Let's Recap

Thanks for putting things in perspective Jeff. The guys will figure it out and the shots will start falling.

Besides, the Rocks weren't going undefeated this year. I guess we'll have to settle for 81-1.

 

Well, I have a big pile of dishes that I really don't want to do, I have a really slow computer, and my friend has a PS2 and I don't!

I'll try and think of more later

Oh, this is a Rockets thread, right? Well, when you consider that Rice and Williams couldn't make a basket on the basket makingest day of their life even if they had an electrified basket making machine, we haven't done that badly...

What these first three games really prove is just how valuable Steve Francis is to this team. We could EASILY be 0-3 without his clutch shooting

 

Sadly, I'm afraid we'll get more of the same later on in the season. Lack of chemistry or development wasn't the main reason for this loss. We have noone to stop Kevin Garnett.

Playing time won't fill that glaring hole.

 

This is why this team might not get anywhere, Kenny Thomas cant hold these big time players. He gets dominated.

This is just the beginning.

 

I agree Jeff, but with the defense the other teams are playing and the lack of motion is killing us. When you look at T' Wolved offense, they got good shots by setting good picks and rolling while Brandon made good decisions with the pill. Rudy is still trying to run a iso like he doesn't get it. The d is sagging off , but still has enough time to cover rice. Evereyting is so hard for us right now as far as scoring , that it must raise a flag. We must be teams in the west , because the east is much better than last yr.

 

Well I'm complaining about KT starting, Oscar not playing, and Moochie playing like crap.

KT's been dominated in 2 of the 3 games so far, and in the other game, he was in too much foul trouble to be dominated. Our offense is dying in the first quarter because we're actually running plays for him as if he had an automatic jumper like Taylor. EG, on the otherhand, seems to be handling himself well when given playing time and he's actually hit shots. START GRIFFIN NOW!

Our team hasn't been able to hit outside shots all season AND preseason. So if the team can't shoot, maybe we should try to improve our own defense and put someone out there that can guard better than the Wiz. It's really bothering me that Torres isn't getting any playing time at SF. He's such an energy guy, and he'd be perfect when the offense goes through it's nasty lulls. He also gets open and doesn't stand around the 3 point line like our other SF's. His outside shot isn't as refined as Wiz and Rice, but right now they can't hit the ocean from the beach. Wiz needs to go far far away.

Last but not least, Moochie. UGH, the new defenses are killing him. He just drives inside and is surrounded by 3 or 4 guys and tries to pass through them. He has Shandon Anderson disease also, meaning he passes up open jumpers and totally messes up our offense. He also still holds onto the ball too much and plays around, and then when the clocks winding down, he tosses it to someone else to take a last second shot. He's looked pretty below average for these 3 games so far. I guess if he was still making the minimum, I could forgive him for this, but he's making 23 million dollars for 6 years, he needs to play like it.

I'm happy we're 2 and 1, but this team's not going to get any better as long as they don't fix these problems.

Remember we could easily be 0-3 with our 2 wins coming in overtime...

 

exactly jeff.. this team will only get better

 

We have no one that matches up with Garnett? Well, guess what, the rest of the league is in the same boat. KG is a physical freak. He's killed us for years, including last year when Mo Tay was healthy.

The key is limiting the damage done by the rest of the cast. Brandon was pretty wide open on the game winner, for instance - where's the execution on defending the pick and roll?

And we need to do a better job early executing our own offense. In the first half, it was pitiful. Part of that will be cured when Rice starts hitting his shots, making up for Mo's absence. He was the one who seemed to always get us off to a good start in the first quarter last season. But also, I'd like to see plays involving screens, movement, multiple passes. And more transition game. This is a quick team, and we should take advantage of that.

 

There are some things I want to complain about:

- Moochie playing like crap after getting his $23 mill! I know he didnt attend training camp, but still he is hesitating on every freakin shot which in turn completely throw our offense into whack.

- Walt playing! The guy is just pathetic! Why is he in the rotation? We freakin have Morris and Oscar sitting on the bench and they possibly cant be worse then this guy!

