Oh, OK. I'll try not to argue anymore. That's right. I never give my own insight of the Rocks. All 8000 of my posts are whittling down the hatas arguments for some devilish reason to not allow them to propogate all those YOU SUCK posts. unconstructive criticism of "posters" to me is leebeegeebee not naming names. Was it Jeff's disagreement with him yesterday? Was it me backing Jeff? Who knows. unconstructive criticism of the Rockets is playing the blame game and not naming constructive solutions other than "Moochie Sucks," "TMo Sucks," "Walt really sucks," "bench KT" and "Mobley must take a backseat." leebeegeebee is a player. He is aware. I actually think he's great on player evaluation. I enjoy it. but if he is going to say "Enough is Enough" and say "I'm not naming names," I am not giving that one aota of respect. There is just something that is rubbing him the wrong way about the Rocks to which he is only giving unconstructive criticism. It is something about losing games with Francis when Francis can't possibly have flaws. It is like Rudy is olding back Francis, or past trades are so CD failed, or Kenny is, or Mobley is....Francis couldn't have possibly wanted a perimeter system like this. really??? He's a one-on-one perimeter guy without a center or low post stud (and Griffin isn't that, yet). Someone must be to blame. That is unconstructive criticism. I am not disagreeing in principle that the Kings offense produces better shots; I'm just saying that is unconstructive criticism since we don't have the players to run a double high post, zipper offense.
Crispee, my point is people will always point to last yr and say we almost made the playoffs. They look at the team and says this team should be in because the young players will develop. They said we didn't get bogged down by Shandon's long contract. To which I say is bs. I mean I know Griffin now is getting about 31 minutes per which is cool, but whats wrong with him starting and getting 38min? Thomas is going to be a good bench player in this league for a long time which is good. He might even be one with us, but Griffin is the player we need at the 4 for years to come. Why hold him and the team back? People will always slam on Anderson and say we are better off with Rice than his contract, but this is not baseball and both were limited role players at best. We could have let Shandon walk, see what kind of player we have in Langhi and Morris and then if they are not the answer, we have guys coming up in free agency or somewhere else to improve that position. We had over $16 mil of cap space and we used it up on bench players at best. As far this team goes, we all know the problems we have at the 3 and 5 spots, but one of the main concerns for me is the lack of flexibilty the team has to be so young. We pretty much are already cap strapped because we have players no one wants that are killing our money. I think its safe to say that you either rebuild or contend the worse thing to be is mediocre. Once we came to the conclusion that Hakeem is past news and we are going to continue this rebuilding process, why go and get Glen Rice? A player that even healthy has maybe 2 good years at best but is going to kill your cap. Now we're stuck with 2 players that are making the most money on your team out for the year. I can't feel that. How long does it take to develop? Most people will tell you that you can tell about a player in about his third season. With that being said, Taylor has been in the league since 97 and he's still the same player then as he is now. If Cat was still playing like he did as a rookie 2 more yrs from now, would we still be saying he's still growing as a player too? Very rarely does a player just all of a sudden explodes in his 5th or 6th yr unless he's a high school player. I mean ,this guy played 3 yrs at a big ten school and he's still the same . I can maybe see a J. O'Neal,Kobe, McGrady, Harrington or one of those other high school players being given more time, but 3 yr of college and 5 yrs of pro ball isn't enough?
Crispee, I'm not arguing and it doesn't bother me that people , even the administrators disagree with me, isn't that the point about this board? I mean what kind of board would it be if everything was one sided and rosy? I enjoy reading other people post as well even if i agree or disagree with them. This is a forum, not fact or fiction novels, what I'm saying is what's on my mind when i see other teams play as well as the Rockets. It just seems to me that we would rather make excuses on why our offense is so bad instead of seeing and comparing as to why it is so bad. I'm not saying that we should or could run a motion or zipper plays because of our personell, I just think saying this is the only offense we have that fits our offense is a excuse. Its all clear to everyone who watch the Rockets and baketball that our centers have trouble catching the ball in traffic. Its also clear that they are limited in what they do. Its also clear that Cat and Francis are two of the quickest guards in the league. It is also clear that teams play Amoeba like zones on us. All of this is known to probably everyone in the league and viewers , but my problem is if some of our players can't basic basketball or our coaching staff can't put players in a position to succed then something must be done. I mean Cato can't even do a handoff from the ft line? No one on this team can backdoor cut or reverse cut. This team can't start the offense quicker than they do? Is this the only way to use Francis and Mobley strength is to iso them all the time? Its not just the offense because sometimes the offense will come and go, but why can't we get stops on d. How come we let teams set up so easily and run their offense and give up un contested shots so much. A team don't have to have all good defenders to be a good defensive team. When i talk about good defensive team ,I'm talking about opp's fg% and then points given up. So what kind a team are we going to be, one that will just outrun teams up and down the court and give up a few or one that will be methodical and play great defense all the time? I ask that because right now we're in never never land. Its like we're trying to drag games out, but we'e not playing defense which equals a very boring team to watch. Its not that i have a problem with the methodical approach to the games if you're winning , but playing the way we do, its hard to watch and win.
