-guard lineup, either directly or indirectly. <hr></blockquote>

"yet to see" Sounds like getting ticked off is making your normally admirable Tacoma Park Legend reason slip into bashing exaggeration.

I can tell you that we most certainly won that first Phoenix game last year due directly to the 3-guard line-up. Moochie, Walt and Willis played the 3-man game in the middle of the court to perfection. They were able to isolate it to a 3-man game, because Mobley and Francis were standing in the corners and could not be left.

Secondly, we CRUSHED Dallas with heavy dosses of 3-guards. Cato, Griffin, TMo and Willis combined for only 45 minutes played that game. Walt was the starting center. :wow:

Thirdly, the legendary Indiana Triple OT game was a 3-guard lineup comeback and victory.

Fourthly, speaking of Dallas, don't they run a lot of 3-guard lineups. Which reminds me, I don't think the Pistons always sat down Dumars or Isiah when they brought in Vinnie Johnson.

I like 3-guards....not heavy dosses or necessarily even every game, but it is a nice weapon to have going into a playoff series.

 

For this game and every game until the Rocket's offense resembles some element of ball movement, Rudy should institute the following rule:

Unless a player has a layup or WIDE open shot, no one shoots until the team has passed the ball at least three times.

 

Tonight's Starters?

Anybody heard who is going to start tonight? I have been stuck at my desk all day & have not been able to keep up.

Thanks!

 

KT is probable...

I'd like to see:

Steve
Cat
Cato
EG
KT