- Rudy still constantly running iso offense. (As I am typing this the Boys are whooping that ass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) When you look at the Twolves offense you see pick and rolls, some post up, screens, etc. All the Rockets seem to be doing is iso offense which gets em no where. Who remembers that pick and roll agains the Clips where Kenny got a dunk late in the game? Why cant we run more simple pick and rolls damnit! I know why? Because not one single person on the Rockets knows how to even set a freakin pick. I am no expert on plays ala Crispee, but even I know you dont send a pick from 5 feet away. Go up the ball handlers defensive man and body up to set a pick. The pick setter stands about 5 feet away and they expect Francis and Mobley to use it?!?!?!?! They are running some screens I admit to get Rice open, but he hasnt been hitting so far.

- Did I mention about Oscar and Morris getting playing time?

- Double teaming! I know Rudy does not believe in double teaming, but come on! Garnett was eating us for breakfast, lunch, dinner and getting a doggy bag to munch on us later! We doubled team him some in later on in the game and it worked some. Why cant we do it in the beginning. We have quick enough guards that they should be able to get back to their own man when the ball gets passed out.

 

We could also be 3-0. The "new" Rocks start slow every season and finish strong (last two seasons). If we start at 2-1, then things will be very nice.

Quit your b****ing.

As soon as this team can manage to hit >45% FG, then we'll be fine. In the meantime, I'm pleased as punch that we can play like crap is still put ourselves in position to win games. That makes this team stronger.

 

Do what? Did I say I wasn't pleased? Maybe you should work on your reading comprehension...I was COMPLIMENTING Steve...maybe you missed the "how valuable Steve Francis is to this team" part

 

Remember we could easily be 0-3 with our 2 wins coming in overtime...

Remember we could easily be 3-0 if Rice's shot falls, or the officials even call a half decent game...

Sadly, I'm afraid we'll get more of the same later on in the season. Lack of chemistry or development wasn't the main reason for this loss. We have noone to stop Kevin Garnett.

As someone else said, who does? And by the way, EG did a fine job defensively on KG in just his third game in the league. He should be even better later on in the season.

 

Well we could also be 3-0 if someone else was playing in Wiz's place and if Moochie didn't play with the ball so much and if we didn't have those stupid 4th quarter turnovers and if KT wasn't getting destroyed by KG.

Shouldn't we be worried about things we can fix instead of officiating and Rice's shot falling?

 

That game wouldn't have even been close to a loss if the Rockets had found their offense. That is why I have hope. Once again, the Rockets held Minnesota to only 90 points. We know that this Rockets team can easily average in the 100 range, and they most likely will after a few games together. And how about Kevin Willis? 17 boards? He is just what the Rockets needed! This team is going to the playoffs. And I am not sold that Minnesota is a lock.

 

POSITIVE OUTLOOKS:

* Willis is a godsend. He makes Cato a better pivot man, simply by demonstration. He also encourages the big lumox and Cato knows Kevin is on the bench waiting and roaring to go. I love this tandem.

* KT is being asked to face up some LARGE and quick fours every night. He is learning his craft. RT isos him sometimes to draw out the middle, or asks him to low post - that¡¦s what you do when you have an undersized power forward who has a decent first step.

* A lot of the plays that RT uses are predicated on a perimeter threat coupled with driving guards. This strategy is ¡§two pronged¡¨ and designed so that - with decent ball movement - the Rox can take pouce at any missed assignment. Unfortunately, the perimeter shooting is atrocious, the missed 10-14 footers are hurting and we are still stumbling setting up fundamental passing drills (Atlanta and The Timberpups cut us up by simply covering passing lanes.) But we will improve. Legs and game positioning is improving every night.

* The symbiosis between Cat and Steve is uncanny. Steve is a quick study and when he starts to click with Rice and the other newbies more, these guys will rip them open. Amazingly, Willis plays like he has been playing three-threes with these guys all his life!

* We have scorers. A basketful of them. We have shooters too, but shooters take longer to get in the groove. Our shooters will improve. Our game will get more defined and harder to defend.

* The defensive sets - mostly man-to-man - have been a real surprise to say the least. The man to man defense in lieu of the smothering or zonal types defenses I anticipaterd was ... well ... unexpected. But the effectiveness of these man to man sets, especially late in the game when we need a stop, has taken me totally by surprise. Luckily it has also won us 3 games and almost a fourth.