AGREE 100% Rockets are going to have a major issue 2-3 years from now (if not this year), What to do with 2 short (big body) PF's that have limited (similar) skills. Some people want to argue that Griffin does not have the strength to handle the western conference, but I do not see Kevin Garnet (or the Timberwolves ) having any problems dominating. Griffin looks like he has about the same build as Garnett and once he adds some low post moves, he could be the next Garnett. Eventhough Taylor did not have a very great year, with the Rockets (last year), I think he will be an improvement to Thomas. At least Taylor showed that he was willing to try and read the defense, looking to create an easy shot. He is a much better outside shooter, that does not look stupid trying to heave up 3 pointers (aka Thomas). Does anybody know when the Trading Deadline is? I hope Taylor returns before we have 3 PF's fighting for time.
I don't deny your reasoning Crispee that defenses will sag off Morris to double up on the primary offensive threats. The issue becomes that there isn't anything physically wrong with Terence Morris and no major flaws in his shooting technique. The problem is little more than a confidence issue. Now that's not a very easy thing to fix by any stretch of the imagination. But the fastest way to resolve that problem is to play it out on the court and gain that confidence. Morris sitting on the bench for a game while Walt shoots 0-10 doesn't help Morris gain any confidence in his game, and certainly doesn't help the Rockets at all. More minutes = fewer confidence issues, and if the Rockets can round out and develop a 6'9" complete player at the expense of some minutes from an older veteran this season, they will be much better off in the future. I agree with lee quite a bit though, Rudy's system isn't as effective in the new NBA. The rules have changed and we're not adapting with them. The Rockets are a young quick team, why do we rarely use that to our advantage? Why are we content to take so long to get into our offense? Why aren't we a defensively intense team? Now you can go back to the personel problems and talk about how we don't have a solid center or a solid sf. Now part of these problems, specifically the "problems" at SF aren't personel ones but system / managment ones. The Rockets have two very solid atheletes in Torres and Morris. If all we wanted from our SF was 3pt shooting, the Morris wasn't that great a pick, and Torres is using not even half of his talent. With regard to a center, Cato's marginal at best, Willis works hard but is past his prime. This is the spot that needs to truly be addressed either through trade or through the draft. We're one position away from a very solid team and a viable system change. Find a solid center and you can run the Flex pretty much right away. Everyone else fits into the system perfectly. The point in the flex gets both opportunities for quick assists, and individual scoring. If all goes wrong and the shot clock is winding down, it falls upon him to create. Steve played in the system and knows it, he thrived in it at Maryland and can step into this easily here. The two guard does best in the flex if he's a versatile threat, with the ability to reliably hit the midrange jumpshot. Having a center that can set a good offball pick helps signifigantly, but creating off the dribble can be used as well. Cat would seem to fit into this role very well. The 3 does a little bit of everything, occasionally hitting the wide open 3 of penetration, moving inside to pick, running off backdoor screens, and sometimes working off his own penetration. He's not the most highly utilized option in the offense but works all over the court. Both Torres and Morris fit within these roles and Terence has 4 years of experiance running through it although not at that position. The 4 is perfectly suited to EG especially if he can maintain his shooting touch from range. Open outside shots, interior put backs, and some interior posting are what the 4 does in the system. Gaining the ability to penetrate off the dribble only makes the 4 that much harder to guard. He must also be willing to do some passing and set solid off ball picks to open up other shooters at times. The 5 is the one position we wouldn't have anyone capable of stepping into that role. You need a center with pretty good hands and a reliable post game. He needs to be willing to pick off ball which helps open himself up for entry passes. I'm no NBA expert so I can't say who'd be available and suited to this role through trade. Now this system would most likely require a coaching change, because I just don't see Rudy trying to play a system like this. Now there you go, that's my constructive criticism. We're not using our players to their greatest talents and here's what we should do... Lets debate.
I think 24 or so of the teams in the NBA are looking for a solid 5. It's not the half way point yet, but Boston, New Jersey, Milwaukee, Dallas( using Dirk as your center is a different plan than you're considering) and Minnesota are doing all right with mediocre centers, AFAIK. It sounds like we have to win the lottery a few years in a row before our system works.
I agree with HP. And Jeez, some people might think we're injury-free this season. Francis, Mobley, and Griffin make for a bright future no matter how you roll the dice. Sure I want to win now too, but to scramble the team... No. I even cling to the hope that we'll keep KT. But the bottom line for the future is FMG - Francis, Mobley, Griffin. How can anyone not be optimistic with those three in your starting 5?
