OK, I have been to 3 Rox/Clippers games since I moved to LA, and we've lost 2 of them. Do you have any idea how miserable it is to sit in the Clip Joint and watch Clippers fans actually get excited about something -- when that something is beating the Rockets? Speaking of which, here were the points in the game when the fans were at their loudest: 1. During halftime when the Lakers/Grizzlies highlights were shown on the Jumbotron 2. When Hakeem missed the dunk 3. When the "Hoop Troop" came out during a timeout with a rocket launcher that fired T-shirts up to the top level 4. Whenever MoTay touched the ball 5. In the last 45 seconds when they finally realized a basketball game was going on (Now, I don't know what they're going to announce the attendance as, but there is no way there were more than 5,000 people there. I was at Staples for the Democratic Convention, and there were more people in line for Wetzel's Pretzels at the convention than there were attending tonight's game.) Some thoughts: Hakeem. Seeing Hakeem miss that dunk was one of the saddest things I have seen in sports in my life. Hakeem smiled sheepishly, walked over to the Rockets' bench and got a low-five from Keith Jones as if he was some little kid being told it was OK becuase he tried his best. The crowd was on him mercilessly -- catcalling, laughing, guys next to me saying he should retire. I turned to look at my buddy, another displaced Houstonian who came to the game wearing his 1994 Championship T-Shirt, and he had his head buried in his hands. What might have been even worse than the missed slam was watching Olowakandi bang Hakeem around on the offensive end and actually lose Hakeem with his footwork. I know Kandi only had 6 points, but he missed 3 point blank shots and lost the ball in the lane a couple of times. I shudder to think about what Shaq will do (and yes, I have tix to the Jan 19 game). On the other hand, Hakeem wasn't half bad on the boards. On the other hand, he was fighting off Michael Olowokandi and Brian Skinner ... Lamar. This kid has so much talent it's not even funny. He's not capable of dominating a game for 48 minutes yet, but there were stretches in the game when he was in complete control. Not just by scoring, but by setting up his teammates and drawing the attention of the defense. There was that stretch in the third quarter when he hit like 6 straight, and every shot was high difficulty in traffic. Lamar looked smooth out there, like someone who is this close to superstardom. Shandon. Dude can finish. Without him, we lose this game by 25. Stevie. Quietest 21 points I've ever seen. Which isn't a bad thing. (But man would I have loved for him to have slammed that one down on Odom when he was fouled ...) MoTay. Maurice was pressing. I was at the Rockets blowout of the Clippers last year when the homecrowd booed Maurice and he raised his arms over his head egging the crowd on. You could tell that night that he was looking forward to the day this year when he could return to the Clip Joint as their opponent and shove it back in the faces of the Clippers' faithful. Well, tonight when he got that chance, and I thought he forced it. He really wanted to make some things happen, but it wasn't his night. I'm not worried -- MoTay's too good of a shooter to miss that many open jumpers on a regular basis. Four guard offense. My buddy turned to me at the end of the fourth quarter when Moochie came in for Hakeem, and said, "What's going on?" I said, "Oh, they're just resting Hakeem since there's less than a minute left in the quarter." Then I watched in horror as the four guard lineup stayed in there and let the game get away. There was no structure with this attack; it was just Stevie isolating, shaking, baking, and bricking. Clips make their run. Rockets lose ballgame. Four guard sets might be a fun toy in the preseason, but let's leave it for the preseason, Rudy. Pig Miller. Well, he doesn't play for us anymore, but don't you wish he still did? Or anyone other than Jason Collier for that matter? No knock against Collier, but he's not ready. So we went into the season with the following at center: an aging superstar, an enigma named Kelvin Cato, and a rookie named Jason Collier. With Cato out, we've got a starting center averaging 4ppg, and we've got a rookie backup who's a minimum of 60 games away from contributing. All of a sudden the Houston Rockets' weakness is at center. I never dreamed I'd see the day that that would be true ... Intensity. Granted, our seats were pretty high up (and the absurd ushers wouldn't let us move into the 10,000 empty seats on the lower level), but I saw no intensity in the Rockets tonight. It was almost like watching a preaseason game. (Maybe Carlos could have given us a spark?) This was the most disturbing thing about the game to me. The shots we missed tonight will normally fall. But show some intensity. Show a sense of urgency. That's all I ask, guys ... ------------------ [This message has been edited by wrath_of_khan (edited November 05, 2000).]