* I think Torres will fit in well for the missing "off the bench" (a la Mario Ellie?, Shandon Anderson?) ¡§D¡¨ slot. Terrence Morris seems to love defense more than offense, at least that¡¦s what he¡¦s been showing. Both these guys are jewels in the rough, they need time but they are SO ready to get in there.

* I am not as worried about the inevitable injuries (every team gets them throughout a season) as I have been for (oh, say four or five) years. I think we got almost any eventuality covered. ( I know ¡K ¡§bite your tongue¡¨, eh?) But our bench is as strong as it has been for a long, long time. I'm encouarged.


THE CARDIAC KIDS!!!!!!

 

Its really not about being negative or positive and making excuses. Yes we're 3-1 , which is good, it still seems hard for us to get anything but penetration kick out. Maybe thats the game plan, but the continuity is just not there. We won against a pretty good Phoenix team, Penny is back, which boads well considering how many games we won against the west last year. I still think the offense is struggling because of the lack of quickness. We must have the slowest 3 men in the league. Between Williams and Rice, they are very,very slow which cuts down on our ability to get up the floor. Sometimes Rudy is loyal to a fault, but that is why he's such a players coach. I think he could give Morris some minutes, and I really don't see why Torres could spell Mobley instead Francis.

 

Lee:

I think largely RT was afraid of losing an offensive edge. Having both Mobes and Francis on the bench is fine if you can maintain some balance scoring-wise ... but well, we haven't been burning down the house with a balanced shooting attack in four games.

I agree with you and I would like to see Torres and TMo a lot more too. But, I can see RT's point. He obviously wants these guys to wet their feet, get some experience and get acclimatized in a game where we are ahead by double figures or at least have some measure assurance that the game will not get away from us .... and well, we haven't have that opportunity yet.

But I'm of the same mind as you. let's get these guys in there.

 

Relax people! Giving Morris more time doesn't help because Rudy is playing Rice to get him into a game shape, and it's working because his shot is coming around (45% from the field). He isn't playing Rice "out of loyalty", he is playing Rice because he knows once he gets into shape he will be a major part of this team's success. leeg you're asking this team to do things that a team that has been together for awhile should do. That won't happen until December at the earliest. Rice is still learning the system, even Willis said this system was light years different then the one he played last time he was here. It's going to take time. Nobody is making excuses. The fact of the matter is, with all the turmoil, injuries, new faces, lack of conditioning for various reasons, and slow shooting this team is still winning. And I know it's tough for people to believe considering this team looks so bad times, but this is a GREAT learning experience for this team. They are learning to win under adversity. It's getting to the point where this team will NEVER think it's out of a game. They're learning to win games they have no business winning, and they're doing it playing at about 30% of their capability. Afterall, Portland pretty much suffered the same type of overhaul and they're 1-3. Things could be MUCH worse.

 

Great OP!

For those who want to start EG, I suggest you forget about it. There are quite a few rookies who are getting minutes and playing wisely. I think we know that he can hit the 3. Fine! Great! But surely he should know that we need his low post defense and offense. Does it have to be Christmas before we see a baseline turnaround jumper and Easter before it is something we can consistently rely on from EG? I have been trying to make the point that the regular season is no picnic and we need to have a more aggressive and take no prisoners approach. It is no wonder that Moochie, Willis and Mobes was in the game at the end. EG has to bring that every night before he can start.

KT can only be a good backup in this league. BS! As far as I am concerned KT is better that MoT. In fact both the rocks and KT himself need to get more serious and commited about KT. He has all the tool. I am not holding the fact that people can score on him against him. Heck they did that to Barkley and Malone cannot stop KG. The key is that if we put a little more effort into it, KT can score 20 point per night. Why I think so? Because he can get to the basket at anytime and he can shoot the ball. If we set him up with screens and the pick and rolls in addition to fast breaks, fouls and his one on one moves, he could average 20 points. the talent and skill is there. The only thing missing is the mental adjustment by him and the coaching staff.

It would be a hugh error if the development of EG is at the cost of KT. I am not worried because Rudy T is too smart for that.