I was ambivalent at best when the Rice trade went down. In the time since I grew to positively hate the trade. But I'm not blind. Rice is the number one reason for the five game winning streak. Every time opponents left him to double elsewhere he made them pay. I'm sorry to say I didn't see the Seattle game so I can't speak to that. But the reason he didn't shoot or score last night is that Portland covered him up at all costs. They honored him which in itself is a significant contribution. The fact that the rest of the team didn't take advantage of that isn't his fault. On the other thing, I never think it's a good idea to call teammates out in the media, but I don't think he did that. Nothing he said indicated he was talking about anyone in particular or that he didn't include himself in the mistakes he spoke of. I am huge on our bench of Mo, Glen and Kelvin right now. Until they prove otherwise, they are beyond reproach as far as I'm concerned.
Okay, first thing -- "You can not serve 'God' and 'Man'?" *lol* Leave the anologies to Mr. Rice. Seriously... "You can not eat your cake and still expect to have it?" *lmao* Uh....I think you mean "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Right? As for what you said before that junk, stop lumping Francis with Mobley. I know you hate both of 'em, but Francis is playing MUCH better ball than Cat. The biggest Francis-hater (maybe you) would even have to see that. He was just voted player of the week in the West and right after that had a near triple-double against SEA and his next game he had 17-6(assist)-5. Yes, he is still too inconsistent with the turnovers, but so is Yao. But, believe it or not, his turnovers are DOWN in the second-half of the season. **I dont' make these things up; just look up the stats** EVERYONE on the team can look themselves in the mirror and improve. And, BTW, Glen Rice is the veteran, right? So I'm sure he's heard of the saying: "If you have a problem with someone in this locker room, go to that player directly -- not the media." Right?
Glen Rice, Mo Taylor are perhaps the more mature and cerebral players on the team. I would love them to speak up and make this charade public.
Rice wouldn't be wrong if he called Francis AND Mobley hardheaded kids. Not much maturation over the last 2-3 years from these superstar wannabes.
i don't think francis and mobley know how to listen. they've been playing ball this way their whole life. that's their game. as soon as something seems like it's not working, they'll revert back to their old ways. i think the only stat they look at is points.
I respect Glen Rice's input, and MoT's input as well. Both emphasize getting the ball into Yao, especially during critical moments of the game. No I'm not strictly a Yao fan, but it's so easy to see that he makes his teammates better. I mean during the Portland game, you could hear the commentators finally when Yao made an 18 foot jumper, saying that the Rockets went to Yao too little, and too late, and pretty much said thanks for making the Trailblazers job easier on them by not going into Yao. Even the opposing teams know how vital Yao can be to the Rockets. And Rice and MoT emphasize that as well.
i think what rice is trying to say is, you can't just play one pass basketball. they are always forced to shoot the ball near the end of the shot clock because the guards spend so much time dribbling the ball. i think gr's contribution would be a lot more if the rox pass the bball around. it's so easy to play d on the rox. all you gotta do is prevent the guards from driving cause they drive with their heads down so they will rarely spot the open shooter. oh, mobley's got a great first step. who gives a sh*t when the other team have help defense cause he ain't gonna pass the ball. getting stuck in traffic and trying to find an open man, that's easily 5 seconds off of the shot clock.
It would be nice to see some more up tempo offense. Like half court kick out passes to our guards to try and get those easy points when our opponents defense may not be set. It's those easy oppurtunities that set this team from average merely 90+ points a game and 100+.
I happen to agree with you, i look at Rice's comments pointing toward the entire team instead of invidviual players.
With all due respect, the_ocean', if I'm correct (not sure), Francis' whole basketball life included one year of HS ball (largely due to his mom's passing); two years of juco ball; and one year of MAJOR (Div. I) college ball. And to say the only stat he looks @ is a joke b/c he's one of the more well-rounded players in the NBA. Mobley, I'm not so sure how long he's played b-ball, but I defintely know he's not much of a well-rounded player. And, basically, what I'm saying is, Francis has improved and is continuing to; Mobley hasn't and doesn't seem to want to, IMO. Break-up the backcourt (trade Mobley) and go through Yao, Francis -- Rockets will be fine!
Mobley HAS improved, more than anyone on the team. He adds something every season. Trouble is, his ego grows exponentially based on his skills, and now he thinks he should be part of the core here. We appreciate what he's done, and it's unfair that he signed that contract, but as a team, we would benefit by trading him, and as a player, he would benefit from being traded. No hard feelings, feel free to torch us every time we meet again, because we'll be too good to lose to a team where Mobley's carrying the team.
GLEN IS NOT ONLY RIGHT FOR KNOCKING THE TEAM BUT HE SHOULD ALSO BE COMPLANING ABOUT THE COACHING. HE SHOULD BE GETTING MUCH MORE pt AND MORE SHOTS WHEN HES IN THE GAME. HES DONE IT ALL AS A ATHELETE, WINNING A CHAMPIONSHIP BEING IN THE TOP 5 IN SCORING, ALL STAR MVP ECT. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO KNOCK GLEN FIRST LOOK AT HIS ACHIEVMENTS BEFORE YOU TALK.
What do the Rockets do something over and over but never get tired of it even when it's not winning? Guard ISOs. Rice is talking about the guard ISOs.
Well, that maybe true. It is hard to say he hasn't improved @ all...even I'm willing to admit that he has. But the part about his over-inflated ego is a great point you make. His own belief in his ability can't coexist with Yao, Francis. Largely do to the fact that he wasn't expected to be as good as he is when he was drafted.
Not only Rice is right on the money; he has the respect of the Rocket player. I remembered when we had a long losing streak, Yao said to his bloody reporter that Rice was the most knowledgeable and experienced basketball player on team and that he was the real leader on the team. Unfortunately, he did not have much (physical ability) left to lead the team out of the slump. Then of course Rudy became vocal to echo Rice to lead Rocket to a winning streak. I hope Larry will take the momentum created by Rice to the young teammates. That certainly reflected in the first quarter of the game tonight.