One more thing: I know it's frustrating to lose to the Clippers because they're the Clippers, but this ain't your father's Clippers team. Lamar is playing like a five-year veteran, Alvin Gentry is coaching his ass off, and they go 10-deep. Their youth will keep them in the lottery, but they'll also surprise some teams this year. There's a lot of talent there ... But there's still no excuse for losing tonight's game. ------------------
I thought the intensity was OK. They played hard defensively and appeared, at least to me, to be rotating pretty well. They also forced 21 turnovers and allowed only 77 points. Granted, they weren't playing the `86 Celtics tonight so take that into consideration. Still, I thought they were playing hard, but it's hard for a team to look good when they shoot like a YMCA squad. ------------------
wrath_of_khan -- awesome. Enjoyed that recap.... thanks for your comments from being at the game... ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
Damn I hate that four guard b.s. lineup Rudy sends out. I dont want to see Moochie, Steve, Mobes, Walt and Bullard on the floor at the same time. They might be quicker than the opposing team, but its not a very good defensive lineup. Rudys sub patters are way below average. He is sitting down Steve and Hakeem with 5-6 min to go. Granted Hakeem doesnt help on the offensive end anymore, but he still does have a defensive presence. Last year the team started out really slow, and Rudy's coaching wasnt anything to brag about. But as the season progressed the team as well as the coaching got better. I just hope we come around quicker this time around. ------------------ (no)Fun Police: -To point out teams or individuals that have managed to reach the pinnacle of SUCKINESS!!!!!! This weeks award goes to Houston's basketaball fans!!!! 10K people at the Bucks game!?!?!?!
great post wrath -- sounds like a painful way to kill a saturday night. i don't know what is going on with the four guard line-up; our inability to establish Taylor early; or our refusal to give los some minutes -- aaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!! ------------------
WoK, Good post & thanks for the insight. It was painful in front of my tube. I can only imagine what it was like in person. I thought Mo was mentally pressing and never got into a flow (what little the Rocks had). I don't think we'll see a 3-11 shooting on Feb. 1st. If Mo T is any kind of player worth keeping next season and beyond, he will surely light up the Clips in Compaq Ctr. As most of you other posters, I was embarressed for Dream on the missed dunk. Truly a very low point in a great career. ------------------ GATER
Nice post Wrath. I feel your pain. I sat at home on the couch watching in horror as Hakeem got dominated by Olawakandi. I suddenly started screaming at the top of my lungs for Hakeem to put his hands up and contest the shot at least that is, until the neighbors from downstairs heard me and started shoving a broom at their ceiling. I then shut up and got a bit excited when the second half started and finally Hakeem started putting his hands up in people's faces and blocking shots. I think the mistake was the 4 gaurd offense. Not good. Try again Rudy. Man, I MISS CATO! ------------------ Francis out top, 9 seconds on the clock, he gives a no look pass to Cuttino Mobley, 4 seconds left, Mobley passes to an open Langhi in the corner with 1 second left! Langhi at the buzzer.......YES!!! How Sweet It Is!!
Hey Guys, There was one bright spot from last nights game. The DREAM can breathe. He played 34 minutes. Now if he will only work on his dunks. It's good to see him going after the rebounds though. I still think they need to give Collier more minutes & let him learn as he goes, because I can't see Dream playing that many minutes every night without getting injured. I wonder when they are going to bring Washington back? ------------------
The 4 guard offense didnt' work against the clippers, but there might be some teams out there that Rudy can try it on (but if it didn't work against the clippers??????) It's good to see Hakeem play that many minutes and not have breathing problems.. I'm happy for him no matter what he did out there. Talk about having love for the game, most people would have quit if they had those kinds of problems, I would never speak ill of Hakeem. To get back to the point, if we're in a close game that we could win with a little extra effort, I wouldn't suggest (in my opinion) trying out some brand new offense but if we have a monster lead, or are way down in the 4th.. then there's a time you might wanna experiment with the 4 guard set.. ------------------ against all odds
You don't know the half of it. First of all, there was bumper to bumper traffic on the 101 going downtown, which made me fearful that we'd miss MoTay's pregame introduction. (Who the hell is going downtown on a Saturday night?) Cost of parking at Staples? $15. Tried to move down to the empty seats behind the Rockets bench, and they had ushers at every aisle checking for tickets. There were 10,000 empty seats!!! Then had to listen to the gangbanger sitting next to me after Hakeem missed his dunk say the Rockets were "drunk" when they picked Hakeem ahead of MJ. (I couldn't talk smack back to this guy for fear of my life ...) Waiting at the crosswalk to get to the car hearing two guys behind me talk about how Hakeem should have retired and how "ridiculous" it was that he was talking about playing another year. Then on the drive back decided to call it a night at 10 freaking o'clock becuase we both felt sick... And to think I thought it was a good omen that the vendor who sold me her hotdog said she was from Nacogdoches ... ------------------
we wouldnt have been in the game without shandon but he, cuttino, and Mo lost us the game. Shandon made a great steal then screwed it up by traveling with less than 2 minutes to go and the rocks down by 2, that killed me cause stevie was wide open for a 3.I dont know what in the hell was wrong with cuttino he just plain sucked and Mo should not have taken that shot with 40 something seconds to go.Wiz should have gotten way more minutes by the way. ------------------ www.truebballfansite.homestead.com
Poor thing went out there to be an actress, but now she's selling hot dogs at Clipper games. ------------------ "Priorities is our values"-Dubya at campaign stop in San Jose on 11/1/00 visit www.swirve.com
wrath_of_kahn said: In the 4th quarter, from the 11:00 mark to the 3:00 mark, we ran 6 isolations: 2 for Francis, 4 for Cuttino. NONE OF THEM were successful. That was the stretch that cost us the game. (lol,rocketman95!)
